Accident prevention by red light cameras

As far as I know, we have not yet seen the installation of so-called "red light" cameras in Maine, but they may be on the horizon.

            In Florida, where the Legislature has enacted a law which permits cities and towns to install the automatic cameras at intersections with some restrictions, a class action has been commenced against the City of Cocoa Beach challenging the city's use of the devices.

            The way it works is that the camera takes a picture of a car which has gone through a red light, and then a citation is mailed to the owner of the vehicle, who then has to pay a fine.  In the Florida scheme the fine money is split between the city and the private vendors that install and operate the cameras.

            The basis of the lawsuit, brought by a lead plaintiff to recover a $158 fine, is that the cameras violate the constitution by depriving the violator the opportunity to cross examine the witness against him or her, which in this case would be the camera itself.  It also notes that the owner of the vehicle has no way to defend, even though he or she may not have been the driver.

            Many people are upset and view the cameras as an unwarranted intrusion of privacy.  As one person wrote in responding to the newspaper article, "If you let state get away with this, what next, gps tracking in your car to check your speed, you are better off moving to saudi arabia or afganistan [sic]."  Others claim that the cameras actually cause more rear-end accidents and that the real reason for the cameras is to make money for the city.

            It will take more study to determine just how effective the cameras are in preventing accidents, but from our perspective at Lowry & Associates, there are far too many, often serious, accidents caused by drivers going through red lights, and any measure which will reduce this hazard ought to be embraced.