Posted January 27, 200817 yr Red-light cams on way? BY JANE PRENDERGAST | CINCINNATI ENQUIRER January 27, 2008 CINCINNATI - Sometime this year, Cincinnati city leaders hope, cameras will start photographing drivers running red lights. A ticket might mean $100 to the person snapped behind the wheel, but the city's counting on a lot more - $1 million in fines to help balance its 2008 budget.
February 29, 200817 yr Cincinnati Progressive Action (CPA) Supports NAACP Petition to Stop Red-Light Cameras Friday, February 29, 2008 Posted by Media Release Cincinnati Progressive Action (CPA), an activist human rights organization, supports the Cincinnati chapter of the NAACP in its campaign to prevent red-light cameras from being installed in the city. "We don’t need big brother watching us,” said Dan La Botz, a spokesperson for CPA. “This is another example of government surveillance, different perhaps than monitoring our phones and email, but also an intrusion. It’s also another scam by some security company to make money off Cincinnati.” “The city’s motivation is to increase revenues by $1 million a year, so this becomes another tax on ordinary citizens rather than a tax on the corporations or the wealthy,” said La Botz. “If the council wants to raise money, let the city tax business transactions as it once did. Tax stock transactions and stock options, not working people on their way to their jobs.” “City Council has made it clear that this is about raising money, not safety. Increasing surveillance on the citizens of Cincinnati is not justifiable or wise policy. It’s another unfortunate example of the city’s ongoing ‘war on the poor,’ and I suspect that if implemented, the placement of red light cameras would illustrate that point,” said Linda Newman, another CPA spokesperson. “The government can already tap our phones and read our emails at will, without warrants, with the flimsiest of excuses,” said Newman. “We strongly resist our local government adding to this ‘big brother’ world of surveillance with this unnecessary program.” CPA members will join NAACP members in collecting the more than 8,000 signatures to get a charter amendment banning the cameras on the ballot in November. If approved, the amendment would block City Council’s plan to install the cameras. City officials say the cameras, designed to catch drivers who run red lights, would net an additional $1 million a year from tickets.
March 1, 200817 yr Am I the only person who is confused as to why this is such a big deal to some people? I could really care less if they are or are not installed.
March 2, 200817 yr Red Light Cameras increase the likelihood of Motorists hitting the brakes hard when they should in fact safely coast through an intersection. This sudden braking increases the likelihood of rear end collisions. That's the safety argument. The "Americans are paranoid" argument is that red light cameras are a manifestation of Big Brother watching you, but everyone knows that the administration of Oceania started watching us from space years ago.
May 5, 200817 yr Group: No red-light cameras BY JANE PRENDERGAST | [email protected] The coalition that led the fight last fall against Hamilton County’s jail tax has reunited and added new players – this time to try to stop Cincinnati from using cameras to catch red-light runners. Led by local NAACP branch President Christopher Smitherman, WeDemandAVote.com announced its intentions at noon on the steps of City Hall. It hopes to collect 8,000 signatures by Aug. 1 to put a charter amendment on the ballot that would stop the city from ever using red-light cameras. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080505/NEWS01/305050089
May 6, 200817 yr Heck with the cameras, we can just wait for the red light runners to cause accidents then get them. There only going to get church-going, law abiding citizens. Running red lights is completely harmless. SUV slams into bus Passengers thrown into aisle; 8 and driver sent to hospitals BY DENISE SMITH AMOS | [email protected] A Metro bus driver and eight passengers were treated at hospitals Sunday after a sport utility vehicle rammed the bus and knocked it into a street pole in front of City Hall. Police said a Chevy Suburban ran a red light at Ninth and Plum streets and hit Metro bus No. 33. The driver of the Suburban, Orlando R. Crawford, 26, of Lincoln Heights, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated and disregarding a red light, police said. The accident occurred about 12:25 a.m. To read more: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080505/NEWS01/805050319/1077/COL02 Another Metro bus struck THE ENQUIRER WEST END – A motorist was cited after he ran a red light and crashed into a Metro bus Monday. It was the second Metro accident in less than 48 hours that involved a driver who disregarded a traffic light. The car hit the bus just after 7 p.m. near Central Parkway and Linn Street, police said. There were seven passengers on the bus, said Metro spokeswoman Sallie Hilvers. None required treatment. To read more: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080505/NEWS01/305050110
June 13, 200817 yr Red-light cameras can be done right http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/06/16/editorial1.html
June 13, 200817 yr Does anyone know what the installation of red light cameras have to do with the advancement of colored people?
June 13, 200817 yr The NAACP probably feels that the placement/use of the cameras will unfairly target the black population.
June 13, 200817 yr Red light cameras started appearing here (warren county) about 2 years ago, and now there are probably 50 or so throughout my city (seriously, four at nearly _every_ signaled intersection). That somehow makes me doubt whether they're real cameras...and I've never seen one of them flash. Then again, I've never seen someone run a red light.
June 13, 200817 yr ^Could you be confusing those with the cameras used to que the signals--some cities (ie. Middletown) use them instead of loop sensors in the pavement.
June 17, 200816 yr Mallory: I'll veto red light cameras Since there is nothing wrong with paraphrasing, the gist of the story is that Mallory does not believe goal of red light cameras has been realized in the plan (safety), and as such will veto the ordinance. Hmm, low velocity intersections not seeing any major safety improvements thanks to cameras, possibly because rear end accidents increase with cameras... you don't say. Sounds like a money making scheme to me as well.
June 24, 200816 yr Upcoming warning: You're being watched http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080623/NEWS01/80623006/1055/NEWS
August 6, 200816 yr Red light camera veto today? http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080806/NEWS0108/308060074/1055/NEWS
August 20, 200816 yr Red light cameras headed to ballot http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080820/NEWS0108/308200055/1055/NEWS Cincinnati voters could decide in November whether the city should ban red-light cameras and change to a new, weighted way to elect City Council members – if the elections board validates enough of the nearly 30,000 signatures supporters collected for both issues. Led by Christopher Smitherman, president of the Cincinnati branch of the NAACP, supporters of the camera ban and the change to proportional representation – “PR” for short - announced this afternoon that they’ve collected 14,015 signatures on anti-camera petitions and 15,352 for PR. They need 6,200 legitimate signatures from registered city voters for each issue.
November 6, 200816 yr Issue 7 to ban the use of red-light cameras passed 51% to 49%. http://data.cincinnati.com/misc/elections/races.aspx?ct=hamilton&rid=44
November 6, 200816 yr Oh yeah! Red light camera are terrifying! I'm pretty sure this outlaws speed cameras as well.
November 6, 200816 yr There aren't any red light cameras in the city and the Mayor said he would have vetoed any attempt to install them, so this ban has the same legal effect as banning unicorns
November 6, 200816 yr It is a symbolic stick in the eye of the red-light camera industry, which is one gigantic boondoogle.
November 6, 200816 yr Google around a bit. Red-light cameras make roads less safe, especially for drivers. They are sold purely as a revenue generator and cities are often encouraged to mess with their lights (timing) to maximize revenue generation. If you want to crack down on running reds, sit a cop at the intersection, but cameras should be for taking pictures of children and buildings.
November 6, 200816 yr As a regular pedestrian, I'm disappointed. As a traffic engineer, I can tell you that as a pedestrian you should be elated.
November 7, 200816 yr Call me stubborn, but I really don't buy the theory that they make the roads less safe. They don't have to be at every intersection, but accident prone corners...I feel that it would benefit the pedestrian. When conditions improve, they should be able to move them to new hot spots. I'm sure they can be done right.
February 3, 200916 yr I realize that this is kind of a dead issue in Cincinnati at this point, but I saw this article today and reminded me of this thread: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/02/italian-red-light-cameras-rigged-with-shorter-yellow-lights.ars Italian red-light cameras rigged with shorter yellow lights By Jacqui Cheng | Last updated February 2, 2009 8:15 It's no secret that red light cameras are often used to generate more ticket revenue for the cities that implement them, but a scam has been uncovered in Italy that has led to one arrest and 108 investigations over traffic systems being rigged to stop sooner for the sole purpose of ticketing more motorists. As if red-light and speed cameras weren't already controversial enough, a recent discovery in Italy is sure to send all drivers over to the Hatorade stand. A programmer and 108 other individuals are being investigated for rigging a "smart" traffic light system to purposefully trap drivers and fine them for violations, with some speculating that up to a million Italian drivers have been unfairly slapped with fines.
February 3, 200916 yr Baltimore City did that, a traffic engineer got a red light violation, found out the yellow clearance was intentionally set short, subsequently sued the city and won. It was a big deal, apparently. I imagine such a money making tactic is used more often than you'd think. Also, if you ever get a red light violation and wish to fight it, here is the incredibly simple equation to calculate the required yellow time: Y = t + V/(2a+2Ag) Y= Yellow clearance interval in seconds t= reaction time (use 1 second) V= 85%percentile approach speed in ft/sec [can use speed limit, don't forget to convert to ft/sec!] a= deceleration rate of a vehicle(use 10 ft/sec/sec) A= Acceleration due to gravity (32.2 ft/sec/sec) g= percent grade in decimal form(+for upgrade,- for downgrade) this is unknown.
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