Red Light Cameras: Just When You Thought They Were Gone for Good

More than a decade ago, the city of Greensboro had a red light camera program. Many citizens doubtless felt this was a highly inappropriate effort.

Of course, Greensboro is a progressive/socialist "paradise", so its leaders and bureaucrats probably thought this was a great idea. However, they ran into a problem with state law. Apparently, the legal framework is that the vast majority of the revenues must be redirected to the county school system. When this requirement was imposed, Greensboro quickly walked away from the program.

Now, Bob Grenier and Roch Smith are telling us that the city's bureaucrats and city council members are eager to reinstitute the program. 

But there are several dynamics of which to be aware:

1. As noted above, the county school system gets most of the money. That has apparently not changed.
2. Cities typically contract with a vendor to run the program; and that vendor might get as much as one-third of the revenue.
3. Traffic fatalities are likely multifactorial, and red light cameras will not necessarily correct the issues that lead to many traffic fatalities-- alcohol abuse; inexperienced, young drivers; and otherwise impaired drivers, for instance. The cameras therefore are mostly a revenue-generating scheme for the school system and the outside vendors.

So why are they doing this? They want to monitor us, record our habits, and punish us if we transgress. They want to control our behavior, and take our money.

It is interesting that during recent years we have seen a glorification of the relatively new phenomena of craft beer and local brewing and small distilleries. Greensboro has amply celebrated this trend. Of course, the media glorification tends to deliberately overlook the fact that many of the customers will exit these establishments, and proceed to drive their vehicles elsewhere. It is hard to see how red light cameras will reliably prevent incidents associated with these customers getting inebriated. 

Ask Tiger Woods' girlfriend.

Citizens in the city ought to revolt against this effort.

Comments

[Fred Gregory]

The General Assembly should follow Texas's led.

Texas Poised To Ban All Red Light Cameras

The oft-abused tool is used more to raise revenue than to protect public safety.

https://reason.com/2019/05/20/texas-poised-to-ban-all-red-light-cameras/

[Triad Conservative]

Great idea, Fred. I wonder if it could pass.