For any idiot who thinks it's about safety

[terry251]

Check your jurisdiction, but I'll bet you will find that the red light and speed camera systems in place are operated by private companies. They process the film, send out the notices and collect a major fee on each ticket, and pass on the small remainder of the fine to the local government. In most cases, if you ignore the summons they send a collection agency after you...not the cops. Their summonses and notices of adverse action look very official, but they are, in fact, a collection notice, not a threat to arrest from the local law enforcement agency. They don't personally serve the original ticket or the failure to pay notification, and they can't arrest you for ignoring them.

In my experience, if the private company doesn't see the expected amount of revenue from a particular location (speed camera or red light camera) they lobby for shortening the yellow light or lowering the speed limit. That is garbage. Our elected officials should be setting these parameters based on advice from their traffic engineers, not a private company that profits from the decision.

By the way, I don't dispute the potential effectiveness of the technology. I just don't think a private company should profit by using tax payer supported law enforcement to enrich themselves. If the technology and results are effective as purported - government should purchase and operate it themselves. The reason they don't...because they collect a fee without expending any resources.

Rant Off.

Terry

[427sharpe]

On private companies and public $;
Our esteemed Gov., Rick Perry, has tried for some time to sell roads in Texas. Basically, a foreign company agrees to build a roadway to TxDOT spec, then gets to make it a tollway....forever. He still tries to sell this as a good idea. Makes you wonder where all that lotto money goes, 'cause it sure isn't into education!

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by 427sharpe

Makes you wonder where all that lotto money goes, 'cause it sure isn't into education!

I don't know, that seems smart to me

[1ntCobra]

Originally Posted by terry251

...

I just don't think a private company should profit by using tax payer supported law enforcement to enrich themselves. If the technology and results are effective as purported - government should purchase and operate it themselves. The reason they don't...because they collect a fee without expending any resources.

...

Actually I don't understand why the local government should benefit from collecting the fines. I have not gotten a ticket in a while, but someone in my office got one recently and there was all kinds of line item amounts for categories of money collected for different reasons. I think it included the fire department and some fund for buying personal computers for something or other. Maybe the local governments should not benefit at all from traffic fines, the money could be used to pay down the national debt or something.