Arizona Stupid law?

[AKaiser]

The Photo radar units are all over the place, now. Our freeways are loaded with them. At night, you see the "flashes" all the time & lots of them. Many of these are stationary units.



During the Thanksgiving weekend, the State had portable units stationed every 20 miles along the major freeways crossing the state of AZ.



The portable units are being placed on a lot of surface streets,also.



I don't mind actually getting caught by an officer as much as a camera. I can see the point of those that don't mind the cameras but, I worry about when the government will start to think that its OK to put the cameras everywhere. Where do they stop? Inside your home? Your bedroom? It's like "Big Brother is Watching"!!!



Those that seem to lean to the Left don't seem to mind these intrusions. I do!!!. Where does it all stop???



BTW, I don't speed much at all. I'm 62 & have never had a speeding ticket. I realize that some government involvement in our lives is necessary but, less is better, in my opinion.



Joe F.

Where the public draws the line.

 

[dseabaugh]

Same law in Missouri. I was also told when I got my new plates Monday to cut up the old ones before they are disposed of because people are having their licenses suspended for red light camera tickets because the hoodlems are stealing old plates out of the scrap and running lights with them.

 

[JoeCanuck]

It's easy to say, "just don't speed". I have found that more and more places have speed cameras at locations where speed limits are artificially low.

If there are roads where people are speeding but there aren't any accidents, that is an indication of an artificially low speed limit. You will notice that these places are regularly targeted by radar cops. That radar location is there merely for revenue enhancement, not public safety.

For anyone to claim otherwise is insincere and insulting. It's about time that cops spent more time serving and protecting instead of skulking and collecting.

 

[JEstes]

What Buffalo had mentioned is, in legal terms, called a "Slippery Slope". Once a law is passed and establishes a precedent, it then becomes much easier for other similar laws to be passed as well. With each passed law, the public figures, "Oh well. It's not that much different than where we were".

A good example of that would be gas prices. If prices went up by $. 08 a month, most people would say, "Oh, I'm not going to miss eight cents. " Then one day, those people will wake up and freak out when they realized gas cost a over dollar more than it did last year...

 

[Grizzly]

I know red light cameras are a big nuisance, but on the other hand they have made me aware and made me pay attention to my speed and running red lights. Knock on wood, I haven't been caught yet.



All we have to do is pay attention to our speed all the time and watch all red lights and stop signs. I know, they're there to collect revenue first, but they do save a lot of crashes.

 

[MVenditti]

Here in new york city we have some highway patrol cars with 2 cameras of some kind that scan the lanes as the officer drives reading plates and automatically checking them on the computer for any violations or auto theft.

 

[MVenditti]

Pullya, Why the big rant? I was not complaining, just stating a fact about the tech that is out there now.

 

[wcoomes]

Good thought AK, you like having the speed Nazis run your life? In Arizona the Gov has admitted the cameras are nothing but a money maker for the state. A tax without the peoples approval. I don't drive much over 5 mph so the cameras don't take my money. . It's the principal of the idea. A BUNCH of the money goes to the contractors who are really pushing this stupid idea.

They are starting red light cameras here in Indianapolis, and you're right. They are doing them not because it's the right thing to do, they are doing them to make money. I think that's why they sarted the lottery which led to gambling, but that's another subject. The city/state doesn't even pay for the camera or the installation, the contractor installs it and send a portion of the money collected to the state. How does the camera know when there is a right turn on red allowed and when its not? And the owner of the vehicle gets the ticket -- not the driver! Didn't mybusters prove there wasn't a way to beat these cameras?



Annotated Mythbusters: Episode 73: Beating the Speed Camera, Exploding Nitroglycerine Patches (with Defibrillators)

 

[DGamelin]

I seen a report on tv that some of the contractors are making more money then the city is. And some city is loosing money and trying to stop the contract they have, serves them right.

 

[SNGLESHOT]

Photo tickets ARE big business

It is indeed big business. I am currently stationed here in AZ (Army) and the fines they are pulling in is outrageous. The city's have contracts with ACS (formerly Lockheed-Martin) that supplies most of the photo ticket devices and when Mesa city lengthened the yellow light time (to prevent read end collisions) the number of photo generated tickets dropped and guess what happened? ACS complained! So the city of Mesa had to re-negotiate their contract with ACS and they now have a clause that states they have to pay ACS $73 for every fine levied if the number of red light violations drop below 10! Go to the photoblocker site BLOCKPHOTORADAR.COM
(I am not a dealer) and watch video number 3. It explains it a lot better than I can. It is cleary a money generator for the citys and the contractors... a win-win situation for THEM... but not for us. If you break the law then you deserve a ticket... but when they shorten the yellow light time it is obvious that they WANT you to get a ticket when you dont really deserve one. #@$%!

 

[FFeiller]

a lot of the cameras in the SanFrancisco Bay area aren't even on because it cost to much to run them.



they are also used to monitor the public, not just drivers. any time there is a crime committed they turn to the signal cameras to see if the crime was caught on tape.

 

[Adventure Bob]

The problem with this and the stop light timing issue is that there are massive amounts of data out there that support increasing green times and increasing the speed limits. This however would proportionately lower revenue generation. It's an easy collection system worth billions to state governments every year. When someone stands up and says lets raise the speed limit, those who are making money always play the "my god people will die!" card. Its the same thing they said when we jumped back to a 65/75 speed limit on the interstates. According to them, the highways woiuld be covered in blood by allowing the change. Guess what? The death rate didn't go spinning out of control because people went 10 miles an hour faster. So in those areas where there are cameras citizens have to ask, what's the problem with simply raising the speed limit? If there truly is a safety concern then they may be the right place for them. In most cases it's just about money.

 

[Loren]

Those that seem to lean to the Left don't seem to mind these intrusions. I do!!!. Where does it all stop???



Joe F.

Joe,



Isn't it interesting that the same people who don't mind these intrusions think that the government has no business making laws about sexual conduct. Many of them also think that drug use (a so-called victimless crime) should be legal.



Another contradiction in logic is the fact that some people think abortion is okay, but execution for murderers is not. Or that you should tolerate whatever aberant behavior I do, but I don't have to tolerate even an unintended slight from you.

 

[Loren]

The problem with this and the stop light timing issue is that there are massive amounts of data out there that support increasing green times and increasing the speed limits.

Bob,



I think that what the studies show (according to Walter Williams, the economist) is that increasing the length of the YELLOW light will result in a dramatic decrease in people running red lights.



My understanding is that when a government contracts with a vendor to install the red-light cameras, the government agrees NOT to increase the time of the yellow light. Naturally, that action would result in a loss of revenue to both parties.

 

[FFeiller]

back when muscle cars rulled and $5-$10 a gear on street drags, we use to count the lights, 4 count 8 count etc to get the jump. i still count the lites to gauge when i absoultely have to stop or go because it will turn red or green. human nature says if it is a 4 count i will push the 4 if 8 i will push the 8. i believe if the lites stay yellow longer we will still push the limits and nothing will change. hell it is so common even with the signal cameras, people run the lites.