What the heck!?!?! 
To raise revenue, Houston implemented red-light cameras which generated $44 million in fines for Houstonians payable in part to the city and commission from the red-light camera vendor ATS.
Angered, the Houston voters approved a referendum to turn off the cameras in November, but now the feds are coming in and saying that Houstonians don't have the right to appeal, the tax payers owe millions of dollars to ATS on lost revenue, and the cameras are being turned back on today with tickets issued after a short period of testing, against the wishes of the people.
So much for representative democracy enacting the will of the people.
For the record, studies have shown that while red-light cameras reduce right angle crashes, there was a marked increased in overall traffic injuries incurred at these intersections in particular from an increase in rear-end collisions, and an overall increase in fatalities following camera use. A 2004 study of 17,271 crashes from North Carolina A & T University showed that the presence of red light cameras increased the overall number of crashes by 40%. To date, six US cities have been caught decreasing the length of the yellow light below the legal limits in an effort to catch more drivers running red lights and increasing revenue, and many others have had email communications intercepted and released to the public citing reducing yellow light times to minimums to address budget issues, when an INCREASE in yellow light duration has shown a positive safety benefit in various studies.
Safety advocates for the people such as the AAA are against red light cameras due to conflict of interest in that they are primarily used to raise revenue and have not improved safety, and Arkansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire and West Virginia have outlawed red light cameras. I am saddened that Texas is not on this list, and that the Mayor is allowing this blatant taxation of the people against their wishes.
To raise revenue, Houston implemented red-light cameras which generated $44 million in fines for Houstonians payable in part to the city and commission from the red-light camera vendor ATS.
Angered, the Houston voters approved a referendum to turn off the cameras in November, but now the feds are coming in and saying that Houstonians don't have the right to appeal, the tax payers owe millions of dollars to ATS on lost revenue, and the cameras are being turned back on today with tickets issued after a short period of testing, against the wishes of the people.
So much for representative democracy enacting the will of the people.
For the record, studies have shown that while red-light cameras reduce right angle crashes, there was a marked increased in overall traffic injuries incurred at these intersections in particular from an increase in rear-end collisions, and an overall increase in fatalities following camera use. A 2004 study of 17,271 crashes from North Carolina A & T University showed that the presence of red light cameras increased the overall number of crashes by 40%. To date, six US cities have been caught decreasing the length of the yellow light below the legal limits in an effort to catch more drivers running red lights and increasing revenue, and many others have had email communications intercepted and released to the public citing reducing yellow light times to minimums to address budget issues, when an INCREASE in yellow light duration has shown a positive safety benefit in various studies.
Safety advocates for the people such as the AAA are against red light cameras due to conflict of interest in that they are primarily used to raise revenue and have not improved safety, and Arkansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire and West Virginia have outlawed red light cameras. I am saddened that Texas is not on this list, and that the Mayor is allowing this blatant taxation of the people against their wishes.
I was busted by one at an intersection in my hometown of 70,000 people. I was doing the speed limit, but the light was turning yellow and I was too close to stop, so I hit the gas pedal to try and beat it. If I had hit my brakes, I would have been in the middle of the intersection. I saw the little "flash" as I wen t through and sure enough....one week later I got my 50 daller ticket in the mail, along with a photo of my car and a close up of my tags. Oh....and I was clocked at 47 mph in a 40 mph zone. 
