Roberts said the cameras made Red Bank seem unwelcoming, which discouraged new businesses from taking root in a city that desperately needed revitalization. But all that began to change when the electronic vigil came to an end, he said. — More.
… some e-mails obtained by NBC5 Investigates raise questions about whether some city officials are more interested in reducing crashes, or collecting millions of dollars to fill gaps in city budgets. — More.
Los Angeles, Pasadena and San Diego, among others, ended the cash cameras amid questions whether they actually reduce accidents.
The chairman of the Australian company behind Chicago’s red-light program resigned this week and trading in the company’s stock was suspended amid an intensifying investigation into allegations of corruption in its Chicago contract. – More.
While employees can be disciplined for the violation, “payment of the related fine will not be required,” according to a newly adopted city procedure for handling the violations. — More.
Do as I say, …
And his problems didn’t end there
How one ticket put “a despised multimillion-dollar state program in limbo.”
Pasadena is the latest city to get rid of its red-light camera program.
UPDATE: Les Jones: “Pasadena Says Goodbye to R2 SpeeD2″
“Since most highway money, even at the state level, comes from the federal government, and most of the work that is being done locally involves federal money, what hopefully it will mean — and should mean — is that there will be many, many fewer red-light cameras all over the country,” said U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., a Knoxville Republican. — More.
Only I, speaking for the National Motorists Association, talked about the volumes of evidence showing that red-light cameras often cause more accidents, and that using longer yellow-light intervals can prevent far more violations than cameras. But that simple safety solution is not profitable.
Studies by police departments and media in many cities have found that red-light cameras either do little to reduce accidents or are actually correlated with more accidents. – More.
Another nail in the coffin of safety claims.
UPDATE: “They (Redflex) are using safety as an excuse to increase revenue for those cities,” Deputy Mayor Mike Denning said. “Up front, that was going to be revenue. For us to put it out there in the name of safety when it’s revenue, I was never for that. If we’re going to do it, let’s be honest about it. Let’s not take the same route like other folks and say it’s safety when it’s not.” — More.
CARY, N.C. – A Wake County judge has granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed by two drivers against Cary’s red-light camera traffic enforcement system, opening the possibility that Cary could be forced to refund $50 tickets paid by thousands of drivers since late 2009. — More.
Meanwhile, lawmakers turn the spotlight on the only four cities using red-light cameras in North Carolina. — More.
And in New Jersey: The local pols were in such a hurry to get their hands around your money they forgot all about following the law that set the camera experiment up. Or maybe they were hoping nobody would notice.
In the meantime, FL continues to miss the memo that people hate the cameras, that ol’ due process thing, and that cities and towns are learning they’re not the money makers they had hoped.
On Tuesday, officials from the state Department of Transportation suspended the program after learning 63 of the 85 red-light cameras in New Jersey were not tested to ensure yellow lights were timed in accordance with the statute that created the pilot program. — More.
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“Whoever made the call in 2008 or 2009 blew it, either out of ignorance or poor judgment,” said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, a critic of the camera program. — More.
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New Jersey’s red light camera program has been suspended pending a widespread number of tickets issued erroneously… — More.
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Red light cameras are the tar baby of cities… — More.
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Cameras at intersections in Cherry Hill, Glassboro, Stratford, and Monroe, and 17 other New Jersey communities may be connected to traffic signals that are improperly calibrated, the department said. — More.
Wow. Maybe even New Jersey is sobering up. Say, doesn’t “improperly calibrated” seem to be happening a lot? Gee. A cynic might think that’s done on purpose.
UPDATE: And in San Diego today: The audit found the program did not reduce red light violations at the intersection, which had a very low crash rate.