Red Light Cams – Still Believe They’re for Safety?

While I still contend we should hold the distinction as the “Shakedown State”, folks a bit to our east are finding out something we’ve known for some time.

Red light cameras are nothing more than a scam.

A blockbuster lawsuit is alleging that the cameras, which were provided by American Traffic Solutions, the provider of the cameras at the center of the New Jersey controversy, aren’t properly timed according to New York State law, and are unfairly ticketing motorists trying to avoid getting tickets.

According to this:

HUNDREDS of thousands of red light violations captured by traffic cameras in Nassau County are defective and the fines should be returned, a blockbuster lawsuit alleges.

The class action suit is filed on behalf of a Queens woman, Claire Leder, who was tagged for blowing a red light in Lake Success.

The suit claims the timing of the traffic signals and red light cameras do not conform to standards published by the Federal Highway Administration.

New York State law requires the traffic lights in the camera program to have a yellow light interval of at least three seconds, according to the suit filed Jan. 7 in Long Island Federal Court.

But the yellow light intervals in the system installed by American Traffic Systems Inc., of Arizona, is less than that, the suit states.

"The motivation for utilizing a shorter minimum duration is money," according to the suit.
"A lack of sufficient yellow light time gives motorists traveling through the intersection insufficient time to stop safely and forces motorists faced with a yellow light to choose between slamming on the brakes and perhaps causing an accident or going through the light and getting a red light camera system violation notice."

There are 76 intersections in Nassau County that have red light cameras to catch motorists.
The class covers motorists who were slapped with red light tickets from 2009 when the camera system was installed, to the present.

American Traffic System had no immediate comment.

So what's the common thread here?

Why, American Traffic System, of course.

All the plaintiffs in the suit would have to do is research recent history on this side of the river to know just what a scam the cameras are. And the fight we’ve been having to hopefully get them removed one day.