Conservatives and libertarians have correctly argued from the beginning that red light cameras are nothing more than a revenue-generation scheme. Now, this November, we have an opportunity to strike a blow against big government and vote down the red light camera ordinance.
The most important thing for you to do right now is to sign the petition posted online at Citizens Against Red Light Cameras. We need to have 20,000 valid signatures by the end of June so time is of the essence. Further complicating matters is the fact that we have to have the petitions signed and mailed in – the is no way to sign the petition online. Our goal is to have 35,000 signatures, as we expect the opponents of liberty to try and disqualify as many as they can.
The special interest groups funding the pro-camera campaign are kicking their PR machine into full gear. These groups are well-funded, politically-connected and have no problem distorting the facts to achieve their goal: creating a permanent revenue stream for the city and in the process vastly increasing the size and power of local government.
Some people may be on the fence about whether or not red light cameras are a good idea. Here are some points to keep in mind:
First of all, the entire argument that the pro-surveillance lobby makes is that digital surveillance increases public safety. In fact they have even named their front organization “Keep Houston Safe” in an effort to propagate the myth that red light cameras have somehow led to a decrease in accidents.
However, the basis of their entire campaign is false. An independent study conducted by Bob Stein of Rice University shows conclusively that intersections with red light cameras have on average experienced an increase in collisions. That’s right – accidents have actually increased at intersections where red light cameras were installed. The pro-camera crowd makes the false claim that accidents at monitored intersections go down, but this report shows that in order to make that claim they have to ignore the 132{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} increase in accidents at the “non-monitored” portion of the intersection, which includes cross streets and portions of the approach that fall just outside the camera’s eye.
The pro-surveillance lobby also says that the camera system is not about revenue; it’s about safety, they repeat it so often it sounds like a broken record. But if this were simply about safety there are many different steps that could have been taken before resorting to police state tactics. Some of the ideas that were never tried are things like lengthening and standardizing the timing of yellow lights; adding a countdown timer to the yellow light so that drivers approaching the intersection will know exactly when the signal will turn red; putting a 5-second delay between a red light and when the cross street signal turns green; and dozens of other ideas. Instead, the city went the lazy, expensive, big government route of installing digital surveillance systems. Or to put it even more simply, greed won the day.
This brings us to the money issue.
The City of
As if that weren’t enough, you don’t even have to pay the tickets. Because the tickets generated from red light cameras are civil and not criminal violations, the city has no way to enforce collection. The city of
FAILURE TO PAY CIVLIL PENALTY (a) If the owner of the motor vehicle fails to timely pay the amount of the civil penalty imposed against the owner:
an arrest warrant may not be issued for the owner; and(2) the imposition of the civil penalty may not be recorded on the owners driving record.(b) Notice of Subsection(a0 MUST be included in the notice of violation by Section 707.011(c)
In layman terms, the City is required to tell the recipient of the fines that failure to pay cannot result in a warrant for arrest for failure to pay. The City does not include this language in the notices it sends to citizens.( ignoring State Law) Furthermore the city has purposefully misled Taxpayers by implying that failure to pay the fine will result in the vehicle owner being unable to register their vehicle with the State.
Time and time again the City lies, misleads and takes advantage of our fellow citizens. It is a dishonest law that takes advantage of honest citizens. And its time that we hold the city accountable for their actions.
We could literally go on for pages with reasons to support taking down the red light cameras. And there is more that to come. But right now the most important thing is to get this initiative on the November ballot by collecting 22,000 verifiable signatures.
Make no mistake – running red lights is an awful thing and a serious problem in all big cities. It shows a callous disregard for the safety of those around you, and there should be consequences for those that put other people’s lives at risk. However, do not let the politically connected pro-camera lobby deceive you into believing that surveillance cameras do anything to reduce red light running or to increase public safety. Reject this big government power and money grab and demand solutions that actually work.
Visit the website, educate yourself on this issue. If you’re a City of
Click to visit Citizens Against Red Light Cameras website and be sure to sign the petition.