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Posted in: Red Light Camera News
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http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1640792796/No-green-light-for-Methuen-traffic-cameras
May 10, 2012
No green light for Methuen traffic
The Eagle TribuneThu May 10, 2012, 02:55 AM EDT
METHUEN — City councilors say the majority of residents are strongly opposed to police Chief Joseph Solomon's push for traffic cameras at select busy intersections.
"If I was to judge, I'd say a lot of people are against it," said Councilor Joyce Campagnone. "The feedback I've gotten is negative."
Councilor Ron Marsan said he's received comments from 17 residents about the cameras and all but one was against the idea. Councilor Michael Condon echoed a similar sentiment.
"I've got two (people) for it and about 40 or 50 against it," said Condon.
The traffic cameras are used to record video and still photos of vehicles running red lights or making illegal right-on-red turns. Violators are then mailed $100 citations.
In addition to enhancing public safety, Solomon has said red-light cameras at just three intersections would generate an estimated $3 million in annual revenue for the city.
But as it turns out, councilors likely won't be voting on the cameras any time soon.
State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell, D-Methuen, said yesterday that statewide regulations on traffic cameras will be needed before cities and towns move to enact guidelines of their own.
And though a House bill about traffic cameras has been filed, Campbell said any initial action on the issue will likely have to come first from Gov. Deval Patrick's administration.
Right now, Campbell said traffic cameras are more of a fringe issue on Beacon Hill.
"At the state level it's just not a priority, given the amount of legislation that's before us," said Campbell. "I think if the city of Methuen wants to move forward with this, it's going to take quite a bit of time."
When the issue of traffic cameras last came up about five years ago, Campbell said it was decided that a statewide framework would first have to be developed by lawmakers in concert with the Attorney General's office and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety.
No such framework has been drafted, Campbell said. "That's a long process," she said.
Without the ability to take action on the local level, City Council Chairwoman Jennifer Kannan said it's unlikely the council will vote on bringing traffic cameras to Methuen.
"I don't think you're going to see it on the council floor for a long time," said Kannan.
Posted in: Red Light Camera News
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AZ Stop Line Scam continues. Trigger line 24 to 38 feet PAST STOP BAR!
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/37/3790.asp
Arizona Governor Sides with Traffic Camera Companies
Arizona governor defies federal law in order to stand up for the photo enforcement industry.
Governor Jan Brewer (R) on Wednesday vetoed a measure that would have brought Arizona's definition of an intersection into compliance with federal law. In her veto message, Brewer said it would be too dangerous to adopt the same legal standard implemented across forty-eight other states.
"The law enforcement community has been very clear that widening intersections will increase the possibility of collisions," Brewer wrote. "Unfortunately, these concerns for public safety were not addressed. Changes to this definition merit significant discussion and appropriate stakeholder input."
The federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requires intersections to begin at a stop line or crosswalk, but Arizona currently defines an intersection as beginning at an imaginary line drawn the end of one curb to the other. State Senator Frank Antenori (R-Vail) introduced the legislation that would have brought the state back into compliance after noticing the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) had chastised the Grand Canyon State's practice.
"Some states are using the extension of the curb line to mark the boundary for red-light running regardless of whether there are stop lines or crosswalk," FHWA noted in a presentation on red light cameras. "This practice is not consistent with the meaning of the red signal in the MUTCD."
Brewer's veto message suggested there was not enough time to take input from "stakeholders," but a last-minute compromise to Antenori's bill postponed the legislation's effective date until January 1, 2014. Moreover, the bill would not have required any work or effort on the part of local traffic engineers or other municipal officials. The only difference the bill would have made was reducing the number of red light camera citations.
Under Arizona law, drivers may enter an intersection on a yellow light. By moving back the what constitutes the start of the intersection by 24 to 38 feet, vehicles have more breathing room to clear an intersection without getting a ticket. The bill has the same effect as extending the duration of a yellow light by 0.2 to 0.6 seconds, depending on the width of the intersection and the speed of traffic. The vast majority of straight-through red light camera tickets are issued in those first few tenths of a second.
The prospect of losing hundreds of thousands in revenue upset the top two players in the red light camera industry, American Traffic Solutions and Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia which both have offices in the Phoenix area. It also upset the city of Phoenix, which dispatched Walter Olsen, the officer in charge of the photo ticketing program, to complain about the proposal to lawmakers.
Brewer also has significant connections with the photo enforcement industry. In 2008, she put Jay Heiler http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/26/2621.asp in charge of hiring personnel to fill administration jobs during the transition. At the time, Heiler was a lobbyist for Redflex.
In 2009, FHWA specifically chastised the city of Tuscon http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/29/2990.asp for painting confusing and illegal intersection marking lines in an effort to generate red light camera violations.
Posted in: Taking on the Government
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(Gatso Vendor) Holly Hill Claim FULL OF IT! How do accidents "drop" 42% when ONLY 3% to 4% are even RLV RELATED!
Ban the Cams Commentary:
Recently a Tv Station did a "report" that the NCSR is harping on (ATS Front Group) " claiming that accidents INCLUDING REAR end went "down" "because of RLC.
quote: "Rear-end crashes decreased 57% in Orange County, 30% in Daytona Beach, 21% in Apopka and 15% in Orlando."
(read it here if you like http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2012/05/09/035586-national-coalition-for-safer-roads-red-light-camera-myths.html. IT LOOKS MORE LIKE A PRESS RELEASE than a article).
The problem with this claim is that even many "pro camera" reports ADMIT rear ends go up. Like this one: http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/virginia-dot-study.
The real question is WHO gave the TV station the data??? Did they get the data from the State on their own????? (if so what were the parameters, besides the RLC what else change too, in Chandler the IIHS attempted to use a engineering change as "proof" a rlc "worked" http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/33/3393.asp. also see: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/24/2404.asp).
OR WAS THE DATA "PROVIDED" by the cities???? Maybe with the help of he scamera compaines????? (Like this example: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/37/3703.asp
Quote: "Red light camera vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) is furious that police in Kansas City, Missouri released a report last week evaluating photo enforcement intersections without giving the company a chance to modify the data. In many cities, ATS plays a key role in authoring such studies"
(Note the police have been ORDERED to "collaborate" with ATS too: http://www.banthecams.org/Red-Light-Camera-News/kc-police-told-to-qcollaborate-or-at-least-consult-with-ats-before-releasing-more-info-on-rlc.html or http://www.kansascity.com/2012/01/24/3389558/kc-police-officials-request-more.html#storylink=cpy )
We already know of one town Arnold, where the CITY USED A DISTANCE Game to HIDE ACCIDENTS. http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/2011/02/10/ats-astro-turf-support-american-traffic-solutions-desperate-for-friends/ Did something like this take place in the Data potentially "given" to the TV station??? One Wonders.
(Dollar amount game is another one to play, only counting if the accident is $1,500, not $500 in damage).
Regardless read the thoughts of Paul Henry POINT OUT THAT THE CLAIM of 42% "drop" is NOT POSSIBLE WHEN "3 to 4 percent of all crashes" are RLV related.
Paul Henry's statement he shared with the reporter: http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2012/05/09/deland-to-negotiate-new-red-light-camera-contract.html
Ms. Whitney,
Your May 9, 2012 story about DeLand's red light cameras contained this statement:
Holly Hill City Manager James McCroskey said his city has contracted with Gatso for about a year. In that time, ...the city has seen a 42 percent drop in accidents at several intersections with red-light cameras, including LPGA Boulevard and Ridgewood Avenue and LPGA Boulevard and Nova Road.According to the Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles publication Traffic Crash Facts, in 2009, red light violations statewide were the cause of approximately 3 to 4 percent of all crashes (fatal-injury- and property damage). It is therefore statistically improbable that a red light camera, which is in place to prevent only that type of crash, could reduce these crashes to that extent. It appears to me the city is shading the data to present a more favorable outcome and may be including non-intersection crashes.
I'm requesting you or someone from your paper obtain the actual crash reports for the intersections where the red light cameras were installed for this time period as well as the year prior, and publish them for public review. You do not need to publish the driver personal data, but we do need to see the diagram to verify the crash took place within the intersection, as well as the coding for the contributing causes.
A similar study was done in the City of Dunnellon and it was learned that none of the crashes the city relied upon to justify the cameras involved a red light violation.
I am a retired Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant and during my career I worked as a traffic homicide investigator and also supervised a homicide squad. I would be glad to review the crash reports and make an accurate assessment.
Posted in: Legislative News
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http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/05/house_panel_kills_automated_re.html
Alabama House panel kills automated red-light camera bills for Jefferson County
Published: Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 3:06 PM Updated: Wednesday, May 09, 2012, 3:08 PM
By David White -- The Birmingham News The Birmingham News
MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- An Alabama legislative panel today in effect killed a plan that would have let any city in Jefferson County use automated red-light cameras if the city government adopted an ordinance to do so.
The delegation of members of the House of Representatives who represent Jefferson County voted 9-1 to carry over the plan, Senate Bill 545. The delegation co-chairman, Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, later said that vote effectively killed the bill.
The Jefferson County House delegation also killed separate bills that would have let the city governments of Vestavia Hills (Senate Bill 546) and Irondale (Senate Bill 534) use automated red-light cameras.
Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Hueytown, said she supported the bills because they were permissive: They would have let a city council use automated red-light cameras if it wanted to do so, but would not have forced any government to use them.
''It's a home-rule issue to me,'' Coleman said.
But Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Morris, said he feared some city governments might install automated red-light cameras mainly to raise revenue from tickets.
''Everybody's starving for revenue,'' said Treadaway, who opposed all three bills, which passed the Senate last week.
A bill must pass both the Senate and House to become law.
Posted in: Taking on the Government
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D.C. area can't get enough traffic cameras
May 05, 2012 -- 7:38 PM
Sat, 2012-05-05 19:38 Red-light and speed cameras continue to proliferate in the Washington area despite years of public opposition and even as other U.S. cities begin to abandon the controversial traffic programs.
Montgomery County last week added 10 new portable speed cameras and plans to install 20 more red-light cameras by the end of 2013. Prince George's County launched its own speed camera program in August, and the District added new speed cameras in November.
In Virginia, Arlington County, Fairfax City, Falls Church and Alexandria all have red-light cameras, though no speed cameras.
Advocates say the cameras slow drivers, protect pedestrians and prevent accidents.
"Ninety-five percent of the time, they are of significant assistance toward reducing speeding and cars entering intersections as pedestrians cross," said Terry Lynch, executive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations and a pedestrian safety advocate in D.C.
The cameras also rake in cash. Montgomery County netted $9.7 million from camera-issued tickets in 2011. D.C. Mayor Vince Gray used tens of millions in camera-ticket revenue to help plug a $172 million budget deficit.
Opponents say the cameras are fleecing motorists and may not always be accurate.
"It's absolutely criminal," said Oxon Hill business owner Will Foreman, who successfully contested three speeding tickets. "I think that the people involved with the [Forest Heights] traffic camera programs should be locked up on [racketeering] charges. You're laughing, but I called the FBI."
D.C. restaurateur Geoff Tracy hired a man to hold a sign warning motorists of a speed camera on Foxhall Road in Northwest after getting three tickets there.
It's that kind of citizen outrage that got traffic camera programs scrapped in Houston, Los Angeles and Albuquerque, N.M., over the last year. Other cities like Syracuse, N.Y., voted to ban the cameras before anyone even tried to install one.
No Washington jurisdiction that adopted the cameras has given them up. Cheverly switched contractors after a bike was cited for going 57 mph, but the city still uses the cameras.
Opponents say it may just be a matter of time before "camera hotbeds" like the Washington region start reconsidering the proliferation of traffic cameras.
"Virtually any time the public gets to vote in it, the cameras go by the wayside," said John Bowman, spokesman for the anti-traffic-camera National Motorists Association. "It will take a lot of time and a lot of grassroots effort -- that's really going to be the key to it."
Posted in: Studies Show
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US LARGELY WITHOUT PHOTO ENFORCEMENT, HAS LESS ACCIDENTS!
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/37/3788.asp
US Traffic Fatalities Continue to Decline
US fatality rate reaches an all-time low, even without widespread use of photo ticketing.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week that road fatalities in the United States are continuing their decline at a record-shattering pace. According to preliminary figures, the number killed on the nation's highways in 2011 per 100 million miles driven has dropped to an all-time low of 1.09, which is a full 25 percent drop from just six years ago. The total number of people who died on US roads last year dropped by the same percentage to 32,310.
"If these projections are realized, fatalities will be lowest on record (since 1949)," NHTSA's May 2012 "Traffic Safety Facts" explained.
The news was of so little consequence to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that it did not merit a mention either on his "Fast Lane" blog or his Twitter account, which covers a number of miscellaneous topics.
"Olver Transit Center a new energy-saving transportation star in Western Massachusetts," LaHood tweeted last week. "New transit center a true gem."
The Fast Lane blog instead covered issues like an online dialogue to improve transportation for veterans, the landing of a 787 airplane landing in DC, a cargo ship arriving in Texas, the Olver Transit Center, reviving inter-city passenger rail, toll road funding, and high school students making paper airplanes.
In Europe, countries that experience increased safety levels on their highways are quick to credit governmental policy -- especially the use of photo enforcement -- for the positive momentum.
"The UK has one of the best road safety records in the world," the UK Department for Transport boasted in 2010. "Safety cameras play an important role in helping to keep the country's road network safe."
In the United States, there is no statistical connection between the presence of cameras and the increase in safety. In fact, the upper northeast experienced the greatest increase in safety even though the region has the fewest red light cameras and speed cameras. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut either ban or decline to use automated ticketing machines. Only Rhode Island has a handful of cameras, yet the region posted a 7.2 percent accident reduction. By contrast, California and Arizona use photo enforcement extensively, yet fatal road accidents increased 3.3 percent in 2011.
A copy of the report is available in a 300k PDF file at the source link below.
Source: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2011 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5/1/2012) http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2012/us-tsf11.pdf
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