Have you ever come up to a light right when it was yellow and you try to make it through? Now you find yourself struggling between stopping for the red light, or just going for it. You go for it, convinced you have plenty of time. As you drive through, glancing back, you notice several flashes. You just received a red light ticket from a stoplight camera. While these seem to be an inconvenience for the fact that you have to pay a ticket, they don’t help the problem for which they were put in to solve, Accidents. These stoplight cameras are supposed to reduce accident s by discouraging running the light. The reality is that most of these cameras increase accidents at the intersections they are present. Some jurisdiction even thrives from the revenue of these lights. This doesn’t seem fair but that doesn’t mean go vandalize them.
These camera lights first came out in the 60’s followed by digital versions in the 90’s. These cameras are placed over twenty states and are a pretty easy set up. They have a trigger with a camera that takes a wide angle picture to get the light and a close up of the license plate. Many people believe these are just a way for the government to keep tabs on us. They feel Big Brother should not be watching in on them. They don’t like the idea of robot cops enforcing the law.
The main purpose of red light cameras is to reduce accidents from people who run red lights. The cameras deliver a ticket in the mail with a fine to discourage from doing again. It may only take one or two tickets and people start acting different at the cameras. This time when the light turns yellow you slam on your brakes. The guy behind you did not have enough time to react and you are in an accident. This defeats the purpose of the cameras, actually at most intersections with cameras accidents have raised. A study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council has found while collisions caused by running the light has decreased,...