Seattle's red light camera class action lawsuit. (Spokane, Tacoma: attorney, live)

[70Ford]

There's something intrinsically wrong when a state's citizens aren't just looked at as a revenue stream, but as a revenue stream that needs to commit an infraction to source that revenue.

Sell 'em on safety. Sell them on "It's for the children." Hit 'em in the pocketboook. When the populace screams, ask them, "Why do you hate the children? Why do you love to commit traffic infractions?" It's like asking a man, "Why do you like beating your wife so much?" Don't even answer. There is no right answer.

Putting these in place is assuming people will be guilty. Which, is probably true.
It's also, pretty harsh. Innocent, 'til proven guilty? Nah. Gonna assume you'll screw up and put these cameras here. You're guilty. Just, not yet.

Local News | 2nd suit takes on red-light cameras, 20 cities | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle put up six cameras at four intersections in 2006. By the end of August, there will be 30. The city ticketed 58,000 drivers in the first three years and collected almost $5 million in fines.

Andrea Robertson, an attorney who worked with Rosen on the case, said it's clear from the negotiations between cities and camera manufacturers Redflex Traffic Solutions and American Traffic Solutions that "for the most part, this is seen as a profit measure for these cities."

Along with Seattle, the other cities being sued are: Auburn, Bellevue, Bremerton, Burien, Federal Way, Fife, Issaquah, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Monroe, Moses Lake, Puyallup, Renton, SeaTac, Spokane, Tacoma and Wenatchee.

[WilliamHarman]

In several areas of the country, the DOT in conjunction with these light ticket operators were not getting the results they had hoped for. so what did they do? they calibrated the time of the yellow light down .2-1 full second to yield more tickets. They set them lower then their own DOT recommended settings.

In a few of these cases, the judge found out and in one case an old judge went out to the interersection with a stop watch. He went back to his court room mad as hell and dismissed all outstanding tickets and ordered the city to repay all past violations! It costs them millions.

Fight, fight fight, this greedy unconstitutional practice!

[Adrian71]

Let me preface all of this by saying that I'm a cautious and courteous driver. Rude and aggressive drivers irritate me to no end ...

They have these stupid cameras out here in Virginia, too. They keep getting turned on and off, depending on the legislature's mood. It's just another way to separate people from their hard-earned money and harass drivers. Some studies have said these cameras actually increase accidents at intersections, because overcompensating drivers will slam on their brakes when they see the light change to yellow and cause another car to rear-end them.

If the government can't bleed enough money out of the citizenry without resorting to this kind of chicanery, maybe they need to think about cutting back their expenses instead.

Don't you love how it's always "for the children"? I despise mandatory seatbelt laws, too, and no one understands why, since "what's wrong with being safe?" Well, that's not the point. It's not the government's job to protect me from myself. Of course wearing a seatbelt is a good idea, but it's not the government's job to MAKE me wear it.

Anyway, this is a big deal right now in Virginia, because the state constitution clearly says you have a right to face your accuser. Sending you a photo and a ticket in the mail is not "facing your accuser." So with any luck, the whole idea of these cameras will eventually get tossed aside.

[crescentsliverofthemoon]

Originally Posted by gnab gib

Let me preface all of this by saying that I'm a cautious and courteous driver. Rude and aggressive drivers irritate me to no end ...

They have these stupid cameras out here in Virginia, too. They keep getting turned on and off, depending on the legislature's mood. It's just another way to separate people from their hard-earned money and harass drivers. Some studies have said these cameras actually increase accidents at intersections, because overcompensating drivers will slam on their brakes when they see the light change to yellow and cause another car to rear-end them.

If the government can't bleed enough money out of the citizenry without resorting to this kind of chicanery, maybe they need to think about cutting back their expenses instead.

Don't you love how it's always "for the children"? I despise mandatory seatbelt laws, too, and no one understands why, since "what's wrong with being safe?" Well, that's not the point. It's not the government's job to protect me from myself. Of course wearing a seatbelt is a good idea, but it's not the government's job to MAKE me wear it.

Anyway, this is a big deal right now in Virginia, because the state constitution clearly says you have a right to face your accuser. Sending you a photo and a ticket in the mail is not "facing your accuser." So with any luck, the whole idea of these cameras will eventually get tossed aside.

I highly doubt if it will be tossed aside. It makes money and lets the working class know they are being watched as they go to and fro everyday of their lives. Whether it's a camera at an intersection or the patriot act sniffing through your emails or phone calls there's a subtle tyrannistic pattern to all of it and I don't think they are going to stop now.

[hamellr]

In the UK these are being destroyed, defaced and even burned down for this very reason.

I have to wonder why this is not happening in the US.

[ttz]

I just got a ticket in Puyallup for running a red light for 1 second. I am trying to fight it and requested an hearing. I think it's BS. If they are to keep the red light cameras they need to lighten up a bit and give the camera a few extra seconds OR lengthen the yellow light by a few seconds. My argument is when a vehicle is right about to enter the intersection and the light turns yellow, it is hard to stop sometimes and you may barely run the light if it changes a little too quick. It seems these lights are short on the yellow too, I wonder why? Not fair if you ask me. I will not slam on my brakes risking an accident or damage to my vehicle trying to stop for fear of running a red light by 1 second!

If they do not agree with what I am trying to say, then I will just nicely tell the Court that the next time I am approaching an intersection and the light turns yellow, and I feel I cannot safely and effectively stop in a normal manner, I will FLOOR the throttle and try my best to beat that red light! I will also reiterate my car is a Twin Turbo and this should not be too hard of a feat for me.

[texastrigirl]

My husband got caught by the red light camera downtown. Boy was he surprised to get that letter in the mail and he swears it was yellow the whole time.

[Under The Clouds]

I think the solution to the problem of cameras recording and issuing tickets is simple: don't run red lights. It's almost too logical.

[jfre81]

We have them in Houston and the best thing I've found to do is....yes, don't run red lights.

Although right before they went up, I saw someone run a red light at an intersection, get broadsided by a Ford F-150 doing at least 555 and get sent careening about 100 feet into the car two lanes over from me. If that's not a deterrent, I don't know what is.

I couldn't tell you what the red-light runner was driving, because I couldn't recognize it after the accident. I wonder if that bloodied girl I saw that got ejected from the truck survived. I never heard about it on the news.

[70Ford]

Originally Posted by Under The Clouds

I think the solution to the problem of cameras recording and issuing tickets is simple: don't run red lights. It's almost too logical.

Judge Tosses Red-Light Camera Tickets - Los Angeles Times

The company receives $70 for each $271 ticket. Last year it made $1.76 million from the city. As the cameras are installed at more intersections, payments to the company could skyrocket.

Styn said state law requires the city to calibrate and monitor the timing of the cameras to ensure that motorists are not being ticketed unfairly.

Motorists have complained that they are receiving tickets even when they enter an intersection legally. That argument got a boost in the spring when it was shown that the timing of the cameras was faulty at several intersections.