Virginia bans red-light cameras effective July 1.
05-21-05, 11:57 AM
#1
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Virginia bans red-light cameras effective July 1.
Many of you in these forums have really bad-mouthed my home state for its strict traffic laws, radar detector ban, strict speed enforcement, and and a number of other traffic-related issues.
My home town of Vienna.....a Washington, DC suburb...was also the first jurisdiction in the country to install and publicly enforce red-light laws with cameras.....preceeding even DC itself.
I won't get into the pros and cons of the camera program again......and whether the program was primarily safety or revenue-oriented....or both. I have mixed feelings about this myself, and, besides, that issue has already been throughly debated here on CL.
Anyhow, Virginia, which was the first place to actually use the cameras, will be the first state to actually ban them starting July 1. The State General Assembly in Richmond has prohibited the use of the cameras after July 1. While the cameras have no doubt prevented some side-impact T-Bone crashes, one of my own initial predictions was ALSO found to be true.....they increased the rate of rear-enders by having many people slam of their brakes at the last second who would have otherwise gone through.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/314.asp
My home town of Vienna.....a Washington, DC suburb...was also the first jurisdiction in the country to install and publicly enforce red-light laws with cameras.....preceeding even DC itself.
I won't get into the pros and cons of the camera program again......and whether the program was primarily safety or revenue-oriented....or both. I have mixed feelings about this myself, and, besides, that issue has already been throughly debated here on CL.
Anyhow, Virginia, which was the first place to actually use the cameras, will be the first state to actually ban them starting July 1. The State General Assembly in Richmond has prohibited the use of the cameras after July 1. While the cameras have no doubt prevented some side-impact T-Bone crashes, one of my own initial predictions was ALSO found to be true.....they increased the rate of rear-enders by having many people slam of their brakes at the last second who would have otherwise gone through.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/314.asp
05-21-05, 01:31 PM
#2
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Many of you in these forums have really bad-mouthed my home state for its strict traffic laws, radar detector ban, strict speed enforcement, and and a number of other traffic-related issues.
My home town of Vienna.....a Washington, DC suburb...was also the first jurisdiction in the country to install and publicly enforce red-light laws with cameras.....preceeding even DC itself.
I won't get into the pros and cons of the camera program again......and whether the program was primarily safety or revenue-oriented....or both. I have mixed feelings about this myself, and, besides, that issue has already been throughly debated here on CL.
Anyhow, Virginia, which was the first place to actually use the cameras, will be the first state to actually ban them starting July 1. The State General Assembly in Richmond has prohibited the use of the cameras after July 1. While the cameras have no doubt prevented some side-impact T-Bone crashes, one of my own initial predictions was ALSO found to be true.....they increased the rate of rear-enders by having many people slam of their brakes at the last second who would have otherwise gone through.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/314.asp
My home town of Vienna.....a Washington, DC suburb...was also the first jurisdiction in the country to install and publicly enforce red-light laws with cameras.....preceeding even DC itself.
I won't get into the pros and cons of the camera program again......and whether the program was primarily safety or revenue-oriented....or both. I have mixed feelings about this myself, and, besides, that issue has already been throughly debated here on CL.
Anyhow, Virginia, which was the first place to actually use the cameras, will be the first state to actually ban them starting July 1. The State General Assembly in Richmond has prohibited the use of the cameras after July 1. While the cameras have no doubt prevented some side-impact T-Bone crashes, one of my own initial predictions was ALSO found to be true.....they increased the rate of rear-enders by having many people slam of their brakes at the last second who would have otherwise gone through.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/314.asp
hopefully more states will follow
05-22-05, 11:08 PM
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They're keeping the camera stands in place, though, in case they change their minds and reinstate red-light cameras in the future.
I was actually wondering today why Virginia, with a Republican-majority legislature, would have a radar detector law. In fact, I wonder why radar detectors are legal in other states. Isn't it just used to skirt tickets? Can they be used as a safety instrument or in a more constructive way? Or maybe the argument against banning them is it helps the economy by providing jobs and increasing consumption?
I was actually wondering today why Virginia, with a Republican-majority legislature, would have a radar detector law. In fact, I wonder why radar detectors are legal in other states. Isn't it just used to skirt tickets? Can they be used as a safety instrument or in a more constructive way? Or maybe the argument against banning them is it helps the economy by providing jobs and increasing consumption?
05-22-05, 11:43 PM
#6
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
I won't get into the pros and cons of the camera program again......and whether the program was primarily safety or revenue-oriented....or both. I have mixed feelings about this myself, and, besides, that issue has already been throughly debated here on CL.
Anyhow, Virginia, which was the first place to actually use the cameras, will be the first state to actually ban them starting July 1. The State General Assembly in Richmond has prohibited the use of the cameras after July 1. While the cameras have no doubt prevented some side-impact T-Bone crashes, one of my own initial predictions was ALSO found to be true.....they increased the rate of rear-enders by having many people slam of their brakes at the last second who would have otherwise gone through.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/314.asp
Anyhow, Virginia, which was the first place to actually use the cameras, will be the first state to actually ban them starting July 1. The State General Assembly in Richmond has prohibited the use of the cameras after July 1. While the cameras have no doubt prevented some side-impact T-Bone crashes, one of my own initial predictions was ALSO found to be true.....they increased the rate of rear-enders by having many people slam of their brakes at the last second who would have otherwise gone through.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/03/314.asp
, but after witnessing a T-Bone and 2 friends were in the same type of accident. Has anyone consider holding traffic back 2 seconds before turning green? That would let them clear the intersection before traffic enters. Why not prevent the accidents instead punishing someone after it happens? 
05-22-05, 11:55 PM
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Originally Posted by ntran18
I am a little late to the party , but after witnessing a T-Bone and 2 friends were in the same type of accident. Has anyone consider holding traffic back 2 seconds before turning green? That would let them clear the intersection before traffic enters. Why not prevent the accidents instead punishing someone after it happens?
, but after witnessing a T-Bone and 2 friends were in the same type of accident. Has anyone consider holding traffic back 2 seconds before turning green? That would let them clear the intersection before traffic enters. Why not prevent the accidents instead punishing someone after it happens? Trending Topics
05-23-05, 12:42 AM
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I was just thinking about the pros & cons of this myself this past weekend, after witnessing a lot of red light runners, some of them REALLY late. I can see how the rear-ending problem would escalate. I totally agree w/ ntran18's idea of having the green light on a delay. Some lights around Maui are like that, but I'd say like 98% are not. If everyone knew about the delay, you'd still have runners knowing they have a couple of secs. This issue is really on the fence. I think we all have to proceed into intersections w/ extreme caution, which I do now after a friend's boyfriend supposedly ran a red and hit & killed someone on a motorcycle about a month ago... 
05-23-05, 03:24 AM
#9
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Originally Posted by ntran18
I am a little late to the party , but after witnessing a T-Bone and 2 friends were in the same type of accident. Has anyone consider holding traffic back 2 seconds before turning green? That would let them clear the intersection before traffic enters. Why not prevent the accidents instead punishing someone after it happens?
, but after witnessing a T-Bone and 2 friends were in the same type of accident. Has anyone consider holding traffic back 2 seconds before turning green? That would let them clear the intersection before traffic enters. Why not prevent the accidents instead punishing someone after it happens? 2-3 second delayed greens are quite common now in this area.
Something else that IMO should be more widespread is the practice of converting the red-green cycles to just flashing yellow during the late-night and pre-dawn hours when there is little traffic. That would eliminate uneccessary stopping and waiting. Some localities in my area do it..some don't.
05-23-05, 05:17 AM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
2-3 second delayed greens are quite common now in this area.
Something else that IMO should be more widespread is the practice of converting the red-green cycles to just flashing yellow during the late-night and pre-dawn hours when there is little traffic. That would eliminate uneccessary stopping and waiting. Some localities in my area do it..some don't.
Something else that IMO should be more widespread is the practice of converting the red-green cycles to just flashing yellow during the late-night and pre-dawn hours when there is little traffic. That would eliminate uneccessary stopping and waiting. Some localities in my area do it..some don't.
05-23-05, 09:16 AM
#11
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Originally Posted by Inabj2
I attempted to avoid virginia as much as possible when I lived in DC, but I know Bethesda, and Rockville MD did just that! But unfortunately not DC. Although I did stay close to fairfax for a month or so.. But I did not own a vehicle by that time.
05-23-05, 09:57 AM
#12
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I agree those redlight camera's cause accidents. I heard a story in traffic school 
about a man who sued the state. Apparently, he ran a red light,then was snapped by the camera 
. His wife was home about 2 weeks later and opened her mail. There was a ticket with the picture of her husband running the light.......but he had his mistress in the car with him. He was screwing his secretary and would have never gotten caught if it wasn't for those stupid camera's.HHHAAAAAHHAAA!!!
Well,anyway,he was confronted by wife
,got divorced,got screwed 
for everything he owned and got fired 
!! So now, they blur the passenger side on the pictures.
about a man who sued the state. Apparently, he ran a red light,then was snapped by the camera . His wife was home about 2 weeks later and opened her mail. There was a ticket with the picture of her husband running the light.......but he had his mistress in the car with him. He was screwing his secretary and would have never gotten caught if it wasn't for those stupid camera's.HHHAAAAAHHAAA!!!Well,anyway,he was confronted by wife
,got divorced,got screwed for everything he owned and got fired !! So now, they blur the passenger side on the pictures.
05-23-05, 10:12 AM
#13
Originally Posted by mmarshall
2-3 second delayed greens are quite common now in this area.
Something else that IMO should be more widespread is the practice of converting the red-green cycles to just flashing yellow during the late-night and pre-dawn hours when there is little traffic. That would eliminate uneccessary stopping and waiting. Some localities in my area do it..some don't.
Something else that IMO should be more widespread is the practice of converting the red-green cycles to just flashing yellow during the late-night and pre-dawn hours when there is little traffic. That would eliminate uneccessary stopping and waiting. Some localities in my area do it..some don't.
05-23-05, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by robloc93
I agree those redlight camera's cause accidents. I heard a story in traffic school about a man who sued the state. Apparently, he ran a red light,then was snapped by the camera . His wife was home about 2 weeks later and opened her mail. There was a ticket with the picture of her husband running the light.......but he had his mistress in the car with him. He was screwing his secretary and would have never gotten caught if it wasn't for those stupid camera's.HHHAAAAAHHAAA!!!
Well,anyway,he was confronted by wife ,got divorced,got screwed for everything he owned and got fired !! So now, they blur the passenger side on the pictures.
about a man who sued the state. Apparently, he ran a red light,then was snapped by the camera . His wife was home about 2 weeks later and opened her mail. There was a ticket with the picture of her husband running the light.......but he had his mistress in the car with him. He was screwing his secretary and would have never gotten caught if it wasn't for those stupid camera's.HHHAAAAAHHAAA!!!Well,anyway,he was confronted by wife
,got divorced,got screwed for everything he owned and got fired !! So now, they blur the passenger side on the pictures.
05-23-05, 10:27 AM
#15
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Originally Posted by Incendiary
Interesting. I don't see why that was the proof in the pudding, though. Couldn't he have just said they were going to lunch (or something)?
