Red light cameras kill!
From the Fairfax County Privacy Council (www.FairfaxCountyPrivacyCouncil.org):
“When a car slams into a vehicle that has stopped for a red light, the consequences can be devastating as happened in a Fayetteville, North Carolina tragedy. A rear end collision in Fayetteville, North Carolina took the lives of three people last week [emphasis added]. Army Sergeant Clayton Morgan, 25, faces involuntary manslaughter charges for slamming his Nissan Pathfinder into a Honda Accord that had stopped for a red light at Fillyaw and North Reilly Road. Most proponents of the automated red light enforcement used in Fayetville downplay the significance of rear end collisions, calling them "fender benders." Studies have shown that the devices can cause rear enders when individuals stop unexpectedly in order to avoid a ticket. The December 18 incident shows just how devastating such accidents can be [emphasis added].” See “North Carolina: Rear End Collision Kills Three,” The Newspaper.com, 29 DEC 06 at http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/15/1523.asp.
In 2005 the VA Department of Transportation concluded a thorough study of a ten year Red Light Camera (“RLC”) experiment in Virginia and concluded that red light “cameras are contributing to a definite increase in rear-end crashes . . .[and these] findings are consistent with those in the majority of the literature surveyed. . . . [red light] cameras are correlated with an increase in total crashes, rear-end crashes, and total injury crashes [emphasis added].” See “FINAL REPORT: AN EVALUATION OF RED LIGHT CAMERA (PHOTO-RED) ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS IN VIRGINIA: A REPORT IN RESPONSE TO A REQUEST BY VIRGINIA’S SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION,” JAN 05, at http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/05-vdot.pdf.
So we know that rear end crashes kill. And we know that red light cameras increase not just total crashes, but especially rear end crashes. Therefore, RED LIGHT CAMERAS KILL!
Yet proponents of fast food safety schemes like red light cameras continue to downplay the safety risks of red light cameras just as they ignore the threat to our privacy and due process rights while trivializing reckless red light running as deserving simply a $50 fine that motorists can avoid by simply refusing to pay (no penalty lies for refusing to respond to a red light camera summons unless **personal service of process** is effected) or by using reflective sprays on license plates. Worse, red light camera proponents reject common sense approaches to intersection safety like lengthening yellow light times by fractions of seconds based on actual traffic speeds, and not some bureaucrat’s fantasy of the posted speed limit!
For the last two years the red light camera safety threat was lifted in Virginia – citizens even held a public wake to those nasty cameras “at Loisdale Road and the Fairfax County Parkway holding their signs, including one that said, ‘Honk if you hate Red-light Cameras.’ For an hour that night, the roadway echoed with the sounds of beeps and honks.” “Red-Light Cameras Stop Rolling in N.Va.,” The Washington Post, By Jamie Stockwell, 3 JUL 05 at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/02/AR2005070201054.html.
In the past we could count on the House of Delegates to stand tall and block renewal of red light cameras in VA. But Senator JeaneMarie “Devolites Davis [(R – Vienna)] said she feels good about the bill's chances this year because companion legislation in the House has been referred to the Transportation Committee instead of Militia and Police.”
It’s urgent that you now contact the House of Delegates’ Leadership and Transportation Committee Chairman to urge them to refer all red light camera bills to the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee for an unbiased review.
Suggested Message:
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To: DelLWardrup@house.state.va.us, delwhowell@house.state.va.us, DelMGriffith@house.state.va.us
SUBJECT: Red light cameras kill – please refer all red light camera bills to the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee!
Dear Delegates Wardup, Howell, and Griffith:
“When a car slams into a vehicle that has stopped for a red light, the consequences can be devastating as happened in a Fayetteville, North Carolina tragedy. A rear end collision in Fayetteville, North Carolina took the lives of three people last week [emphasis added]. Army Sergeant Clayton Morgan, 25, faces involuntary manslaughter charges for slamming his Nissan Pathfinder into a Honda Accord that had stopped for a red light at Fillyaw and North Reilly Road. Most proponents of the automated red light enforcement used in Fayetville downplay the significance of rear end collisions, calling them "fender benders." Studies have shown that the devices can cause rear enders when individuals stop unexpectedly in order to avoid a ticket. The December 18 incident shows just how devastating such accidents can be [emphasis added].” See “North Carolina: Rear End Collision Kills Three,” The Newspaper.com, 29 DEC 06 at http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/15/1523.asp.
In 2005 the VA Department of Transportation concluded a thorough study of a ten year Red Light Camera (“RLC”) experiment in Virginia and concluded that red light “cameras are contributing to a definite increase in rear-end crashes . . .[and these] findings are consistent with those in the majority of the literature surveyed. . . . [red light] cameras are correlated with an increase in total crashes, rear-end crashes, and total injury crashes [emphasis added].” See “FINAL REPORT: AN EVALUATION OF RED LIGHT CAMERA (PHOTO-RED) ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS IN VIRGINIA: A REPORT IN RESPONSE TO A REQUEST BY VIRGINIA’S SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION,” JAN 05, at http://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/05-vdot.pdf.
So we know that rear end crashes kill. And we know that red light cameras increase not just total crashes, but especially rear end crashes. Therefore, RED LIGHT CAMERAS KILL!
Don’t let the fast food public safety spin doctors do an end run around common sense at our families’ risk – please refer all red light camera bills to the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee for an unbiased review.
Please let me know what you are going to do.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS
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