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Anecdotal, but we have/have had the red light infraction cams here in Naples/Collier County FL, for the past several years.
The idea was sound, as was the economics: the elected county board was sold on installing the cams to potentially reduce running red lights, and collect fines via licence plate id. They were installed at dozens of major intersections. Intersections here in greater Naples, FL are numerous and most have 2.75-4 min red lights = interminable waits for green lights, with most intersections only allowing a left turn on green arrow.
Some of those intersections were well marked as having cams in place and working, some not so much. The company that installed them 'for free', received a sizeable cut from each citation issued, whether or not the citation was actually ever paid by the owner of the car, (not necessarily the 'driver' at the time of being filmed.)
The running the red light portion was well embraced by even the anarchists...however, those citations were a small % of the citations: most of the citations were for 'rolling' through a right turn on red, that right on red is allowed at any intersection here, other than the few that are marked no right on red. Std stuff...
The main soft spot on most of those 'right on red' infractions was the design of the intersections themselves: to avoid a citation, one had to come to a full complete few second stop, behind the white crossing line, then noogie up toward the turn for a 'sightline' of oncoming traffic , pause, then make that right turn on red.
If one did that procedure, you had made a legal 'right on red' and did not get a ticket. If you did not do that exact and careful and thorough procedure, some admin cop later reviewing the tapes, would hit the button and the registered owner got the citation in the mail, often weeks/months afte the 'infraction'.
Obviously, many that were cited did not do that multi-step process, and when one did do the full stop, creep up, stop and look and then proceed, there were hundreds of rear end accidents by those behind that lead right hand turn car doing the 'proper' right on red process.
It was a ~2 year uproar over the right turn fiasco, many of the 'citations' were to seasonal out of state lic plated cars which were never paid, the company that ran the cams was earning considerable money, while the county was not, (county only got 'paid' their % when a car owner actually paid a fine), etc.
Most of those cams have come down; that is reasonable, yet not so good, as the red light runners know this. The average right turn on red driver continues to do what they always did = roll through the turn after some/partial/all of a full stop on red.
Obviously, pedestrians have the right of way in lighted intersection situs...my concern is the through the intersection red light runners, and the general overall lack of driving skills and observation skills, (approaching car speed, time, distance computing), that few drivers have, esp here in Geezerville FL, in winter season.
GL, mD
Last edited by motordavid; 02-13-2013 at 05:22 PM.
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