Smile Alexandria drivers; your on (red light) camera!! (Reston, Fairfax: lawyer, home)

[The Dissenter]

I saw a crew installing a red light camera on Friday at the corner of S Walker and Duke St in Alexandria. I think the red light cameras are back in full force. Today when i was waiting at that light i saw a photo flash from that camera. So that camera is well operational and very obvious.

Let me just say i'm not a fan of these cameras at all. I feel they are nothing more than a revenue grabber and cause a lot of accidents. Also, the biggest problem at the intersection of S Walker and Duke Streets are illegal u-turns, not red light runners. You may make more revenue going after those who make illegal u turns than red light runners at that intersection.

So watch out!!!!

[bangorme]

Has anyone spotted any others? I thought this program was stopped because of an increase in rear-end accidents?

[car54]

Originally Posted by Alanboy395

.....So watch out!!!!

I've been watching out for years....when the light turns yellow, I stop.

Seriously, those cameras are only triggered when a vehicle crosses the white stop line AFTER the light has turned red and other traffic has gotten a green light. If any part of your car has crossed the stop line before the light turns red....no photo is taken. I think that's reasonable.

Sure, statistics show that rear-end collisions increase at camera intersections...but the FAR more deadly T-bone crashes decrease considerably.

Incidentally, the intersections that have had the most red light running wrecks are the ones chosen for camera installation.

Since the cameras are a revenue grab....I wonder why they aren't installed at EVERY light controlled intersection? More cameras=more money, right?

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by car54

I've been watching out for years....when the light turns yellow, I stop.

Seriously, those cameras are only triggered when a vehicle crosses the white stop line AFTER the light has turned red and other traffic has gotten a green light. If any part of your car has crossed the stop line before the light turns red....no photo is taken. I think that's reasonable.

Sure, statistics show that rear-end collisions increase at camera intersections...but the FAR more deadly T-bone crashes decrease considerably.

Incidentally, the intersections that have had the most red light running wrecks are the ones chosen for camera installation.

Since the cameras are a revenue grab....I wonder why they aren't installed at EVERY light controlled intersection? More cameras=more money, right?

Don't get me wrong, I am a much bigger fan of raising money by ticketing red light runners, drunk drivers, and aggressive drivers. All kill MANY more people than the speeders our police spend 90% of their time collecting revenue from.

[statecollege]

Why be against anything that catches and punishes scafflaws?

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by statecollege

Why be against anything that catches and punishes scafflaws?

Because I'd like to think that our police officers would be better utilized doing anything other than being glorified meter maids (as they used to be called), sitting out on the interstates eight hours a shift. For example, how about patrolling neighborhoods, or maybe watching bars, or maybe catching the 100 people an hour that run the red light on Van Dorne and 395 or....

[car54]

Originally Posted by bangorme

Because I'd like to think that our police officers would be better utilized doing anything other than being glorified meter maids (as they used to be called), sitting out on the interstates eight hours a shift. For example, how about patrolling neighborhoods, or maybe watching bars, or maybe catching the 100 people an hour that run the red light on Van Dorne and 395 or....

People will always say that the police should be enforcing some other laws....not the one THEY are breaking.

BTW, the police most often seen on the Interstates is the State Police because it's their job....they primarily have a "highway patrol" function in this part of the state. You'll rarely, if ever, see FCPD operating radar on the Interstates. When FCPD runs radar in residential neighborhoods, it is ALWAYS the result of residents' complaints about people running 50, 60, 70 mph through their 'hood....you know, kids playing, etc. FCPD working radar on say 7100....that's to keep it from becoming the Fairfax County Autobahn...frequent speed "traps" does slow the speedracers down some.



About red light cameras....true story from the last time we had them in FFX CO. A co-worker of mine got a ticket in the mail. She was in her school bus when the incident occurred! As you can imagine, this can get you in a heap of trouble....maybe even resulting in dismissal. She's a good friend..single mom, no money...so I called my attorney to recommend the best traffic lawyer in town to fight it. But a few days later she got a letter from FCPD telling her to disregard the ticket.

Turns out a FCPD officer must review every photo....and apparently the camera malfunctioned....snapped a pic with a green light. Now why they didn't review the photo BEFORE sending out the ticket, I don't know....but they made it right...

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by car54

People will always say that the police should be enforcing some other laws....not the one THEY are breaking.

LOL, I never speed here. I don't even understand HOW people speed here. So, ESP you don't have. I know about state police and their role on the interstates, but feel they could be much more effective DRIVING on the interstate than they are SITTING on the interstate running tax... I mean radar traps.

That being said, I just heard a couple weeks ago some Fairfax county bureaucrat bragging about how many speeding tickets were issued in a month in order to "save lives." Maine did the same thing last year because of a federal grant and traffic fatalities went up! There has never been shown, to my knowledge, a correlation between speeding (especially that for which 95% of the tickets are issued) and accident occurrence. Speeding can increase the severity of an accident, but the main causes of accidents are age, substance caused impairment, failure to yield/stop, and inattention. I don't see the police doing anything to address these because they don't generate money and they've been turned into tax collectors.

And no, most of the Fairfax county speed traps are not caused by citizen complaints. They are caused by the need to raise revenue (see comment from bureaucrat above). Which, to be honest, I wouldn't mind if it didn't tie up an officer.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by car54

Sure, statistics show that rear-end collisions increase at camera intersections...but the FAR more deadly T-bone crashes decrease considerably.

Says someone who has probably never been in a bad rear-end collision. I was rammed from behind pretty hard by an SUV shortly after my high school graduation back in 2005 because I had the "audacity" to stop at a light as soon as it turned red. My car was nearly totaled, I missed work for a few days due to my neck pain, and to this day I wonder if the occasional pain I get in my back while running is a latent injury from that accident. It's NOT something I ever want to experience again.

How about you MORONS on the roads (no, not you in particular) learn how to drive already?! Today heading home from Baltimore I was taking the Route 7 Conga Line home between Tysons and Reston and had a guy in a VW Touraeg SUV tail-gating me fiercely in the left-hand lane, but I was already stuck in a line of traffic. He was trying to intimidate ME to move over, and I was tempted after putting up with this for about a mile to just slam on my brakes, injure my neck, and then trade on up to a BMW or Audi that every other 20-something in this area drives when I retain legal counsel. The tail-gating here is MADDENING! I can see if I was "hogging" the left lane, but it there's someone already in front of me poking along, then what am I supposed to do about it? How does riding my rear-end benefit YOU when forcing me over (as this guy finally did) just nets you one car length as you then tailgate the NEXT car in the Conga line?

[car54]

Originally Posted by bangorme

.....And no, most of the Fairfax county speed traps are not caused by citizen complaints. They are caused by the need to raise revenue (see comment from bureaucrat above). Which, to be honest, I wouldn't mind if it didn't tie up an officer.

Well, you believe what you will....

I have a close friend that is a high ranking FCPD official, he told me that. I've known him since the 4th grade and he has absolutely no reason in the world to lie to me about it. Note: I'm only talking about subdivision radar enforcement.

If citizen complaints continue....that's when you see speed humps....or stop signs at every other corner installed.


ScranBarre, I never said rear-end collisions are pleasant....just that they are more survivable than side impacts...