Red Light Camera's

A topic that comes up quite frequently when I teach traffic school is the subject of the red light camera system. You either love them or hate them. I was the traffic sergeant when the City of Garden Grove implemented the system. Most of our meetings consisted of how the citations would present themselves in court, identifying drivers, and a myriad of "what if" situations. There was very little talk regarding revenue, although it was understood that the potential for dealing with red light camera violators could generate some monies.

Over the years, I have watched challenges to the system fall flat in court. There have been some exceptions. San Diego lost many red light camera citations when flaws were discovered in their implementation and timing of the signals. Despite the initial problems, San Diego was able to re-establish their system after working out the legal ramifications and problems they encountered. In Orange County, the Chief of Police of Huntington Beach declined to have a red light camera system installed in his city because he felt the incidents of rear end collisions would increase.

Whatever your position, take a look at the following video for some eye opening red light violators and the subsequent collisions that occur.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=-qvXbIenivk