We recently got a few installed in my city, and already we have people protesting them because "it's just a way for the city to make money." Personally I think their brilliant and laugh every time I see the people who protest them. Anyway I just wondered what the AG community though about them.
Also if you don't know what they are, they're cameras (well yea..) that are placed beside lights or areas where speeding is common that take a picture of your license plate if you run a red light or are speeding. Then you get a ticket in the mail (for my city it's $100, and it does NOT go on your driving record.)
They stop people from speeding, and that is always good. I'll admit I go 5 over, but I see people going 10-15 over the speed limit(in residential). We don't have many camera's in my town so a lot go unpunished. It is really funny, there is a major road that runs for a couple hundred miles. Anyways where I live there is ALWAYS a cop on that road because people speed, and every morning I see him having someone pulled over haha. So they are a good implementation. They discourage speeders.
My opinion is basically the same as the post I made on the first page, except my opinion has changed on running red lights. That's a very dangerous thing to do, and should be fined the first time in most cases. The only exception would be possibly the a first time offender, or someone who has not had a traffic violation in a very long time. Other wise, running a red light is one of the more dangerous things that someone can do while driving.
As long as it is public, government owned property and not public property the government can do whatever the **** they want. Personally I dont really mind them I wont be driving for a few more years but if they are causing problems then they should be taken down and fixed but otherwise who cares?
Okay one, it only fines you for doing something illegal. Secondly, the government could track you ANYWAYS if they wanted to, WHAT DO YOU THINK STATE REGISTERING YOUR LICENSE PLATE DOES??? Third, it's not an invasion of privacy, it doesn't look into your car, it just snaps a picture of your license plate. Fourth, if it snaps you for a legal right turn, that's just bad placement on whoever installed it. Fifth, it is not just a way for the government to make money, it is making you pay for breaking the law. They are in no way obtrusive or obnoxious unless badly placed, and they are not an invasion of privacy of a government conspiracy. They ticket people who are bad drivers and those who do not pay attention.
There are a lot of studies about long term use of red light cameras. While they increase the cities revenue in the short term, long term they costs the city lots. People start learning where the red light cameras are and will obey the law at that intersection. The problem stems from the city being on contract with the installer/maintenance company of the camera, as the will have to continue paying on it even if it isn't generating any money. Just another scam to take taxpayer money.
Zega, it's been in the U.S for years, just not in some parts. Also, how would taking a picture of them save their lives, if anything, it would take a picture of their last few seconds on this earth... Nobody pays attention to if they get a ticket, they just get mad that they have to pay a fine.
