Arlington can kiss my a*s with their BS red light citations (Dallas: maintenance, fence)

[UrbaneAspects]

Originally Posted by edubya

Are you suggesting that out-of-towners should not received tickets for running red lights?

no, Im stating that they shouldnt be taken advantage of. In some areas of the country, its SENSIBLE to not stop as soon as a light turns yellow once you're at the point of no return. There's no cameras (I imagine each one costs millions of dollars) that scare you into stopping screeching tires and ****.

these dumb ass *******s flash the camera at the point of no return...when you cant stop your car without slaming brakes.

someone mentioned speed kills? get over it, right now. 45 is the limit. you want to go 25 in a 45? Not going to happen.

Now, I've seen people go right thru reds. Im not speaking up for people who do that because its just being stupid. Im talking about the people that are unfortunent enough to have a light skip yellow and turn red! I mean it, it goes from green to red and bam your mailbox is stuffed with requests to send police money.

[Fighter 1]

Originally Posted by loves2read

get real and pay the fine...
or challenge the ticket and ask for a trial--
think you can win?

Piece of cake beat them every time . Process is on this site as an advertizement all the time .

[TXTwizter]

Originally Posted by UrbaneAspects

no, Im stating that they shouldnt be taken advantage of. In some areas of the country, its SENSIBLE to not stop as soon as a light turns yellow once you're at the point of no return. There's no cameras (I imagine each one costs millions of dollars) that scare you into stopping screeching tires and ****.

these dumb ass *******s flash the camera at the point of no return...when you cant stop your car without slaming brakes.

someone mentioned speed kills? get over it, right now. 45 is the limit. you want to go 25 in a 45? Not going to happen.

Now, I've seen people go right thru reds. Im not speaking up for people who do that because its just being stupid. Im talking about the people that are unfortunent enough to have a light skip yellow and turn red! I mean it, it goes from green to red and bam your mailbox is stuffed with requests to send police money.

Yada yada yada...dude your ranting is senseless. Just pay the damn ticket, get your brakes fixed and then take a valium before you give yourself a heart attack!

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by UrbaneAspects

Im not quite sure I understand your post...but I think what you're saying is that I didnt follow the rules of the road...

Actually, I do follow them....but when someone who is new doesnt realize the damn things are hanging there, their 1st reaction is to keep going so as to not go from 45 to 0 in a split second, thats impossible and ridiculous.

They know that....thats why the charge you 1st, they dont even bother to give a warning, or 1st offense price. They say..."OH, this person is from out of town license plate...lets hit him up $75 bucks. I'm sure the guy didnt realize and was trying to not slam on his brakes, but oh well...let that brake repair money go into our pockets instead"

Actually, I wasn't implying that and as I said, I'm naive about these things since I live in a rural area. My main thought was wondering why they were there if it weren't for "catching" things against the law.

I guess I don't get what you mean, so I'll not mention it again and leave the answers to the people who know about these cameras. My heavens though, don't be so angry; it isn't good for your blood pressure.

[momof2dfw]

1. I NEVER slam on my brakes when the light turns yellow.

2. I ALWAYS look to see and pretty well pay attention all the time to how close someone is behind me. This way if I do need to make any kind of sudden stop for any reason I have a clue as to the road conditions and can safely avoid any accidents. They do NOT expect you to slam on your brakes and come to a screeching halt if the light turns yellow.

3. I've gone thru MANY an intersection on a yellow light as it is and was the safest thing to do at that time.

4. I've NEVER gotten a ticket for running a red light because I went thru an intersection w/ a red light camera and the light was yellow.

5. No light goes from green to red. They ALL go to yellow first. Is it possible that it was a FLASHING red light since it was late at night? These are around and if it is flashing red you MUST come to a complete stop and make sure it is safe to proceed thru the intersection. Cross traffic may have a flashing yellow.

6. MANY cities have the red light cameras. The city I live in was one of the first in the area several years ago. Never gotten a ticket and again I've been able to safely cross the intersection on a yellow without a ticket.

7. If you travel the same roads often enough you know as your approaching the intersection if the light is getting ready to change be it green, yellow or red. You can also take a quick glance at the crosswalk light and know if the light is getting ready to change.

8. YES! They DO expect you to pay the ticket. You don't then you possibly CAN get arrested for not paying it and the fine will be MUCH higher.

9. The fine across the board for all cities w/ red light cameras is about $75. There are NO "warnings" for these as they are given out because running red lights DOES cause death and can be a HUGE problem if not dealt with and it is a SERIOUS offense. They mean business and I'm A-Okay with it.

10. Having out of state license plates has NOTHING to do w/ getting a ticket or not. EVERYONE gets a ticket if their pic was taken no matter who they are or where they live. Most cities actually have an outside firm that processes them and mails them out. The city has NO CLUE that you are from out of state until they issue the ticket and then can come looking for you and have a warrant issued if you don't pay.

11. NO! Each one does NOT cost "millions of dollars". And NO it is not a "money making machine" for the cities anymore. What happened is the cities put up the cameras at the worst intersections for red light runners. Within the first few months the people you say that were getting taken advantage of started getting fines. They stopped running red lights. AWESOME! That was the SOLE INTENTION of them. The revenue from the cameras has gone down DRASTICALLY!

Here is a bit of history on this point: The state saw that the cities were making some "big bucks" as soon as the cameras went up. The state then came in and put in legislation that they get a "cut" of the fines. The STATE is the one that saw "$$$$$". What the state did NOT see is that the fines would go down in a quick matter of time and that has happened. So the "big bucks" are NOT rolling in as they expected. The cameras are DOING THEIR JOB!!! WOO-HOO!!!! Cities nor the state are getting rich off of the red light cameras. They ARE saving money and lives though. They are not spending a lot of time clearing bad accidents that should not have happened. Our insurance rates will not go up due to the high numbers of accidents. Our loved ones are safer. Hmm, I'll take red light cameras, please.

[lonestar2007]

Well, it's frustrating to receive ANY ticket to be sure and most of the time you're more mad at yourself than anyone or anything else, but it's sometimes hard to admit that, even to yourself.

Now I will be one of the first to badmouth cops for their little speed trap operations where they are able to hide with their radar guns and are pulling everyone over and writing tickets for going a measley few miles per hour over the posted limit. I think they're just sneaky little rats and yes, it is easy revenue. BUT, these red light cameras are NOT SNEAKY and they not trying to ensnare you. They are right out there in the open, plain as day and everyone knows what they are for. If that is a route you say you drive, you were aware of them. And no, lights DO NOT change from green to red without first going through the yellow warning. The yellow warning light gives you ample time if you are close enough to the light to get on through it and also gives you enough time to slow down and stop if you are far enough away in order that you don't run it red.

Arlington has been known to do some crazy things. For instance, like the time the law came into effect that you could make right turns on red after coming to a stop, Mayor Tommy Vandergriff decided, no sirree bob, not in my town! He had signs made up and put at all the intersections saying no right turn on red. Well, needless to say, he had to eat crow and have the signs removed. Talk about a waste of taxpayers money. Now don't get me wrong, I liked Tommy Vandergriff and he was a fine mayor, but sometimes authority can over step it's bounds. BUT the red light cameras are certainly not in this category. They are there for your safety.

I remember back in the late seventies, early eighties, Grand Prairie was notorious for red light running. It reminded me of Old Mexico, where they approach intersections and the first one there gave a honk and kept going. Just plain dangerous and scary. I hated driving over there (GP and Mexico too) for that very reason.

I say it again (and I don't like to get tickets anymore than you do), these cameras are a good thing. NOW, if we can only find some way to get the cops from flying through them so intent on catching the bad guy that they wipe out innocent citizens in the process, we will have come a long way, baby. Just pay your ticket, be glad YOU didn't run a red light and in the process badly injured or kill someone and in the future, slow down at intersections when the light is about to turn red instead of trying to beat it. Yellow means caution, not step on the gas.

[marinewife91]

Originally Posted by UrbaneAspects

IOne of those damn citations came in the mail, and it must have been late at night because I only go along this route late at night. In fact, I was making a right turn. Thats stupid. So I cant make a right turn on red here?

I don't know, did you come to a complete stop before proceeding to turn right on red? If you did not, then that is likely WHY you got your picture taken. You can not just turn right on a red like its a yield sign.

[ZeroTX]

The problem is this are municipal citations and are NOT traffic, moving or criminal violations. It's like a parking ticket. There's no "court." It's basically pay it or else they'll put you on some state blacklist against renewing your car. In fact, the ticket is to THE CAR, not the driver. After all, they can't even prove WHO was driving. You could get 1,000 of these and it doesn't affect your driving record, it just lines the pockets of the municipality. The state ruled them illegal years ago, so this is their loophole.

[tstone]

To the OP - we have these cameras in Houston, and L.A. has had them for awhile. Supposedly they have made the intersections in Houston quite a bit safer, increasing municipal revenues, and allowing the camera co. to profit. Win-win-win.

The DPS already has mobile emissions sensors randomly set up around town sometimes, so if you drive by and are detected to be polluting.... Not sure what happens. Most people don't know what these unmarked contraptions look like, either.

These types of things are popping up everywhere. Get used to them. And in the coming years, watch for European-style speed sensors, mailed speeding tickets, and being forced to take a loyalty oath to the Great Leader (or else...).

[loves2read]

yesterday I was traveling on street in my local area that has just installed red light cameras at busy intersection--we have seen the flash a couple of times--but yesterday as I was entering the intersection the light turned yellow--I sort of froze--took my foot off accelarator ofr nano second--then hit the gas--I made it to the other side w/o the camera going off...but it was unnerving waiting for the flash..