Free Republic

<p>Those big, ugly early birds began circling over the corporate headquarters of the revenue-camera industry last week when federal prosecutors announced that felony corruption charges had been filed against the Chicago city official in charge of one of the world’s largest red-light camera operations. More dominoes are expected to fall as FBI agents take the investigation to other cities.</p>

Scott Renfroe's proposal has bipartisan support. Red light cameras and photo radar vans are hot button issues in Colorado. Police say they make intersections and roadways safer, but many motorists insist that the cameras and radar vans are used mainly to generate revenue. Today, Republican Senator Scott Refroe, of Greeley, introduced a bill to ban red light cameras and photo radar vans in Colorado. It’s his second attempt. The first one in 2012 went nowhere. This time, he has the backing of several prominent Democratic lawmakers ... Refroe’s bill will be heard next week in the Senate State, Veterans and...

The new law makes South Dakota the sixteenth state to stamp out red light cameras and speed cameras by statute or state court ruling ... the cameras violate due process, don’t make intersections safer and generate revenue more for the red light vendor than the community. ... Brekford, based in Maryland, reported last week that it is losing money. .. Redflex Traffic Systems in Phoenix has even bigger headaches. The firm has been the subject of a federal bribery investigation in Chicago for the past year.

A pilot program in which surveillance cameras were installed near traffic signals in Rochester to catch motorists running red lights has been upheld by a judge who rejected the constitutional challenges of an attorney whose vehicle was among those caught on camera. The law, V&T §111-b, allowed the city of Rochester to install up to 50 cameras at intersections and authorized a civil fine of $50. Under the law, the owner, whether or not he or she was driving the vehicle, is liable for the fine but can sue the actual driver for indemnification. The statute makes clear that a...

Florida drivers who unsuccessfully contest red light camera tickets will have to pay $250 in administration fees, in addition to the cost of the ticket, under a new state law that took effect this month. The state legislature authorized the higher administration fees despite revelations earlier this year that state and local governments surreptitiously reduced yellow light times at intersections with red light cameras in order to induce more red light-running and more ticket revenue. Local governments often view the red light cameras as revenue makers, serving as a form of hidden tax on motorists. However, the enhanced “tax” money...

You know about speed cameras and red-light cameras. But did you know about plate-reading cameras? Few people do, and that's a worry for the ACLU, which says the cameras are infringing on our civil liberties. Unlike the speed and red-light cameras, which are activated only when someone violates a traffic law, plate cameras photograph every license plate that goes by. Vehicles are instantly IDed then checked against cars associated with crimes, the Washington Post reports. The problem, says the ACLU, is that the license plate info is being stored, creating huge databases of motorists and where they travel—even though more...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Chances are, your local or state police departments have photographs of your car in their files, noting where you were driving on a particular day, even if you never did anything wrong. Using automated scanners, law enforcement agencies across the country have amassed millions of digital records on the location and movement of every vehicle with a license plate, according to a study published Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. Affixed to police cars, bridges or buildings, the scanners capture images of passing or parked vehicles and note their location, uploading that information into police databases....

Each day, thousands of cars—sometimes as many as 18,000—rolled along Elmwood Place’s streets, crossing the third-of-a-mile town to get to neighboring Cincinnati or major employers in bustling suburbs or heavily traveled Interstate 75. Many zipped by Elmwood Place’s modest homes and small businesses at speeds well above the 25 mph limit. Bedeviled by tight budgets, the police force was undermanned. The situation, villagers feared, was dangerous. Then the cameras were turned on, and all hell broke loose. Like hundreds of other U.S. communities big and small, Elmwood Place hired an outside company to install cameras to record traffic violations and...

Michigan lawmakers have introduced bills that would legalize unmanned red light cameras in the state. The bills, House Bill 4763 and 4762, were introduced May 22 by Reps. Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, and Thomas Stallworth III, D-Detroit. The bills define running a red light that's caught on camera as a civil offense. That differs from a 2007 opinion from then-Attorney General Mike Cox, who said Michigan law recognizes red light running as a criminal violation, and the law was not authorized for photo ticketing. On Tuesday, the House Transportation Committee heard testimony on the matter. A representative from a safety...

<p>Those traffic cameras drivers hate and municipal bean counters love have brought a small village in Ohio to a grinding halt.</p> <p>Elmwood Place (pop. 2,188) has seen four of its six Village Council members resign amid public outrage over a flurry of fines issued by the cameras. The devices have raised nearly $2 million for the tiny Cincinnati suburb, but angry drivers and shopkeepers complain the ticket blitz from above could turn downtown Elmwood Place into a ghost town. Now, with two-thirds of the council gone, partly in protest over the cameras, the governing body can't reach a quorum to conduct the people's business.</p>

Contrary to its claims, the City of Chicago’s red light cameras are not based on safety, according to an Inspector General (IG) audit of the program that brought in more than $71 million in revenue for the city last year. The audit, released on May 14, sought to determine if the city’s 384 red light cameras were installed based on the Chicago Department of Transportation’s (CDOT) “stated primary criterion of reducing angle crashes to increase safety.” The IG found no evidence to support the city’s rationale for the program, which is to “increase safety on Chicago streets.”

It is a petition to end what many Tucson drivers describe as a traffic light trap. John Kromko is the man behind the petition. His group, Tucson Traffic Justice, claims the cameras are a scam. ... Ditching the cameras is not as far-fetched as it may seem. More and more cities are shutting down the system including San Diego, Los Angeles and Tempe.

The president, chief financial officer and top lawyer for Chicago's red light camera company resigned this week amid an escalating corruption scandal that has cost Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. its lucrative, decadelong relationship with the city. The resignations came as Redflex said it was winding down a company-funded probe into allegations of an improper relationship between the company and the former city transportation manager who oversaw its contract until 2011, a relationship first disclosed by the Tribune in October. A longtime friend of that city manager was hired by Redflex for a high-paid consulting deal. The company recently acknowledged it...

El Cajon may be the next city to put a stop to red light cameras. ... San Diego removed its red light cameras last month

Two months after the City Council thought they voted to add more red-light cameras, Mayor Bill Foster slammed the brakes on the increase. Foster's announcement came at a council meeting Thursday after a frequent camera critic pointed out possible problems with the timing of yellow lights at intersections with cameras. Resident Matt Florell gave council members a report this week that showed that 1,645 drivers might have received improper citations because the yellow lights changed to red quicker than they should have in some intersections. Foster said he needs more time to examine the program because the cameras are generating...

Red-light cameras are gaining popularity across the country. Now, New York City is being sued after it was accused of rigging the lights to catch more drivers and write more tickets. They’re “gotcha” cameras, mounted at intersections. Their photos catch and fine drivers running red lights. New York City first had them in 1998. ... By federal law, drivers have to have enough time to get through a yellow light — three seconds at the typical 30 mph intersection. Back in October, engineers at AAA New York discovered a problem. At some intersections with the cameras, the yellow lights were...

The Rochester, NY, Democrat & Chronicle reports that city of Rochester employees have committed at least 119 red light violations while driving city vehicles. But, unlike John Q Public, the violators have their fines waived.

BEVERLY HILLS (CBS) — Los Angeles pulled the plug on red light cameras after concerns about safety and fairness. Beverly Hills still has the cameras in use, one of the last cities in Southern California to use the cameras to catch violators. A CBS2 investigation says the camera at one intersection — namely Wilshire and Whittier — could be violating state law … and if that is the case, many of those tickets could be null and void. David Goldstein reports. Barbara vividly recalls the changing yellow at Wilshire and Whittier. “Here’s the yellow right there. How fast was that?”...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) -- The state Senate has approved a bill that requires red-light cameras to be used for public safety and not for generating revenue from traffic fines. The measure passed unanimously yesterday and now goes to the assembly. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill, saying the red-light camera program should be overseen by local officials

DES MOINES — The Iowa House voted Tuesday to ban red light cameras on a 58-42 vote that broke largely — but not completely — along party lines. The bill now goes to the Senate, where there seems to be little chance that it will make it to the floor for a vote. The legislation took a long route to Tuesday’s vote. A camera ban had momentum at the start of the session, including tentative support from the governor and one legislator offering a constitutional amendment to ban the devices in the state. But as the session wore on, support...