I Knew They Would Be Back

It seems that the Houston "red light cameras" will be turned back on despite the will of the people. Go figure. Easy revenue for the city will not be given up easily or gladly by the powers that be. Of course these things do not save lives and I believe that they are a danger to public safety. People know they are there and bust through a yellow at high speed to not get "caught." Real surprised that some pedestrian has not been plowed over due to this crap.

There is also a bit of a constitutional issue I do believe. Running a red light is technically a crime and every American has the right to face the accuser in a court of law. In other words if a cop gives you a ticket for running and you believe yourself to be innocent, then you can go to court and even request a jury trial. The whole works. Running a red light and getting "busted" by the camera is considered by the "city" to be a civil offense. They are wrong and they are scamming the driving public.

I suggest if one gets a red light camera ticket to just ignore the thing. There is no real consequence (yet) for not paying the extortion money.

Red Light Cameras are a Danger

In Houston there is Proposition 3 which is a referendum on the red light camera. I myself have been nabbed once at Milam and Elgin I believe, and like a good little dhimmi, I sent the seventy five bucks to some place in Phoenix. Phoenix as in Phoenix, AZ. Something wrong there.  An occasional traffic ticket is part of the cost of doing business in a cab and it is often easier to just pay rather than fight. Most disagree with me on that but I just am not wasting a day in Houston's ridiculous court system unless I have to. Now the powers that be are all stamping their little feet advising us dummies that red light cameras "save lives, fund emergency care," etc. etc. I don't know about the emergency care thing but I don't believe for a minute the save lives part. I have witnessed on numerous occasions when someone comes to a red light they tend to "gun it" for fear of getting a "red light" violation. This happens in areas that are full of foot traffic and it is a wonder that someone has not gotten run over yet. I know that these red light cameras are nothing more than a money grab by the city and of course some are howling about the possibility of them becoming a thing of the past. I don't know why they will worry though. The city "fathers" can probably just get a friendly judge to overturn any (unfavorable to them) election results and the odious things will still be with us. Take a page out of California's playbook if you will. I don't live in the city limits so I have no vote on this particular issue. Shame.