Say WA? Evergreen State ping
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.
Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.
Posted on 04/08/2008 9:16:37 AM PDT by Ken H
Profit concerns thwart photo ticketing expansion in Maryland and Washington state.
Concerns over the disposition of profits have thwarted efforts to expand photo ticketing in Washington state and Maryland. Statewide use of speed cameras on local roads and freeway "construction zones" was essentially a done deal after Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D) introduced proposals that received 2-1 support in the state House and more modest support in the state Senate (view legislation). The legislature adjourned for the year yesterday without presenting a final version of the legislation to the governor. Members could not reconcile differences regarding revenue during intense late-night negotiations.
Currently speed cameras are only authorized for use in Montgomery County where $7.5 million in profit has been raised by placing cameras on roads with high traffic volume, but no significant accident history. Lawmakers deadlocked over whether localities or the state should pocket the millions in revenue generated by tickets that some wanted boosted from $40 to $75. O'Malley is likely to reintroduce the proposal next year.
In Washington state, the fear of a voter initiative has frozen the interest of many cities in installing new red light camera systems. Among its many provisions, Initiative 985 would, if enacted, force municipalities to send all profit from photo tickets to a statewide fund dedicated to congestion relief (view initiative details). The mere prospect of passage appears to have persuaded the cities of Aberdeen and Yakima to drop, for now, plans to install the devices.
I-985 sponsor Tim Eyman suggested that the voter initiative would have the same effect in Washington state that a North Carolina Supreme Court decision had in the Tar Heel state. There, the high court chose to enforce a state constitutional provision directing all ticket revenue out of municipal coffers and into the public school system. After this ruling, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greenville, Greensboro, High Point and Raleigh shut down their red light camera programs.
Supporters of the ReduceCongestion.org initiative are busy collecting the 225,000 signatures needed by July in order to put the initiative on the November ballot.
I WANT TO TAKE THOSE PROFITS! /screech
Photo enforcement of red lights does not generate revenue for the state and local governments; it eliminates the problem at the intersections on which it’s installed.
The availability of photo enforcement systems has provided local governments with a moral dilema: option one is to install the system and eliminate a public safety problem. Option two is to keep writing tickets by hand as usual. In short, the choice is between public safety and ticket revenue.
We all know what choice local government will make.
money grubbing politicians make me sick
Well, well. Thank God for Tim Eyman here in Washington State. If this is what it takes to get rid of these red light cameras then so be it. They are NOT about safety and ALL about fleecing the good citizens of the municipalities for more $$$$.
IIRC, I called for Tim to start an Initiative here in WA. State on a different thread about 2 months ago because I know these red light cameras are VERY unpopular here in my city. Way to go Tim!!!
Report: Red Light Cameras Increase Injuries and Insurance Rates
Isn’t it funny the same leftists want to install surveillance cameras everywhere yet they scream bloody murder over the FISA program. Freaks.
I hate the damn camera’s and yes, thank God for Tim Eyman.
Hey Ken, thanks for the link! That link happens to have my call to Tim Eyman for an Initiative to somehow get rid of this scourge on society. I guess it was only a month ago instead of 2 months that I posted it, but it was before the announcement that he was doing an initiative.
Even if they do not take out the existing cameras (which I think they will once there is no $$$ in it for them) we could really use some congestion relief in the form of new lanes and roads.
“Obviously...Washington State (is) more concerned with money than safety.”
Now I know that at least two people are aware of this.
No kidding.
If we put a tax in on waterboarding the Dems would be behind it 110%.
If Washington State was interested in our safety, we would not have to endure our eardrums getting split and our retinas getting burned from hearing and seeing that witch of a Queen we have for a governor (no caps intended, she does not deserve the title).
Good. I routinely go through a speed camera zone in Montgomery County (MD) to get to my orthodontist. And sometimes, the drivers will slow down WELL BELOW the speed limit (which is 35 mph) to avoid getting their pictures taken. I'm sure the cameras only take pics of people going something like 10 mph over, so these slowpokes are getting on my nerves!
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
MD, once again proving that it stands for, “Mentally Deficient.”
So enforcing the traffic laws increases crashes and insurance revenues? I don’t buy it.
The article you cite has some key flaws such as not identifying the volume of traffic going through the same intersection before and after the cameras were installed. It just says that the number of crashes increased- an utterly meaningless fact without comparison to the volume of traffic using the intersection. Secondly, the article never identifies the types of crashes experienced. Thirdly, were there any major land use changes to the surrounding properties? Fourthly, were studies being compared conducted at the same times of year?
Installing red light cameras do not cause more crashes, just as stationing a police officer at the intersection does not causes more crashes. Bad drivers cause more crashes.
A new Virginia Department of Transportation study shows accidents increased by nearly a third where red light cameras were used.
Red Light Camera Studies Roundup
5/31/2005
A collection of red light camera studies over the last decade shows red light cameras have serious side-effects.
Washington Post: Red Light Cameras Increase Accidents
10/4/2005
Analysis of accident data shows accidents doubled at intersections with red light cameras in the District of Columbia
Burkey-Obeng Red Light Camera Study
12/10/2004
The most extensive U.S. study of the relation of accidents and red light camera usage.
Researchers at the North Carolina Urban Transit Institute were unsatisfied with the overly simplistic methods used in prior insurance industry funded studies of the effects of red light cameras on accidents. So they conducted a U.S. Dept. of Transportation funded study that looked at a 57-month period and accounted for dozens of variables such as weather and traffic ignored in previous studies. All told, 17,271 observations went into their conclusions.
Their own summary says it best: "The results do not support the view that red light cameras reduce crashes. Instead, we find that RLCs are associated with higher levels of many types and severity categories of crashes."
I hate it when the State loots the populace like this.
The citizenry get what they deserve. Having lived in numerous states prior to settling in Maryland I have to say Marylanders have to be the dumbest form of liberal populace I have ever seen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.