red light cameras

STOP! The light is turning red!

To combat the dangerous practice of running traffic signals after they’ve turned red, the City of Knoxville contracted with a private contractor in 2006 to install “red light cameras” at high accident intersections.

It’s a simple system; if you drive into an intersection after the traffic light for the direction you’re traveling turns red, an automatic sensor sets off a camera that makes a picture of both your car in the intersection and your license plate.

Not surprisingly a lot of people were not in favor of them; (too much big brother, just a revenue source, etc., etc.).

However since the cameras caught over 21,000 people running red lights last year and mailed them a $50.00 citation, accidents at the intersection where the cameras were installed were down.

In 2005, before the cameras were installed there were 273 crashes at the 10 intersections where the cameras are now.

In 2006 and after the cameras were installed, there were 226 accidents at the same 10 intersections, a 17% reduction in the number of accidents.

Additionally the fines generated $217,980 for the City of Knoxville in fines and $471,122 in revenues to Redflex, the company that installed the cameras at no costs to the City of Knoxville.

Now some state legislators in surrounding counties have decide it’s a bad idea and are crafting legislation to stop it. Personally I think maybe one of their wives or constituents got a ticket and complained to them.

Simple answer; don’t want a ticket? Don’t run red lights.

My wife, children, and grandchildren drive on our streets daily; I don’t want them ran over by someone not paying enough attention to their driving to not see a red light.