Red Light Camera Petition College Station

A couple of nights ago, my wife and I were out on a date and we happened upon a “Red Light Camera Petition” tent. We stopped by (we were early for the movie we were going to watch).

I’ve gotten a ticket…or whatever it is that they call it…over on Harvey and Muson. It was an accident…I mean, I didn’t realize I was running a red light.

When I got the ticket in the mail, I was bummed. Then I had a thought that it was actually a good deterrent, you know, like having to pay money for speeding. Giving away money because I went over the speed limit is for me a good deterrent. No one likes giving their money away. But it makes me not want to speed. I don’t want to pay $75 just for running a red light, so I’m gonna do my best to not run red lights…I haven’t since.

So, yeah, it was lame that I got a ticket ($75) by the way, but whatever. Then I started realizing that whenever I passed that intersection, I slowed down, and got nervous, and even stopped a couple of times at the yellow light…that’s pretty dangerous.

My wife thought it was lame because since there was no one there, there was no way to “appeal” the fine. I disagree with her. Even if there was a cop there handing out tickets, how many times have you been able to NOT get a ticket for running a red light or not stopping at a stop sign…even if you didn’t see it, whatever, you almost always get that ticket.

So, we talked to the guys at the petition signing thing, and yeah, we signed it. Mostly just because apparently, the city of college station, I mean the people, didn’t get to vote on the installation of the cameras. They told us it had gotten piggy backed to another more important bill.

As I was talking to them, they mentioned that running a red light wasn’t a criminal offense. I stopped them, “It’s not a criminal offense to run a red light?” He said it was not if you don’t get caught.

I disagree with that statement as well. In fact, that almost made me scratch out my name from the petition, but I left it on there. I mean, that becomes a moral issue of integrity and deception. I am making a huge effort to teach my kids that just because I’m not in the room, it’s still not OK to hit their brother or sister.

Here’s what they state on their facebook group:

Problems with red light cameras:

*Decrease Safety
*Increase Collisions
*Remove right to appeal
*Remove officer discretion
*Remove the right to face your accuser
*Force one to choose between safety or fines
*Remove opportunity to explain extenuating circumstances to jury
*Create a special risk to motorcyclists, to whom a rear end collision could be fatal
*Create an unequal standard for the same offense depending on whether it was witnessed by an officer or a camera
*Have been constantly shown to only be the first step towards further camera monitoring, ranging from vehicle registration or insurance checking to speed limit enforcement.

Honestly, I agree with some of those, but when it comes to “unequal standard” and “extenuating circumstances” and “face your accuser” and even “right to appeal”, the argument falls flat for me. It’s either legal or illegal. Fairness has nothing to do with it. (and the “further camera monitoring” isn’t really an issue either, unless you are trying to hide something, right?)

I’ve known people who smoked pot and justified it by saying that they weren’t harming anyone, they were doing it in private, etc. My response is that it’s illegal. That’s it. They find it on you, you are busted.

It seems like lately it’s all about how you can get out of a responsibility. So, you ran a red light, but you were reaching back to put the seat belt back on your four year old who just figured out how to push the button and unstrap himself. You still ran a red light. What if you had ran over someone crossing the street? Solution: get through the intersection, pull in to the closest store, strap him back in, figure out a way to keep him from doing it again.

I know someone who is in jail because he killed someone while driving drunk. He’s in jail for like 5 years. I’ve also know many, many people who have made it home from a party just fine even through they were very intoxicated. The effect does not justify the action.

My wife an I played an April Fool’s joke back in college that turned bad. It could have been worse though. We faked that she fell off the balcony at the art building…she laid down at the ground floor. People looked over the edge and one student ran to a phone and called 911. Well, the cops and ambulance came full speed, through the quad, lights, sirens, everything…through parking lots, etc. The cop had to read us our rights, he didn’t arrest us. He told us that if they had caused an accident on the way here, or ran over someone in the quad or something, or even wrecked the police car or ambulance, we would be liable for that.

So, the part of me that doesn’t like giving my money away doesn’t want the red light cameras. If it’s true that they are causing more accidents, then that obviously doesn’t work. Is there a graph? I’d like to see a pretty graph.

I’m not sure that signing a petition to get something on the ballot to vote on in November is going to change anything. How many people vote anyway, really…but that’s another issue altogether.

The city does NOT get revenue from the cameras. The money goes directly to the company in Arizona that installed them. It is not a traffic violation…apparently. So, for a vote to get them torn down, it’s not so much about the vote. This is a company that is making money. It would be like trying to get all the adult video stores out of town. It’s been done, but it took quite a bit of work.

Here’s another quote from their facebook group:

We are part of the petition drive to place the College Station Red Light Camera program on a ballot to receive an up-or-down vote. Whether you support or oppose the cameras, it seems only fair to let the citizens of College Station decide whether or not we want them in our city.

Seems only fair? What is “fair” anyway? Will a vote get them torn down?

Anyway, go check out their facebook group, and go talk the them where they’ve set up their tent. They are really great people, well informed, and will answer all your questions.

And by the way, they told me that none of the “staff” were red light runners. They are standing on principle.

I would say that a better approach would be to do your best to not run red lights…always…not just at the intersections where there are cameras. This way, they will take them down because they can’t be paid for. I think this is better than a vote. Proof is in the pudding, right?