Red light cameras

I was listening to C-Span this morning. They were talking about red light cameras. Most of the callers were against them, as they believed that they were installed for raising revenue and not to stop people blowing through red lights. They are correct.

They also cause more rear end accidents, as drivers won’t run the risk of paying $500 fines so slam on their brakes and are promptly rear-ended. That’s good for the medical business, more revenue. Bad for the drivers and the insurance companies that raise rates for everyone.

I remember many years ago while we were living near Augusta, Georgia that my wife was ticketed for driving past a school when the 25 mph lights were flashing. She was guilty of not seeing the lights, paid the fine and moved on. If you’re wondering, this was a four-lane highway where her side had no buildings so children had no reason ever to cross the road.
I wrote to the sheriff and suggested that if they were really interested in protecting the children, and not using the school’s reduced speed zones and officers with radar guns to raise revenue, then they could make a simple change.

They could have deputy sheriffs sit on the side of the road with their emergency lights on during the daily slow-down periods. They could even be productive and do paperwork while there. Everyone sees those lights, so everyone would creep past the sheriff’s car.

Of course, revenue for the county would drop to zero. So what do you think happened? Nothing.

So why am I writing this, as I’m seeking the 11th district, Georgia congressional seat in 2014? It’s because I think that the federal government can stop the cities and counties from using these red-light cameras by passing revenue neutral legislation. The legislation will reduce aid to the cities and counties as an exact offset to the money raised by these red light cameras.

In that way if the cities and counties, that can pass whatever local laws they like, are really interested in public safety then they will keep them. None will, as they are just another way to soak the public. I don’t like that.

I think that it’s the right thing to do, and if elected next year I’ll propose legislation to do just that.

Editor’s note: October 14, 2013.

If you read this LA Times story about self driving vehicles, you may want to think about how this will block revenue collection for counties. If your car is programmed to obey traffic laws without fail, then counties will become desperate for revenue. I can only wonder how they’ll be able to function with the dramatic loss of revenue, a substantial part of their operating budgets.