Yeah, they have insurance to drive their cars, not yours. If they get into an accident in your car, their insurance isn't going to cover it because their not insured to drive your car.
The red light cameras are often a scam anyway. Look at Lubbock. They're in trouble right now because they were going to install cameras at some intersections AND shorten the Yellow Light in those intersections, which would increase revenues but also make those intersections more likely to have collisions. Hard to argue that the cameras are for public safety when their installation requires making the intersections potentially less safe. http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?s=6026481
When you come to a busy 4-way stop, I still come to 3/4's of a stop. I don't follow the law. **** the 5-0!
The initial appeal of the cameras sounds good. It's always a good idea to discourage people from running a red, right? Right. But I don't like the direction it's going. Are they going to ticket people for not wearing a seat belt? Again, that sounds like it would be a good idea, right? What about using turn signal? What if a person stops their car two feet into the crosswalk? What if their registration is expired? Where do we draw the line and say, 'hey - this is really going too far'? It's the beginning of a very disturbing Orwellian movement, IMO.
The initial appeal is almost always the revenue that the cameras will generate. Many studies show that accidents increase at intersections with red light cameras. So, if, at the very least, there's a question as to whether the cameras make intersections more dangerous, the only rational reason for installing them would be to generate money. The city of Houston reportedly saw an increase in accidents at four of the 11 intersections with red-light cameras installed. Now, that's less than half, so that's better than some other municipalities. Or, as the Washington Post reported in 2005 about the D.C. red-light cameras (then 6 years-old): The analysis shows that the number of crashes at locations with cameras more than doubled, from 365 collisions in 1998 to 755 last year. Injury and fatal crashes climbed 81 percent, from 144 such wrecks to 262. Broadside crashes, also known as right-angle or T-bone collisions, rose 30 percent, from 81 to 106 during that time frame. Traffic specialists say broadside collisions are especially dangerous because the sides are the most vulnerable areas of cars. A link to some of the studies from an admittedly biased site: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/04/430.asp And a Texas DOT study showed that by merely increasing the yellow light by 1 second resulted in a 40% decrease in accidents. Personally, I've never been directly affected by a red-light camera (I've never gotten a ticket for running a red light and don't come into contact with red-light camera intersections very often anyway), but it seems like the data show that the effectiveness of the cameras in achieving the claimed safety benefits are, at the very least, a questionable proposition and quite possibly the opposite result is achieved.
I got one of those two years ago, less than a mile from my house. Went out for breakfast and forgot to buckle up when I drove home. As soon as I pulled out of the parking lot, BOOM. $175 fine. I've gotten both of those also. First one in LA...$100 fine. Second one here...dismissed after I got the reg taken care of. Good luck with that. This disturbing Orwellian movement has been going on for decades. 9-11 reinvigorated it.
In our area - coming to a complete stop will still get you a ticket if you don't come to a complete stop before your front wheel(s) touch the white line.
I have a questions about these RED LIGHT CAMERAS Are all of them that you see at intersection ... taking pictures/video of you for citations? Seems like the only one that does or I have notices are the ones with the BIG LIGHT FLASH before the red light and a camera sitting there. Are some of them just for traffic monitoring? I example: Briar Forest/Eldridge or down Briar Forest/Wilcrest area there are like just small camera on top of the red lights (how can those take pic of your license plate if your are zooming by it and is above you?) the angle would be pretty bad ...... I can understand those that are behind you as you are running it or in an angle unlike Beltway 8/Bellaire exist
Not to mention the gas you have to use to re-accelerate after a full stop. Now thats going to add up.
There are many cameras and gadgets at intersections nowadays. Some are used to monitor traffic. Some sense flashing red and blue lights and will change the traffic signal to red to stop traffic for an emergency vehicle. The red light cameras are usually white and are specifically positioned so that they have a good view of the car, the intersection, the light, the driver, and the license plate. If you see a camera at an intersection that doesn't seem to have a good angle to take the picture, it's possible that that isn't a red light camera and the camera may be located somewhere else. When the light is red, and you want to turn, you must always come to a complete stop first (as if it were a stop sign). Once you have stopped, you may then begin your turn. Have you never come to a stop before turning on a red? In Texas, it is legal to turn left on a red light but.. 1) It can only be done if you're turning off of a one-way street, onto a one-way street. (very important for downtown driving!) 2) You must first come to a complete stop before entering the intersection to turn left (just like when you stop before turning right on a red light). 3) You must yield to any traffic on the street you're turning onto. They will not yield to you. (And please do not pull out in front of someone and drive 5 mph!) 4) You may not turn if it is posted that there is no left turn
