The Washington Times wrote an editorial today about public perception when it comes to fraudulent red light cameras and photo radar systems.
These mechanical money snatchers have been hated worldwide since their proliferation began, but around the Washington D.C. beltway, they’re beginning to be exposed as a revenue scheme just as they have in the testing ground cities like Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
Ed Martin, who is running for AG in the state of Missouri has a strong anti-camera stance and calls camera supporting politicians exactly what they are, “pay-to-play” cronies.
The video speaks for itself and bravo to Ed Martin for standing up to the scamera mafia in the Show-me state.
In an effort to chip away at the incredible amount of profit that Redflex Traffic Systems and American Traffic Solutions skim from motorists, cities and courts in Arizona, legislature has sent a bill to governor Jan Brewer that would rid the state of imaginary red lines inside the stop bar of a crosswalk that are used to justify 100,000s of illegal red light camera tickets.
[The diagram above represents the new definition of an intersection (red) in Arizona, if Governor Brewer signs HB 2557]
That’s the good news. The bad news is that it won’t take effect until 2014 and may not ever need to be enacted, considering the political pressure mounting every year for the state to make photo ticketing illegal outright.
In fact, legislation which has been introduced in the last two sessions which would ban photo ticketing will be introduced again in the Summer 2012 legislative season, according to various opponents of the system and activists who have been fighting for to outlaw it since 2008.
The Republican dominated senate had the final say yesterday on sending this bill, which had been modified several times, to the governor.
Nanny-state stalwart, Linda Gray, who admitted earlier in the session to voting against a ballot measure to ban photo ticketing because an email from an activist in the CameraFRAUD group to Senator Adam Driggs upset her after reading it.
Also voting against the bill from the Republican side was Jerry Lewis, no not that one, who feigns ignorance about the dangerous conditions caused by installation of speed and red light cameras, but then continues to vote in favor of them each time.
If anything, this bill is a litmus test of where the governor stands on the issue and will further the debate about the eventual ban of the system in Arizona. Motorists across the state and those who come to visit can’t wait to see the system scrapped in favor of proper signal timing and careful engineering at intersections.
The question now is will Brewer sign it or cave to the pressure of her transition team manager and Redflex honk, Jay Heiler.
After years of being scammed out of money, while being forced to drive through intersections with a combination of sub 3 second yellow light times and flashing metal boxes, a couple Chicago residents have filed what could be an incredibly massive class action lawsuit against the city.
The suit alleges that for at least three years, from 2003 to 2006, the city operated the red light camera system without a valid ordinance to legalize it, meaning that more than $100 Million in fines may have to be refunded to all the motorists who were scammed by the city and Redflex Traffic Systems.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has worked directly for a lobbyist firm, Resolute Consulting LLC, that has Redflex as a client. The mayor could have some pretty upset pals over at Resolute, including Greg Goldner who is also in line for huge profits if Emanuels speed camera scheme is enacted.
Also on Wednesday, Chicago’s city council approved of the speed cameras that Emanuel spent the entire Fall session of Illinois state legislature bullying political foes and allies into passing.
The new speed cameras wouldn’t necessarily be affected by the suit even though the plaintiffs are stating the entire red light program is illegal, regardless of the 2006 camera ticketing ordinance that was passed through city council.
This is a complicated situation indeed, but hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, so the red light scammers from Redflex simply cannot afford to back down.
Chicago really does have contempt for motorists and it’s surprising that it’s taken this long for them to fight back. Even in the above news video, the yellow light is clearly less than 3 seconds, which is not only below Federal standards, but is extremely dangerous.
You have to hand it to Chicago and Redflex, they’ve pulled off quite a scam, right in plain sight, for almost a decade.
