Police praise red-light cameras in Va. Beach
VIRGINIA BEACH -- Virginia Beach police say red-light violations have declined at intersections that have been monitored by cameras since March.
Officer Brian Walters, coordinator of the PhotoSafe Program, says violations are down at all 11 intersections that have received cameras in the program's first six months. The declines are as great as 69 percent.
Walters says the program is keeping people from running red lights.
Virginia Beach is the first city to install red-light cameras after the General Assembly approved their use in 2007.
--The Associated Press
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The compliance issue is the point bud, you are not required by law to participate in driving. Therefore, by volunteering to operate a motor vehicle on public property, you give up certain legal protections, i.e. the protection against unreasonable search and seizure regarding the states right to obtain a blood sample in determining intoxication. Since access to driving is not a constitutionally protected freedom, it is a state/towns defacto right to regulate it’s usage, pretty much as it sees fit.
If you feel the burden of state interference has become too great, you are now and will always be free to walk, jog, or run just as fast as you please past any traffic camera in the country (minding the crosswalks of course!).
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right… to be confronted with the witnesses against him.
Who’s the witness when a camera is involved?
As far as the constitutionality is concerned, the US courts have ruled again and again that your use of the public roads is not a right, but a privilege contingent upon your compliance with the laws governing their use.
What does ‘privilege contingent on compliance’ have to do with the constitutionality of speed cameras? There’s no sensical connection.
Speed/red light cameras are the only smart way to police the nations highways. They allow law enforcement officers the freedom of focusing on more dangerous criminal activities, and spare them the dangerous business of excessive traffic stops. They also protect the public from unnecessary high-speed chases, as well as reducing the chance a citizen will be searched and ticketed for additional violations when speeding or red light running is the primary infraction.
As far as the constitutionality is concerned, the US courts have ruled again and again that your use of the public roads is not a right, but a privilege contingent upon your compliance with the laws governing their use.
When these camera programs are started, the stated intent is ‘safety,‘ but the real reason is revenue.
Is there any information on the accident statistics before and after installation?
Since almost every study on redlight cameras shows an increase in dangerous rear-end collisions, citizens of Va Beach deserve an answer.
If you had that much extra money coming in, you would do the same thing.
Keep on mind, police departments are always on a seesaw between politics and real world law enforcement. Always have been. Always will be.
Speed cameras, assuming that they ARE constitutional(bets are off!) are about revenue not safety.
We need to re-think our taxation structure. If, through the combination of low taxes and rising costs, the government can’t be supported on tax revenue, there is a deeper, more caustic problem that the police are not part of the solution for.
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