Red Light Cameras: Yay or Nay?
Posted on August 25, 2010
Filed Under Consumer Protection, Government
As citizens of this country, there is a certain amount of blind faith that we put in our government to protect us. But what if some of the laws and regulations that are in effect actually end up doing more harm than good? Here is a scenario to ponder: you are pulling out of Brandon Chevrolet Dealer after just buying your new car and get pulled over by the police for speeding. They then find that you don’t have current registration and hassle you about that, but you just got the car and you haven’t gotten your registration in the mail yet. This is a mild scenario, but still it happens and is frustrating for consumers. What about those pesky red light offense cameras that several cities have installed? You are driving in your new car from Nissan New York when the light changes quickly to red and then you receive a ticket in the mail. Maybe you did or didn’t run the red light, but in this economy is it right for cities to be scraping every cent out of their citizens in this manner?
Having recently gotten one of these red light tickets, I can tell you first hand how infuriating the process was. The traffic court was full of other drivers there to contest their tickets, some driving cars from Acura Pittsburgh. One woman was contesting her ticket because she stopped at the red light but then inched out to see if she could safely make a right turn; the camera interpreted this as running the light. She contested and won, but the judge cautioned her to stop at the line next time and stay there.
What is even more interesting is that some cities have begun removing their red light cameras because the revenue from tickets decreased as people became more aware of their locations and thus changed their driving habits. We can all appreciate efforts to make the streets safer for all, but is this really the right way to do it?
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