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San Diego Wants to Extend Red Light Camera Ticketing, Bid Document Reveals
The same question could go to council member candidates. And voters have the option to contact all these candidates to express their disfavor for having ticket cameras. Politely, but clearly, express that this is one of your make-or-break issues for your vote. Camera supporters don't get your vote. Strong anti-camera candidates who make that part of their platform do get your vote. James C. Walker, NMA— August 23, 2012 3:17 p.m.
San Diego Wants to Extend Red Light Camera Ticketing, Bid Document Reveals
Three points. 1) IF the city of San Diego actually cared about preventing more or most red light violations, they would FIRST add one second to the yellow intervals on the lights (up to the federal maximum of 6.0 seconds). This simple safety change almost always drops the violation rates by 60% to 90%, and does so almost immediately. Ask yourselves WHY this simple and well known safety change is not used very often in cities with cameras? The an$wer$ and rea$on$ are obviou$ to mo$t ob$erver$. Using safer longer yellow intervals guts the revenue stream from the cameras and kills their real purpose which is profits. 2) ATS is the most predatory red light camera company in the business, not that Redflex and the others are laudatory in their practices. ATS is the company that threatened to sue Houston for up to $25 million when Houston voters voted the cameras out prior to the end of a contract. The city settled on a "deal" where ATS will get from $4.8 to about $12 million for the contract being ended early to respect the will of the voters. 3) Camera companies and cities often point to polls that supposedly show the public supports red light cameras. But poll questions can be crafted to get almost any results you want if the questions are worded cleverly enough. The "polls" that are meaningful are actual votes and ticket cameras have lost 96% of the real votes. In 23 of 24 votes, the citizens said NO to cameras, usually after they had experience with the predatory revenue nature of ticket cameras. San Diego voters need to loudly and repeatedly contact their council and other officials to say STOP the use of these cameras when the current contract ends. Do NOT enter into any new contracts for cameras past January. Vote OUT any officials that support the cameras or extend the contracts. James C. Walker, National Motorists Association, Ann Arbor, MI— August 23, 2012 8:37 a.m.
Strange Political Bedfellows: Brian Maienschein and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Incestuous relationships between politicians and the red light camera cash register companies and/or their stealth lobbying groups are nothing new. There are millions of dollars to be made by the red light camera cash register companies and their business partner cities. The systems are approximately 99.9999% about money and perhaps as much as 0.0001% about safety. In virtually every case, small changes in the traffic light engineering such as adding 1.0 seconds to the yellow intervals will reduce red light violations by MORE than the ticket cameras. The rea$on$ $ome citie$ u$e camera$ in$tead of $afer and longer yellow interval$ on the light$ i$ obviou$ to mo$t ob$erver$. Note that using the too-short yellows with the ticket cameras often RAISES the total accident rate, but cities that want the revenue badly enough simply ignore the added risks to their citizens and visitors to collect the revenue. It is immoral, but quite profitable. See our website for the science and if it makes sense to you, be in touch with your local officials to demand that cameras NOT be used and that the engineering be maximized for safety, not revenue. James C. Walker, National Motorists Association, www.motorists.org, Ann Arbor, MI— April 26, 2012 3:35 p.m.