STOP! those red light cameras

Nobody thinks it’s good to have drivers running red lights.  But motorists don’t trust the system of cameras taking pictures of drivers running red lights.  The cameras click if your car is just an inch in the intersection when the light turns red.  They click if you are making a legal right turn on red. And, if yellow lights are timed to turn red real fast, the cameras can be an unfair source of revenue raising for local governments.

State Sen. Rickey Hendon last year introduced SB 2477 in the legislature to rein in the abuse of red light cameras, allowing a car up to a foot instead of an inch. He also favors a statewide timing standard for yellow lights, and requiring police to monitor cameras.  This year, his crusade has been joined by suburban Republican legislators who want to regulate the cameras or do away with them entirely.

State Senator Dan Duffy, R-Lake Barrington, has 16 co-sponsors his bill to ban traffic cameras except for construction zones and railroad crossings.  Tickets are usually $100, most of which goes to private companies that install, maintain and regulate the cameras, Duffy says. And Sen. John Millner, R-Carol Stream, is sponsoring a bill to standardize camera regulations. Yellow light times would be standard, drivers who stop before an intersection would not be given tickets and cameras would be painted yellow, more visible to drivers. Additionally, tickets could not be issued unless a police officer monitors the cameras.

http://illinoisstatehousenews.com/2010/02/10/new-red-light-camera-legislation-introduced/
However, Hendon says that his bill has the best chance of passing, because unfortunately the red-light camera companies have too much clout to allow themselves to be banned.  "Municipalities get these cameras from the companies for free. They rake in thousands of dollars--at citizens' expense."

The suburban newspaper Daily Herald last summer found many $100 suburban tickets were being issued to people turning right on red.  The newspaper also found that many cameras were installed or planned at intersections with very few red light crashes. This indicated the purpose was revenue, not safety.

http://dailyherald.com/story/?id=359411

A City of Chicago report claimed collisions decreased because of the cameras. A state report, however, found that crashes often increased at intersections where red light cameras were installed. (One can imagine motorists slamming on the brakes during a yellow light, trying to avoid a ticket,  being rear-ended by the cars behind them.)

 http://chicagoist.com/2009/11/22/red-light_cameras_not_so_special.php

Remember—a lot of unjust government actions come to the attention of Rickey Hendon’s people before others are aware. Changes that help Hendon’s Heroes end up helping everyone.

Question those red light cameras!  If you think they’re picking your pockets without making the roads safer, you’re probably right.

You heard it on the West Side first.