Red-Light Cameras

Do you think that drivers will take the hint and
not go through a red-light when they see this sign?

I don't know about you, but I am sort of scared about cops and getting pulled over for a traffic violation. I have been pulled over a few times in my life and it is not a pleasant experience especially by motorcycle cops. They can be really unfriendly and can treat you like Lizzie Border who axed her parents to death.

I suppose the Red-Light Traffic Safety Program as presented by the Finance Department to the Financial Advisory Board, derived from information provided by American Traffic Solutions only, has got to be one of the most questionable and preposterous ever but definitely not funny.

The only entity that is guaranteed to make any money is the red-light camera company. They want the City to pay them $298,997 a year for 5 cameras. The City estimates $100,000 revenue per year to the City in its proposed Budget. Do the math.

Now don’t you suspect that once any driver knows there is a red-light camera that he will slow down way before he comes to that intersection so that he is not caught going through a yellow light that turns red while he is in the middle of the intersection? It is conceivable that the City could make NO money at all or even lose money. Are we gambling on people being stupid?

As previously stated, there are NO guarantees that red-light cameras reduce accidents. And there is no guarantee that we will re-coup the cost of $24,916 a month that we have to pay to American Traffic Solutions.

Why do we always have these pie in the sky presentations that only take our money? And why do we jump at anything that has the whiff of $$$. Why?