I guess New York isn’t making enough money with speed cameras.
That could be why one New York lawmaker is pushing for red light cameras to be put in place at more intersections here.
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Bklyn.) has a bill that would allow the city to increase the number of red light cameras from the current 150 intersections in the five boroughs, Fox 5 New York reported.
With 13,500 intersections in the city, according to Gounardes, having red light cameras at just 1% of intersections isn’t nearly enough for public safety.
Pointing to figures from the city Department of Transportation, the news report said that the number of violations has declined by 77% since the red light camera program was introduced here in 1994.
That’s a pretty good number, no? Do we really need to expand the red light program if it’s already working that well? Maybe the cameras are already doing their job.
But nothing is good enough for the Vision Zero types. If something is working, they want more of it. And if something isn’t working, they want more of it. Because the idea is zero traffic deaths. A nice goal but one that’s likely unattainable without taking every car and truck off the road.
We’re also told that speed cameras are doing their job and making city streets safer. If that’s the case, why do we need to put red light cameras at more intersections?
While advocates say that red light cameras make intersections safer, others say that they actually increase the danger because drivers stop short at those intersections, leading to more rear-end collisions. So there’s an irony that a safety measure could actually lead to roads that are less safe, just in a different way.
So why the push for more red light cameras? The money that will no doubt be generated is no doubt enticing.
Speed cameras showed lawmakers how easy it is to generate income with very little effort. And lawmakers are always looking for more money to spend. And if someone breaks the law and has to…
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