Red Light Revolt!

In an election showdown that pits public safety and health officials against traffic-court lawyers and libertarians, the Chronicle urges voters to support the city’s red-light-camera system in the upcoming municipal referendum. As Chronicle columnist Lisa Falkenberg noted in a recent column, both sides in the referendum have monetary stakes in the outcome

MUSCATINE, Iowa -The Muscatine City Council is set to make the second of three votes that could ultimately result in the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars away from our community to an out of state corporation in the name of public safety. Red-light and/or traffic cameras are the most extreme measure communities generally employ to enforce traffic safety.

Drivers in Clive will have even more reason to take extra care when approaching some of the city’s busiest intersections beginning in early 2011. And if they choose not to be more careful, they’ll end up paying more for their mistakes. The City Council voted 4-1 Thursday night to add three more red-light cameras to monitor traffic along Hickman Road.

As a businessman, I stand to wonder what an additional $400,000 out of consumers’ pockets is going to do to business in this county.

NEWPORT NEWS – A new red light enforcement initiative at a major intersection in Newport News has been temporarily suspended following an equipment malfunction The PhotoSafe cameras at the intersection of Oyster Point Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue went live on July 31. Police spokesman Lou Thurston said this morning the program has been temporarily suspended “due to issues with the equipment.” “Once the issues have been addressed to the city’s satisfaction, the program will resume with a new 30-day warning period after which violators will be sent notices of the $50 fee for a violation,” Thurston said.

The cornerstone of American jurisprudence is that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. If your car is caught going through a red light by a traffic camera, however, you will be sent a ticket, even if you were not driving it at the time.

You let a friend borrow your car.

If approved, officials hope to install the cameras by the end of the year. Police want red-light cameras at the following locations: • Westbound Holly Street at Forest Street (near the Community Food Co-op). • Northbound Meridian Street and Telegraph Road (near the Key Bank and Denny’s).

Judge Frederick Lauten ruled against Orlando’s red light camera ordinance that was in effect from September 2008 through July 2010, saying local governments did not have the right enforce traffic laws that differed from state laws. “It was different and conflicting in many ways,” said West Palm Beach attorney Jason Weisser. Weisser filed the law suit on behalf of Michael Udowychenko who was ticketed for rolling through a right turn at a red light.  Weisser said he is moving to certify the legal action as a class-action law suit on behalf of all drivers that were ticketed during the period.

Anti-Red Light Camera Fight Heats Up in Texas Houston and Baytown, Texas residents turn in signatures to force a November vote to ban red light cameras. One million Texas voters are likely to be given the option of reducing the number of red light cameras in the state. Later today, activists in Houston plan to submit over 30,000 signatures — more than is needed — on a petition to place a photo enforcement ban on the November 2 ballot.