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The defendants stood before the hearing officer, traffic citations in hand, each accused of running a red light in Miami Gardens, as captured by one of the city’s 29 intersection cameras. Within minutes, seven of the cases were dismissed, with the hearing officer ruling they had tripped the cameras while making a legal right turn on red. The remaining three, who will now have to pay a $277 ticket, were sent off with a cheerful “Have a good day … and drive carefully.’’ While presumably those three violators weren’t happy with the outcome, neither are the municipalities in South Florida...

Full headline: American Traffic Solutions -- red-light camera vendor for Houston, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving and Amarillo --- suspends exec for posting pro-camera comments under fake identity -- As far as anyone can tell, American Traffic Solutions Inc. has resorted only to the conventional lobbying method of throwing money around to grow its red-light camera business in Texas. Until last week, at least one business development executive was making inroads in Washington state by cheerleading for the company and personally attacking opponents under an assumed name in dozens of comments left on the website of a local newspaper, according to...

Bloomberg News, so linky only... Drivers Stopping Means Red-Light Cameras Don’t Yield Cash Goals

In the five months after Houston voters forced city officials to turn off a camera surveillance system that fined motorists for running red lights, traffic accidents at those 50 intersections with 70 cameras have decreased 16 percent, according to recently released data. The drop in accidents surprised Houston police administrators who say a possible explanation is the unusually dry weather during recent months has made driving conditions safer. They also wonder if years of electronic monitoring have made Houstonians better, if not more cautious, drivers. Assistant Chief Brian Lumpkin said he had assumed accidents at those intersections were increasing since...

Red light camera company sues Baytown, Texas over results of anti-camera referendum. Traffic camera vendor American Traffic Solutions showed no municipal love as it filed a breach of contract suit against Baytown, Texas on Monday. The St. Valentine's Day complaint accused the city of failing to approve the mailing of an expected number of red light camera citations generated by the company. According to court filings, ATS generated 2420 tickets in November 2010, and the city accepted all but 425 -- an 82 percent approval rate. The next month, ATS generated 2837 tickets, but the city only approved 587 --...

Members of Indiana General Assembly leadership introduce legislation promoting photo enforcement. The residents of six cities with a combined population of over 2.7 million voted last year to outlaw the use of automated ticketing machines on their streets. The photo enforcement industry is now working overtime to make up for lost ground by expanding operations into states where neither red light cameras nor speed cameras have been well received. Lobbyists are hopeful that Indiana could be the next state to reconsider. Powerful members of the General Assembly earlier this month introduced legislation to authorize the use of traffic cameras. House...

A U.S. federal district judge is set to take up the case of the red light camera fight. The camera operator, ATS, and the city of Houston, are at odds over whether or not the city must pay for turning off the cameras. Voters decided a month ago they wanted the cameras to come down so the city says it doesn't owe the company that runs the cameras any more money. That company says not so fast... Attorney for ATS say the vote was illegal and should never have been on the ballot. ATS said because the city broke its...

Federal Judge Blocks Red Light Camera Removal in Houston, Texas Houston, Texas city attorneys attempt to preserve red light camera program by throwing lawsuit filed with vendor. A federal judge issued an order last Friday blocking the immediate removal of red light cameras from Houston, Texas intersections. On November 2, voters adopted an amendment to the city charter making photo tickets unenforceable, against the wishes of the Houston city council and the private vendor that operates the cameras, American Traffic Solutions (ATS). Over the Thanksgiving holiday, US District Court for the Southern District of Texas Judge Lynn N. Hughes worked...

Houston's red-light cameras will go dark on Monday morning, officials said Friday. Houstonians voted to end the use of red-light cameras in Proposition 3 on Election Day. The election results will be certified Monday. City officials asked the contractor for Houston's 70 red-light cameras to turn them off Monday. "We absolutely respect the outcome of the election. ATS has ageed to abide by the city's request that the cameras go dark at 10 o'clock on Monday morning," said George Hittner, the vice president of American Traffic Solutions. He said the city sent him a letter asking his company to turn...

In fifteen public votes, automated ticketing machines have never survived. The public rejected the use of photo enforcement in five more municipal referendum elections Tuesday. America's fourth-largest city, Houston, Texas, was home to the most hotly contested vote. The group Citizens Against Red Light Cameras, run by brothers Paul and Randy Kubosh, gathered enough signatures to force the issue onto the ballot against the wishes of the city council and in spite of a legal attack from camera operator American Traffic Solutions (ATS). Outspent by a factor of ten to one, the group nonetheless won a majority of the 335,778...

Anaheim voters made it clear today they have no interest in having cameras installed at intersections to catch red-light runners. Anaheim voters made it clear today they have no interest in having cameras installed at intersections to catch red-light runners. Voters overwhelmingly approved Measure K, which bans red light cameras from being installed at the city's intersections. City Council members put the issue on the ballot in part because they objected to the idea of using the cameras as a money-raising tool.

Houstonians rejected the city's red light camera program in a hard-fought ballot contest, delivering an immediate $10 million hit to an already dire budget situation at City Hall. With almost all votes counted, a majority of voters put a decisive end to the use of the devices, which had been used to issue more than 800,000 tickets and collected $44 million in fines since 2006. "This is a victory for the people," said Paul Kubosh, an attorney who defends red light runners and collected more than 20,000 signatures with his brothers to get the referendum on the ballot. "The voters...

Traffic camera firm invokes 1965 civil rights bill to stop votes in Baytown and Houston, Texas that would ban red light cameras. The citizen-led groups that want the public to decide the future of red light cameras are racist, according to lawsuits filed by American Traffic Solutions (ATS) in a pair of Texas cities. The Arizona-based photo enforcement firm filed in a state court in Baytown on Thursday and then an ATS-funded front group filed an identical case in a federal court in Houston on Friday. Residents in both cities signed petitions placing a ban on automated ticketing machines onto...

Fourteen Nassau County, New York red light cameras disabled while cameras destroyed in the UK may not be replaced or repaired. Vigilantes in Long Island, New York took out all fourteen red light cameras with a can of spray paint in the early morning hours of August 1, Newsday reported. Nassau County installed the automated ticketing machines in the hopes of generating $13 million in revenue and have no idea who is responsible for depriving officials of a day's worth of ticketing, an estimated ticketing revenue loss of $35,000. In Dorset, England vigilantes set fire to a speed camera last...

Several dozen Arizona speed enforcement cameras have officially stopped clicking earlier this morning as the state of Arizona officially killed a traffic enforcement program that failed to generate promised revenue. The state ended its two-year contract with Australia-based Redflex Traffic Systems, the company responsible for installing the cameras and processing imagery. A total of 76 fixed and mobile cameras will be removed from state streets and highways by Labor Day. The state said that drivers that have been snapped along Arizona highways before Friday morning are still responsible for paying the tickets. Drivers, however, are taking a different tune. “I...

PHOENIX -- Dozens of photo-enforcement cameras on freeways throughout the state are coming down this week. A total of 76 cameras will cease operation on Thursday. The photo-enforcement program, which was meant to catch speeders on Arizona's freeways, has been controversial from the beginning. The cameras first went up nearly two years ago. While the cameras have done a good job at snapping speeders, drivers have been ignoring the tickets. According to the Department of Public Safety, the cameras led to more than 700,000 tickets in the first year of operation. Many of those people, however, never paid the fines....

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The LAPD is pushing for an exemption of the city's boycott of Arizona when it comes to a contract with a company that operates L.A.'s red-light cameras. The issue was on the council's agenda for Tuesday, but they decided to postpone discussion until Wednesday. The council has to decide whether to continue doing business with American Traffic Solutions, based in Scottsdale, or honor its pledge to boycott Arizona. The company operates red-light cameras at 32 L.A. intersections, but the city's contract with American Traffic Solutions expires at the end of June. The LAPD urges the city...

ATS secures investment from Goldman SachsPhoenix Business Journal - by Patrick O'Grady Phoenix Business Journal Dave D’Amato, design and engineering manager for American Traffic Solutions Inc., works on a device that will take pictures of speeders. View Larger American Traffic Solutions Inc. is getting an investment boost from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help it meet increasing demand for its red-light and speed cameras. Although neither company would disclose the amount of the investment, ATS President James Tuton said it was a “significant” amount that will net the former investment house, now a bank holding company, two seats on the...

If you’ve ever been issued a traffic ticket by a red light or speeding camera, you will revel in the bittersweet justice one luck recipient bestowed upon his local nanny state police department. Upon receiving a speeding ticket in the mail, Brian McCrary followed the citation’s payment instructions and attempted to pay his $90 fine on the Bluff City Police Department’s (BCPD) website. Much to his surprise, he discovered its domain name was about to expire. Instead of paying his fine, McCrary saw it as a rare opportunity to literally ‘pay back’ the police department for violating his civil liberties...

Arizona governor orders strategic withdrawal of statewide photo radar contract. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's administration has officially canceled the state contract that authorized Redflex Traffic Systems to issue automated freeway speeding tickets. The program, started in 2008 by Brewer's Democratic predecessor Janet Napolitano, will be terminated according to statement issued earlier today to Australian Securities Exchange investors. "Redflex has now received formal notification from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) that the contract will not be renewed," Redflex stated. Although the official contract expiration date is July 1, inside sources expect speed vans to be pulled off the highways much...

People who ran a light recently at a South Seattle intersection known for red-light cameras have caught a break. The camera ...was stolen earlier this month and police are still searching for it. A police spokesman said they've identified a car they believe was involved in the theft, but the investigation is ongoing. The camera is owned by American Traffic Solutions, the vendor that contracts with the city. Under normal circumstances, the city pays $3,750 per month for the camera service. Between July 26, 2006 -- the first day a red-light camera ticket was issued in Seattle -- and May...

Virginia governor creates new type of ticket camera, expands red light cameras and approves shortening of yellow lights for profit. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) signed into law last week a proposal that would create an entirely new form of automated ticketing machine, an "airport business" camera. The move followed his approval last month of legislation designed specifically to revive his state's moribund red light camera program. Beginning in July, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will have the authority to hire a private company to operate a photo enforcement system that would mail tickets worth a maximum of $600 each...

Link only: http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100302/BREAKING01/100302022/1007/NEWS01/Supreme+Court+tosses+red-light+camera+violation++says+city+ordinance+violates+state+law

L.A. County red-light violation fines have jumped 65% to $446, Times review finds February 4, 2010 | 7:14 am Redlights In less than eight years, fines for red-light traffic violations in Los Angeles County have jumped nearly 65% from an average of $271 to $446. With traffic school fees, the total now exceeds $500. Ever-vigilant photo enforcement programs run by nearly 30 agencies across the county have added a new degree of efficiency to catching violators and capturing revenue to fund a variety of government programs. In November alone, Los Angeles County’s Superior Court system processed payments on an estimated...

Reporting from Sacramento - Speeding may be dangerous for drivers, but it could soon be a boon for California's fiscal health. Tucked deep into the budget that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled Friday is a plan to give cities and counties the green light to install speed sensors on red-light cameras to catch -- and ticket -- speeding cars. Those whizzing by the radar-equipped detectors at up to 15 mph over the limit would have to pay $225 per violation. Those going faster would be fined $325. That would add up to big bucks for cash-strapped California -- about $337.9 million...

instead of fewer accidents, the number of traffic accidents has gone up at most of the Los Angeles intersections where red-light cameras have been installed.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Cameras don't lie, so how do you argue with a picture that shows you breaking the law? A Clarksville attorney is going to try. A Redflex camera caught Mark Burton running a red light, and for the first time in middle Tennessee, the issue is being taken to court. At around 5:30 a.m., Burton ran a red light and a Redflex camera caught him the act. Still, Burton's attorney Greg D. Smith said there's no way his client should receive a ticket. "If you're on the road in the middle of the night, and you're not hurting...

National Motorists Association names the seven worst locations to be a caught driving on Labor Day. The National Motorists Association (NMA) released its list of the top seven locations to avoid over the Labor Day holiday. This year, the drivers' rights group highlighted areas where heightened use of automated ticketing machines threaten those who are just passing through. Chicago, Illinois The Windy City's network of red light cameras operated by a for-profit Australian company, combined with short yellow warning times at intersections, has already generated $110 million worth of tickets. The city plans to double the installations and push the...

Mr. Clark was exonerated of charges of felony vandalism and reckless endangerment for allegedly shooting out the lens of a redlight camera. Charges were dismissed because there was no consent, no search warrant, and evidence was not made available to the defense.

4 weeks, 10,000 traffic tickets Heath officials say they didn't expect such a windfall Saturday, August 1, 2009 3:01 AM By Josh Jarman THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH HEATH, Ohio -- City officials say they were shocked by the number of violations recorded during the first month of traffic-camera enforcement and decided to make it cheaper to protest multiple tickets. More than 10,000 violations had been recorded by Heath traffic cameras through Tuesday. At $100 apiece, that would net the city a little more than $830,000 after paying the vendor, Redflex, its share. In four weeks, the cameras will have generated an...

Hopefully you're not the sort to risk things by gunning it when the light turns yellow, pushing your (and our) luck, saving yourself a few seconds on the race to the next intersection, and sneering red light cameras. Maybe if you knew the kind of hardware in there you'd have more respect: Nikon's D2X digital SLR. We had no idea there were pro-level shooters in there, but a New York City couple certainly did, running around the city with a cherry picker and pilfering 22 of the things, all sold at pawn shops for a total of $88,000 $6,600 --...

I always get a chuckle when there is a victory against red light and speed cameras. They have morphed quickly into money machines from their avowed purpose of making our streets safer. However a citizens’ revolt is brewing and some of their tactics are both devious and creative. Some are more crude and direct efforts such as this one from the NY Post: "Two oddballs have been busted for swiping nearly 20 percent of the city's red-light cameras right under Big Brother's nose, The Post has learned." "They allegedly drove around town in a pickup truck with a cherry-picker to...

Area drivers looking to outwit police speed traps and traffic cameras are using an iPhone application and other global positioning system devices that pinpoint the location of the cameras. That has irked D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier, who promised her officers would pick up their game to counteract the devices, which can also help drivers dodge sobriety checkpoints. "I think that's the whole point of this program," she told The Examiner. "It's designed to circumvent law enforcement -- law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives."

Area drivers looking to outwit police speed traps and traffic cameras are using an iPhone application and other global positioning system devices that pinpoint the location of the cameras. That has irked D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier, who promised her officers would pick up their game to counteract the devices, which can also help drivers dodge sobriety checkpoints. "I think that's the whole point of this program," she told The Examiner. "It's designed to circumvent law enforcement -- law enforcement that is designed specifically to save lives." The new technology streams to iPhones and global positioning system devices, sounding off...

The City of Chicago lists that it currently has installed 141 Red Light Cameras. Spurred by the revenue generated by these cameras, several different suburbs have been installing them as well. Both the City of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs have expounded that these cameras are installed for the purpose of safety. Those of us that have been burned by the City over the past few years would certainly beg to differ, as the ticketing policy absolutely reeks of a revenue generation scam.

8,261 tickets issued in less than a year. The red-light-camera program dates to 1996, but has not run continuously because of legal and contractual issues. The city now has 12 cameras online and is preparing to activate three more. In late 2007, the City Council approved the current three-year, $4.5 million contract with American Traffic Solutions of Scottsdale, Ariz., which installs and maintains the cameras and processes photos. “In both management and technology, this program has improved by leaps and bounds,” said San Diego police Sgt. Joe Bane... the cameras have generated more tickets than anticipated, and the extra money...

What do you think of red light cameras?They are great. They give red light violators what they deserve. They are dangerous.Too many people get rear ended by panicked drivers. Too big brother. I just hate them.

On a vote that was so close that Farmington Mayor William Standley had to cast the tie breaker, officials of the Four Corners community rejected installing red-light cameras ... There are three municipalities in the state that use or are planning to use red-light cameras to enforce traffic laws: Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe.

Farmington attorney who opposes red-light cameras in Farmington is fighting two tickets he received after his cars were caught on camera zipping through Albuquerque intersections. He contends Albuquerque’s ordinance violates state law and the federal constitution. He says he wasn’t driving but purposely hasn’t asked family members who was.

Alabama governor to decide whether to retroactively declare illegally issued red light camera tickets legal. The Alabama state legislature this week sent a bill authorizing Montgomery's use of red light cameras to Governor Bob Riley (R) for his signature. The city has been using automated ticketing machines since May 2008, but the local measure authored by state Senator Larry Dixon (R-Montgomery) and state Representative David Grimes (R-Montgomery) is designed to retroactively protect the city from any lawsuit challenging the legality of the first $1 million worth of tickets already issued without authorization. "The city, by Ordinance No. 10-2007, hereby validated...

Billings, Montana plans to shorten yellow times to cash in before the state legislature bans red light cameras. Yellow times may shorten as the city of Billings, Montana rushes to install red light cameras before the state legislature has a chance to ban them. The Billings City Council voted 8-3 Monday to empower Redflex Traffic Systems, a private company based in Melbourne, Australia, to issue automated traffic citations in return for a cut of the revenue collected. Billings needs to act quickly because the state legislature last Thursday entered into final negotiations on legislation that would ban red light cameras....

Duncanville, Texas mayor silences anti-camera councilman by having him arrested. The mayor of Duncanville, Texas had a member of the city council arrested last Tuesday for speaking out against the use of red light cameras during an official meeting. The incident took place during the discussion of whether the city should spend $59,000 to make street repairs. Mayor David Green recognized Councilman Paul Ford to speak on the contract item. "Thank you," Ford said. "I want to let you know that earlier this evening during briefing, Mayor Green threatened me that if he told me to stop talking and I...

New York state legislature approves massive expansion in red light cameras. As budget deficits continue to soar at all levels of New York government, the state legislature on Tuesday approved a package of bills to provide relief through the use of red light cameras. The package of six bills extends new authority to use red light cameras to Buffalo, Nassau County, Rochester, Suffolk County and Yonkers. The legislature also gave the nod to New York City's long-held desire to increase by half the number of automated ticketing machines already installed. Each project is called a "demonstration program" that will produce...

Some Texas law makers are pushing a bill to get rid of all red light cameras in the state. Motorists who spoke with CBS 11 had varying opinions. Leticia Menchaca said her car was tagged down in Houston by a red light camera. She said she wasn't even in Houston. She hasn't had much luck with red light cameras. Colleen Pilgrim took a different view, saying she's tired of people running red lights all of the time and causing accidents. But she believes they were put in to create extra money for city governments. Representative Carl Isett of Lubbock has...

Red light cameras shut down across Italy in massive fraud scandal involving 109 public officials and contractors. Red light cameras are shut down across Italy as the largest ever government investigation into the illegal use of photo enforcement expands. Motorist complaints about being trapped at camera-equipped intersections with short yellow signal durations sparked the inquiry. Criminal charges of forgery and fraud are based on four basic complaints, many of which represent common practices in the United States. First, municipalities are accused of shortening yellow times to boost profit. Second, investigators found that municipal police never reviewed the camera fines. Instead,...

Among the bills signed into law by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Friday is House Bill 1568, which bans the use of cameras to catch motorists running red lights. Mississippi joins at least eight other states in banning the automated technology, including neighboring Arkansas.

St. Louis, MO- The city installed red light cameras at twenty intersections, and they've taken in nearly $2 million in fines since they were installed last summer. Traffic Law Center where spokesperson Ann Horner says she see flashes from the camera on a daily basis. Horner however says there are no consequences for not paying. She says if you have outstanding parking tickets you cannot renew your plates or driver's license, but there's nothing in place like that if you get a red light ticket. Horner says it's all unconstitutional because there's a presumption of innocence in this country, and...

In February 2006, the City of Gallatin unveiled the Automated Camera Enforcement System. The system, known as A.C.E.S., is designed to catch drivers running red lights at intersections. Rather than relying on police officers to perform this function, the cameras automatically trigger when a driver enters an intersection after the light turns red. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Gallatin is not alone. At least nine other communities in Tennessee... Red Light Cameras are sophisticated surveillance systems designed to catch drivers who run red lights. Though the majority of the systems in Tennessee focus on red light runners,...

The Minnesota Supreme Court delivers a unanimous decision striking down the legality of red light cameras. The supreme court found that Minneapolis had disregarded a state law imposing uniformity of traffic laws across the state. The city's photo ticket program offered the accused fewer due process protections than available to motorists prosecuted for the same offense in the conventional way after having been pulled over by a policeman. The court argued that Minneapolis had, in effect, created a new type of crime: "owner liability for red-light violations where the owner neither required nor knowingly permitted the violation." The court also...

drivers are celebrating after they fought their automated tickets for running red lights and won. This week, a Prince George's County judge threw out more than a dozen red-light tickets taken by a camera on Annapolis Road because the drivers never actually drove through the intersection. Now, transportation officials are demanding the cameras be removed. mobile red light cameras do not comply with federal and state standards. "This program is illegal, it is illicit and it is illegitimate because it's charging people for running red lights they have not run," Townsend said. Last June when the controversial cameras first went...