No More Red Light Cameras? Here's What Bradenton's Saying
As the Florida House of Representatives considers outlawing red light cameras around the state, here's what some Patch readers had to say on the subject.
Since we told you last week about a bill under consideration by the Florida House of Representatives that would strike down the use of red light cameras, Patch readers have had plenty to say on the topic.
Our story, Red Light Cameras: Should They Stay or Go?, received more than 120 comments as of Tuesday night. Here's what some Bradenton Patch readers had to say:
Mark: "Whether or not the red light cameras generate additional revenue for the municipalities using them is a moot point if using them is compromising the public's safety. Since study after study confirms that having red light cameras installed actually causes more collisions than it prevents, it is painfully obvious to even the most intellectually challenged among us that the cameras must go. The government exists to protect its citizens. If the government if forcing these cameras upon us they are not protecting us at all. They are putting us in a state of peril. The cameras absolutely MUST go!"
NativeBradentonian: "As my husband and I were nearly killed last month due to a man running a red light at an intersection at 43rd St. W. and Manatee Ave W in Bradenton, we are definitely in favor of having the cameras. This guy actually came from behind a car that had stopped for the yellow light, then rapidly accelerated to a high speed, nearly broadsiding us as we were making a turn from the intersection onto 43rd. He actually sped up, as if to try and hit us! PLEASE put the cameras up and continue to try and save lives. If the person is such a hurry that he causes or nearly causes an accident, he needs to be responsible for his actions.Nothings that important that you have to run a red light!!"
Do you agree? Should red light cameras be banned in Florida? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments section below to continue the conversation.
In This article
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Mark
Joined Patch Friday, March 16, 2012 -
NativeBradentonian
Joined Patch Saturday, January 22, 2011
katinka pariso
8:42 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
since red light cameras i find myself a little more aware at the light i think they are a good tool
Mark
9:59 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
If you base your opinion only on your "feelings" and disregard all the studies which prove these cameras actually put people in greater danger, then you, katinka pariso, are a tool.
Hank Rogers
8:49 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
They're only about revenue, not safety. Anyone who spends the time actually doing research would know this. But it's easier to just parrot on about things you don't really know anything about.
Mark
9:47 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Exactly Hank! Those responsible for their installation should be ashamed, then be fired! (Not necessarily in that order.)
Frank
8:51 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Red light cameras are dangerous because they change driver behavior at lights with cameras. Cameras cause some drivers to hesitate when they think the light will change. As a result some people slam on their brakes on yellow to avoid a ticket, but they get rear ended. Another issue is where the revenue goes. Much of it goes to the companies installing the equipment.
Gail Perry
4:09 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
I agree with you. The way to gauge what another car is going to do is predictablility. Someone slams on a brake unexpectedly, it's going to increase the liklihood of a rear-ender. Driving habits are complex, and I have seen people do what the woman above described (cutting around someone to get through a light) long before these lights were invented. The problem is that in Florida we wolerate a "cowboy mentality" toward driving. Just two days ago some idiot came up on my tail going AT LEAST 90 mph as I was approaching the SunPass entrance. I waited until he slowed down and then put on the brakes, and he backed off. But knowing people are hotheads I also got my phone out and held it where it could be seen, because I was worried about road rage. Such driving habits cannot be fixed by photo lights. We need patrolmen -- and lots of them -- pulling people over for aggressive, constant lane-changing driving. I also think people do this in Bradenton because the traffic is so congested and the lights so long. That doesn't excuse it. Oh yeah there was a highway patrol car very near to where this happened to me, but the guy didn't get pulled over.
Peggy
9:34 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
On top of the fence with this question. I see pro's and con's on both sides. We have lost a friend from a red light runner. I have seen so many cars running thru red lights, with and without a camera.
Mark
9:55 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Its a no-brainer Peggy. Your hangups are purely emotional due to the loss of a friend. You have my condolences. But, if you examine it rationally, based on facts and statistics, these cameras put drivers in a greater state of risk. Safety is not the underlying motivator for the officials installing them, generating revenue is. Safety trumps revenue in my book any day, and the government's primary function is supposed to be to keep its citizens safe.
SRQDude
10:41 am on Saturday, February 23, 2013
The PROOF that these cameras are only there to make money is the fact that the "Photo Enforced" signs are way off to the side and are hard to find and hard to see. If the cameras were REALLY there to increase safety, then those signs would be hung right up on the crossbar, next to the light, like those "No Turn On Red Signs" are.
Mark
9:48 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Excellent observation, Dude!
Deborah Shuck
3:49 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
Instead of guessing where the money goes...educate yourself....instead of guessing that more people are killed by stopping instead of "running a red light" educate yourself. I have never heard such utter nonsense. People just want to continue bad behavior. The cameras are there because of people running red lights, can't people see that?
ralph bedtelyon
5:08 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
I see pros and cons to these cameras. More research needed.
Mark
9:51 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
There's already YEARS and YEARS of research out there Ralph. This experiment has been tried and tested. The report card it brought home had a big, fat "F" on it! You should do a little of your own research using your favorite internet search engine, such as Google or Bing and you will discover this fact for yourself.
Bob Buehler
9:59 pm on Saturday, February 23, 2013
If you aren't a red light runner, this should not matter to you. It's like if you don't want a speeding ticket, don't speed! This is good honest revenue, no questions, we have you breaking the law on video, pay up.