Smile, you’re on candid camera!
I remember as a kid trying to keep up to my dad. He walked a lot faster than I did, but to me, it always seemed like he was in a hurry. As I got older I realized he wasn’t in a hurry; he just had longer legs than I had. When we drove around the city, he would point out drivers who were driving much faster than other drivers and often said they were in a hurry to go nowhere. Sometimes, we would see drivers going through red lights. Unfortunately for those drivers, the next light was red and we would catch up to them there.
This still seems to happen throughout our driving community. When I’m teaching my students at Young Drivers of Canada, I ask them all if they’ve seen drivers going through red lights. There’s almost a unanimous show of hands when I ask that question. We start to discuss this slightly and we all find out that a lot of drivers they know will run through the red light on purpose. What do they have to gain from this?
Since this is still an ongoing concern, a lot of jurisdictions have installed red light cameras at intersections. These cameras are set up to take a photo of the intersection, the traffic light and the vehicle going through the red light; including the license plate number. There are warning signs to help educate the public with the real hope of having drivers stop safely when the light changes to yellow; or amber to those of us in the driving industry.
Recently, I spotted the flash of the camera going off for two separate drivers. They got caught going through the red light. The funny thing was the light they were both approaching was red, the roads were dry and there wasn’t another vehicle following them closely. So why did they run the light? What was their hurry?
With the high price of fuel, insurance and maintenance of vehicles these days, why would you add to the cost by having to pay a fine between $200 and $400 for running a red light? Quite often the jurisdiction puts up the warning signs of the red light camera to get drivers to slow down and stop when they can do so safely. And besides, that’s what the amber light really means anyway.
Other jurisdictions have photo radar to help catch speeders. They too take a photo of the vehicle speeding, along with the license plate and send along the ticket in the mail. Sometimes, it’s easy to spot the vehicle parked at the side of the road that has the camera in it. When Ontario had photo radar years ago, the camera was always in a van parked on the side of the freeway. The van was just like the warning sign. It gave you the chance to reduce speed. Plus, you never knew where it could be parked, so a lot of drivers drove a little slower; just in case it was parked nearby. The moment you saw a bunch of vehicles ahead of you braking, you knew the photo radar van was ahead. This gave you time to adjust your speed if you needed to.
I’ve been to other provinces that also have photo radar. Most of those areas have signs posted to warn you of the photo radar area, just like the red light camera warning signs. It’s a proactive way to help keep the speeds down in those areas. In some of those jurisdictions, you have to ensure you’re not over the speed limit by even one kilometre, or else you’ll get a ticket.
These are pretty harsh fees, just for having your picture taken. Maybe you could save yourself some cash if you all become camera shy!
The lousiest thing is when student drivers get red light or speed camera tickets. It’s something that wouldn’t happen if an actual police officer was the one pulling over the vehicle. There are usually really good reasons for the actions of drivers and unfortunately, automated ticket machines are all about revenue instead of safety.
Please re-read what you just wrote Bridget. The only difference I see between a camera ticket and an officer issued ticket is that with the officer issued ticket you receive points. You pay for points and as a student driver you lose your license for points. Looks to me like cameras give you a bit of a break!
Also, a violation is a violation. You know better (or certainly should if you don’t) and chose to disobey. Ultimately, whose fault is the ticket?
We don’t have points in Washington State. Camera tickets are like parking tickets…except they cost 10-20 times more. Here, they don’t affect a driver’s record or increase their insurance rates.
Traffic laws are for the safety of the community. Not stopping a violator at the time of the violation does nothing for safety. It’s just a revenue stream. Cities and private camera companies are making bank on the backs of the drivers in the name of traffic safety.
Collisions have not consistently decreased in camera patrolled intersections. Unfortunately, many cameras aren’t even placed in intersections that have high collision rates. See wikipedia’s red light camera article for links to the studies that have been done around the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_light_camera
So you know where I’m coming from, I have never received a red light camera or speed camera ticket. I support obeying the law. It is our fault if we are speeding, or not making a complete stop for a right on red, or even driving a car with a head light out, not passing in the passing lane, or not using a turn signal. But I don’t believe that all traffic violations are equal. Some are a lot more dangerous than others.
Thenewspaper.com follows this issue closely and I’ve appreciated reading what’s going on all over the U.S. (and especially in my state) on the topic. http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3493.asp talks about how camera companies are fighting against citizens and their right to dictate how they will be governed. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as obeying or disobeying traffic laws. The issue runs much much deeper.