A Tale of Red-Light Cameras Gone Wrong (in Schaumburg)
07-15-09, 09:14 AM
#1
G35x - RWD/AWD goodness
Thread Starter
A Tale of Red-Light Cameras Gone Wrong (in Schaumburg)
The town of Schaumburg, Ill., had a red-light-camera problem. Sure, the installed system at a single intersection netted almost $1 million in tickets, but it also enraged residents and visitors.
We have first-hand experience with the intersection in question, which it turns out isn’t even among Schaumburg’s 10 most dangerous intersections. The intersection in question has a separate right-turn lane with its own signal. The red-light camera was snapping away at people who were turning right on red but hadn’t come to a complete stop. Being ticketed for this benign traffic infraction riled pretty much everyone.
The city was smart enough to know that this was a sore spot and asked the monitoring company to not issue citations for that violation. That had to be done manually, though, and cost the company too much money.
The Schaumburg police studied traffic accidents at the intersection for a year’s time and found no significant accidents from running red lights before or after the cameras were installed. That was the final straw. Schaumburg didn’t renew its contract for the cameras, and they were taken down yesterday.
We have first-hand experience with the intersection in question, which it turns out isn’t even among Schaumburg’s 10 most dangerous intersections. The intersection in question has a separate right-turn lane with its own signal. The red-light camera was snapping away at people who were turning right on red but hadn’t come to a complete stop. Being ticketed for this benign traffic infraction riled pretty much everyone.
The city was smart enough to know that this was a sore spot and asked the monitoring company to not issue citations for that violation. That had to be done manually, though, and cost the company too much money.
The Schaumburg police studied traffic accidents at the intersection for a year’s time and found no significant accidents from running red lights before or after the cameras were installed. That was the final straw. Schaumburg didn’t renew its contract for the cameras, and they were taken down yesterday.
07-15-09, 11:16 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
These Red Light Cameras are just filling politically minded people's pockets. Their was an article about clout and how one of the major three red light companies knew an alderman from Chicago and it is rumored that kickbacks are involved as always.
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07-16-09, 08:04 AM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
07-16-09, 10:45 AM
#11
Well I guess that's where MY $100 bucks went. I got caught by that camera. I was going to fight it until I saw not just the picture but the video. Sure as ****tt I blew right through it. But I think it was Brians fault, he was with me probably looking at some car going by and...I have to blame it on someone! 
07-16-09, 12:16 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
Well I guess that's where MY $100 bucks went. I got caught by that camera. I was going to fight it until I saw not just the picture but the video. Sure as ****tt I blew right through it. But I think it was Brians fault, he was with me probably looking at some car going by and...I have to blame it on someone!
