Red Light cameras, Chapter 7

      Los Angeles has become the latest city to change its mind about the cameras that take photos of cars that fail to stop at red lights. The tickets are then mailed to the car's owner.

     Montogmery has had them for over a year.

     And now Montgomery has been given permission from the State Legislature to add speed cameras.



    

Another Red Light Camera Chapter

...The Florida version, where the state House came close to repealing the law authorizing them.

Here in Alabama, the bill authorizing speed cameras in the city of Montgomery is making its way through the Legislature and has already been approved by the Senate.

Senator Dick Brewbaker is the sponsor, and he lives outside the city of Montgomery, in Pike Road, (The 25th District covers parts of Elmore and Montgomery Counties.)

The Florida article linked above points out that a group supporting red light cameras---The National Coalition of Safer Roads-- is a front for the camera manufacturers. The warmer sounding the name of special interest groups, the less I trust 'em.

Red Light Cams

     They're all over in Montgomery, and Birmingham is considering installing them too.

     Red Light Cameras....with speed cameras to follow.

     They take pictures of cars that run red lights or speeding and mail the owners a ticket. Most of the money goes to the companies that provide the equipment, but the city gets a slice too.

    Now an interesting experiment in California calls into question just how fair the red light cameras are, when a 7/10 of a second adjustment in the length of the yellow signal can cause a 62% drop in the tickets the machines generate.