Red-light cameras are 'rigged,' but needed
A technician from American Traffic Solutions adjusts a red-light traffic camera near the intersection of Wantagh Avenue and Sunrise Highway. Credit: Kevin P. Coughlin
I'm in favor of red-light cameras ["Will red-light bill run out of gas?" News, April 8]. However, is there an oversight team to decide if the rules are being fairly applied and whether the system is sometimes faulty?
I've had 45 years of driving experience, and now I've received three red-light tickets. The second ticket showed me past the white stop line but behind a tall truck, and I believe I couldn't see the light change.
My third ticket showed that I stopped at the light for 1.6 seconds. The clerk told me it should be a minimum of 3 seconds, and that a lot of people were getting tickets for this infraction. Nowhere have I read about a certain length of time one must stop before making a right on red, only that right on red is permitted after a full stop.
This, to me, is thievery.
Joy Ottaviano
Let's put all politics and questions of revenue aside. The drivers on our roads are a danger to society. There's an epidemic of careless, selfish drivers everywhere you look, speeding and blowing lights. They talk on the phone and text. It's unbelievable.
More cameras? Yes, on every road.
Paul E. Kerns
In the past year, three red-light camera tickets were paid by my household, and not one was for running red lights. Nor were they for putting life or property in peril.
All three, and not all for the same driver, were for not stopping long enough before making a right turn, when there were no pedestrians or other cars in the intersection.
As far as I can tell, this is a moneymaker for the county, and that is all!
Mary Nolan
So Assemb. David Gantt (D-Rochester) is opposed to expanding the red-light camera program due to privacy concerns. Well, who could possibly argue with Mr. Gantt on this issue?
After all, what could be more private than running a red light and smashing into another vehicle or a pedestrian crossing the street? And, if a cop can't be on every corner to personally write out traffic tickets, why should cameras be used to try to stop drivers from breaking the law and injuring or killing others?
Why, indeed.
Joseph Spiegel
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