This week’s edition of the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate contains an article (“Park Ridge City Council says no to red-light camera removal,” July 11) about the Park Ridge City Council’s decision last month to keep the red light camera at the corner of Northwest Highway and Oakton, which was installed in 2010.
The decision was in response to complaints by several business owners in that area that the red-light camera was hurting their businesses.
Did we miss the memo saying that drivers need to obey stoplights only when police are physically present? Or that stopping is optional if you’re on your way to buy something?
Frankly, we don’t like the Big Brother approach to law enforcement, with cameras seemingly capturing our every move from the moment we leave our houses until we return. And, given the technology that exists and the government’s (NSA, anyone?) penchant for “intelligence-gathering,” maybe even our homes are no longer sanctuaries.
So we subscribe to Ben Franklin’s view that trading liberty for safety makes one deserving of neither.
That being said, we recall the determination being made when that red-light camera was installed that there were frequent traffic violations there; and the red-light camera was chosen as an alternative to having police officers devoting an inordinate amount of time to policing that intersection at the expense of other areas.
According to the H-A article, “the vast majority” of those violations (202 of 289 in June) are for improper right turns on red. We’re not exactly sure why that’s such a chronic problem, but a violation is a violation.
Is the revenue derived from that camera desirable? Absolutely! If June’s total of $16,000 in fines is a typical month’s haul, that’s almost $200,000 a year – or approaching the all-in cost of employing two police officers.
But should revenue be the primary decision-driver? Absolutely not.
If “safety” is the real reason the Police and Council implemented the red-light camera, its success in promoting safety should be the first and foremost consideration for keeping it.
As noted above, there are a variety of reasons for being suspicious of camera-based law enforcement. A principal one is spelled C-H-I-C-A-G-O, that almost-bankrupt banana republic on our southeastern border that seems willing to tax anything that moves…or stands still for too long…in order to feed its century-plus culture of corruption and its current generation(s) of incompetents, crooks and grifters.
Another even more ominous reason is depicted in Orwell’s “1984.”
But to remove the Oakton red-light camera because of complaints that business is being lost from customers ticked off about getting ticketed for blowing a red light in their pursuit of commerce is half-witted, bordering on crack-potted.
The beefers who raised this issue, however, have performed a public service irrespective of how nutty their complaints might sound. They caused the Council and Police Department to revisit the red-light camera issue and its continuing success in fulfilling its avowed purpose. That should be done from time to time with every program and practice.
And the Council got it right by keeping the camera where it is, at least for the time being.
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8 comments so far
I’m actually one of those people that supports cameras.
Not only have I heard such cases of drivers blowing red lights, but have also seen it first hand where the light turns green and a car on the other street zips by a second after.
Of course I do wonder are people really that determined not to go to these businesses because of these things?
Yes I read the article but I can’t see myself avoiding businesses because of that.
I also am fine with a red light camera. It’s not a hard concept…if you don’t want a ticket then simply obey the law. This reminds me of the people who recently complained about parking enforcement “trolling” to enforce the 3 hour parking limit and to ticket for expired plates. The solutions there are pretty simple. Abide by the limit and renew your plates on time. Any revenue we get from those who don’t do those things is fair game.
I’m calling BS on the business owners. I’ve not gotten one of these tickets, but my understanding is that the ticket arrives in the mail, long after your shopping is done. Would someone really not go back to a favorite merchant because he or she received a ticket at some point in the past?
I wonder if the actual issue is that the business owners and their employees are getting ticketed on a frequent basis.
Pretty soon the cars themselves will monitor the speed limit and the actual speed; you will just have an Ipass that charges you everytime you are above the speed limit. You may find the concept ridiculous, but the technology exists to build this automation of speeding tickets.
EDITOR’S NOTE: How about self-driving cars like the ones in “Minority Report” and “Demolition Man”?
In think the Chief of Police is sincere in his desire to maintain safety. And, it sounds like reasonble protocols are in place to make certain that citizens are treated fairly and have redress. That being said, the expectation is or drivers to follow the rules of the road when they are being watched and when they are not. It’s hard to have sympathy for those who are caught red handed in a violation.
A question for which I could probably find an answer elsewhere, if I was interested enough in the topic to do a little research. I’m not, so I’ll rely on PW’s or others’ responses:
Has the number of violations at this intersection changed in any appreciable way since the introduction of the cameras and the related signage?
EDITOR’S NOTE: We understand the answer to be “yes” because of simple logistics: the City now has a “cop” at that intersection 24/7 where it did not have a squad car there 24/7 in the past – although we have not see an actual “before and after” analysis.
We have seen, however, the report for June 2016, in which 372 total citation videos were reviewed by a Park Ridge sworn officer who rejected 83 of them for reasons we do not know. That means 289 citations (78%) were approved for prosecution: 202 improper right turns, 81 blown lights and 6 improper left turns.
Nineteen citations were actually challenged at the June hearing, 17 citations being upheld and 2 being thrown out.
So once we get those self driving cars, cars which will presumably not violate driving laws, will municipal budgets lose more in ticket revenue than they pay in enforcement costs? Imagine how quiet the county courthouse will be.
I have a question. On each fine given to a driver, how much goes to PR? I had an officer tell me that it is actually only $7. Per ticket. The officer that is the Franklin school liaison stated this.
EDITOR’S NOTE: No idea.
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