contact city of Houston, tell them to respect the vote!

[baytownb]

There are informed opinions, and then there are yours.

Originally Posted by texas7

I know as much as you do ... in fact everyone knows as much as you do ... this is an opinion forum ... everyone's got one.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by baytownb

There are informed opinions, and then there are yours.

and since we have now resorted to the comments of a 5-year-old .... and then there is yours back at you ..........

[baytownb]

You were the one that thought there weren't camera vans in the US right? Like I said, informed opinions then yours. Doesn't look like you know as much as you claim.

Originally Posted by texas7

and then there is yours ..........

[texas7]

Originally Posted by baytownb

You were the one that thought there weren't camera vans in the US right? Like I said, informed opinions then yours. Doesn't look like you know as much as you claim.

That's right, I commented that I had not "seen" any in the United States ... that didn't say that there weren't any. I believe my exact words were "I hadn't seen that anywhere else before and still haven't seen that anywhere in the U.S." When you post on this forum, it is a great place to have people comment on what they know of and what they don't (such as where that sort of technology is being used). However; the topic of red light cameras is an opinion topic as people express what they think about the issue, that is unless they are five and try to resort to "I know you are but what am I" type comments.

[baytownb]

I would argue that a 5 year old's view would be that all opinions have equal weight and come from people with equal knowledge on the subject.
Of course you could get the discussion back on track by explaining how cameras cut into lawyers pockets by providing overwhelming proof when the actual results we can point to would suggest that camera tickets don't fare too well when faced with a legal challenge.

Originally Posted by texas7

That's right, I commented that I had not "seen" any in the United States ... that didn't say that there weren't any. When you post on this forum, it is a great place to have people comment on what they know of and what they don't (such as where that sort of technology is being used). However; the topic of red light cameras is an opinion topic as people express what they do and do not know, that is unless they are five and try to resort to "I know you are but what am I" type comments.

[texas7]

Done with this petty stuff. ... this thread needs to get back on topic which is the red light cameras and thoughts on the vote

[baytownb]

Sure thing, since the cameras in Houston are in limbo until the appeals process completes or the City decides what they want to do with them let's take a look at what is happening around the country. As far as I know these efforts weren't started by ticket lawyers.

One of the nation's longest running camera programs in Los Angeles appears to be ending after the police commission voted unanimously to end the program

Local TV station investigated the effectiveness of the cameras;

Is it money or safety? We wanted to know actual numbers of accidents at red light camera intersections to see if they really went down.
When we asked, the LAPD became very defensive. The sergeant in charge told me in an e-mail, “The city would hope that it is the goal of KCBS/KCAL to discuss the positive aspects of the photo red light program.”
So we filed a public records request. The department charged us more than $500 for a computer run. When we got the numbers back, they told a different story.
We looked at every accident at every red light camera intersection for six months of data before the cameras were installed and six months after.
The final figures? Twenty of the 32 intersections show accidents up after the cameras were installed! Three remained the same and only nine intersections showed accidents decreasing.

Los Angeles Red Light Cameras Lead To Increased Accidents

Looks like the commission came to the same conclusion;

"The Los Angeles Police Commission has voted to kill the city's controversial red-light camera program, rejecting claims that the system makes streets safer while costing the city nothing."
Los Angeles Traffic Cameras | Red-light cameras: Los Angeles may give the red light to traffic cameras - Los Angeles Times

"Last year, Anaheim, California's city council became the first to offer voters an opportunity to ban red light cameras without the need for filing petitions. The ban was adopted with 73 percent of the vote. In Bellingham, Washington on Monday, residents turned in 7000 signatures on a petition to ban the cameras, even though only 3880 were needed."

"In Monroe, organizers collected 2100 signatures -- equal to two out of every three registered voters in the city."

Last year, 71 percent of voters banned cameras in Mukilteo. Cameras were also banned in Houston, Texas; Baytown, Texas; Anaheim, California; and Garfield Heights, Ohio. Photo enforcement has never survived when the question is put directly to voters. Last year, 61 percent of Sykesville, Maryland voters overturned a speed camera ordinance. In 2009, eighty-six percent of Sulphur, Louisiana rejected speed cameras, 72 percent said no in Chillicothe, Ohio; Heath, Ohio and College Station, Texas also rejected cameras. In 2008, residents in Cincinnati, Ohio rejected red light cameras. Seventy-six percent of Steubenville, Ohio voters rejected photo radar in 2006. In the mid-1990s, speed cameras lost by a two-to-one margin in Peoria, Arizona and Batavia, Illinois. In 1997, voters in Anchorage, Alaska banned cameras even after the local authorities had removed them.


Monroe, Washington Anti-Camera Referendum Advances

Originally Posted by texas7

Done with this petty stuff. ... this thread needs to get back on topic which is the red light cameras and thoughts on the vote