We have 2 of the cameras in my city. I have nothing against them. If you run a red light you should get a ticket. I see too many wrecks around this city caused by drivers running red lights & stop signs. IMHO If you don't want tickets don't break the law.

 

In S.C. a town with less than 20,000 people can't have a red light camera.

 

To answer two thoughts.

In Calgary, The income from fines from red light cameras goes to the city coffers as general revenue.

Calgary adds and rotates red light cameras around the city to various intersections.

The income from Photo radar cameras goes to the Police department for operating expenses.
If the amount of photo radar cameras increases, the city would get the money into general revenue instead.



License plate covers are not effective.

A photo nova cam can even pick up all the characters on the muddiest license plate.

The angle of the camera and flash make the covers useless.


I did have a laugh one year when I got a letter in the mail of a photo radar ticket in the city of Edmonton .
Not only did I have proof I was in Calhary at the exact moment of the photo...But the Photo was of a White Van white thew corresponding license number as they read it..matched my Holiday trailer.

The person on the phone & I had a great laugh over it and I helped them direct the ticket to the correct person by reading the plate correctly.


As long as people are trying to get away with breaking the law and rules of the road....the police have to do whatever they can to catch them.

It's too bad that we still have organized confusion..by people thinking it's a Cash Cow.

It's not a cash cow.... It is a "Gotcha" System

Here's how they work.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/red-light-camera.htm

 

Im all in for the red light cameras, but there should be exceptions. Like if you are in the middle of an intersection, turning, and you get stuck there till the last second, then have to go when its red. Your not running a red, and you shouldnt get a ticket for that.

I would go and fight the ticket, and I also hear that sometimes you can get your wage reimbursed if found innocent? If not, maybe they should start doing that. Its only fair!

 

That's a good point. I was thinking about the red light cameras causing accidents, though. Suppose a well-meaning driver on a rainy day is being followed by a heavily ladened truck. The light changes from green to yellow, well-meaning driver hits brakes because he doesn't want a ticket... and gets plowed by heavily laden truck who is now sliding with brakes locked up trying to avoid well-meaning, but now seriously hurt driver. I don't know how far-fetched that is, but could it happen?

 

Well yeah that could happen too. Anything is possible. There is so many variations to the rainy day driver scenario though. I see what your point is though. Maybe they should allow people to explain their ticket over the phone or something, so they dont have to miss work to fight a ticket that was caused by saving a life.

 

A "professional" trucker of a heavy laden truck would not put himself in that position.

A "professional" driver would have been prepared for anything to happen and would be driving accordingly.

You see..the Onus is on ALL of us to do the right thing...ALL the time.

The problem..Not EVERYONE wants to be the best driver they can be.

It's a mentality thing.

For some people driving is merely a conveyance to get from one place to anther.
For others, They take driving SERIOUSLY and drive accordingly.

That's the difference !

 

That's an excellent way of looking at it, Dennis. How many of us actually look ahead of the guy in front of us? I do. The fact that the guy behind me may be following too closely makes me want to know as soon as possible if I need to apply brakes or find another way to avoid a collision. Also, red light cameras are required to have a sign posted prior to the intersection so there shouldn't be any surprises.

 

[QUOTE=preppypyro]Im all in for the red light cameras, but there should be exceptions. Like if you are in the middle of an intersection, turning, and you get stuck there till the last second, then have to go when its red. /QUOTE]

In NY the law says you are not allowed to cross the line until it is safe to do so. (don't block the box) You are indangering yourself and others by doing this. People get impatient and nose out. That is not legal.

 

If you are in the box and not moving you are in violations anyway so you should get ticketed....the law in this country is don't enter unless you can clear the intersection without stopping...

 

i know some intersections you would never be able to make a left turn unless you did it when everyone oncoming stops for the yellow/red, traffic is heavy and no left turn arrow. you would be there for hours waiting for traffic to clear to turn.

but hey, i am not a traffic engineer.

 

Ah,yes.The red light camera.The way of the future.Get used to them boys,because they aint goin away!Me,I have cut enough people out of their cars because somebody didnt want to sit at the light,so I am all for them.But here is another little bit of info that not many people have paid much attention to.Have you noticed how more and more manufacturers are installing GPS into vehicles?Well,this is what is going to be the next law enforcment tool.

Dear Sir
According to our GPS records,your vehicle was traveling at 70mph in a 60mph zone.So here is your speeding ticket.Dont bother to try and fight it,because before we implemented the GPS law,we changed the laws concerning who the driver was.The fact is YOU are the owner of this car,and so it is your responsibility to make sure WHOEVER drives it does so in a law abiding manner.


Now before you tell me this aint gonna happen,if you were around when they first started the seatbelt law,you will remember them saying,The cops wont be pulling you over just for not wearing a seatbelt,but if he pulls you over for another reason and sees you not wearing it,,,,Well,looks like they changed that one.

Now dont get me wrong,I am all for seatbelts,I just dont like the way they implemented the law.

 

the UK will be the first to implement any type of gps system.

the thing in UK i was reading about was they were going to charge you money depending on what roads you drive and how many miles you drove and what time of the day.

i can already see the future now.......inspections once a year, they plug into the black box in your car, it gives them all the info about miles traveled, location, time of day, and speeds, then they charge you money for all of that in a form of an "environmental and social" tax.

 

Those red light cameras are generally a good idea.

Being that I live in one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. for pedestrians, I've seen/heard more than my fair share of hit and runs involving pedestrians.

I definitely seen way too many red light/stop sign runners here.

Yep! The cameras are somewhat of a good deterrent.

You almost need a six sense to drive here, safely.

 

there has to be two pictures... one showing the light was red prior to you entering the intersection, and the second showing you in the intersection while red. some states require 3 shots so the license can be read though here its just 2. coming from someone who's job gets harder when people become impatient and moronic... just slow down. you might get where you are going a total of 2 minutes later than if you ran the red light but you REALLY dont want me taking care of you if i find out your impatience caused an innocent person to get hurt. i'll do my job but you wont get the mr. nice guy side of me

(and thats not directed at anyone in particular)