I agree with Kari. In general I am opposed to "Big Brother" using electronic devices to monitor and punish behavior, but when it comes to running red lights, I say let's use every means available to catch the violators and punish the behavior. I can't believe the number of people who blow through red lights, particularly in Beaverton and Tigard. Yes the roads suck. Yes there should be a faster way to commute between your house and your job. But don't take it out on me, my kids, and my grandson by driving like an insane fool.

Green means go, Red means stop, Yellow does NOT mean accelerate.

Kari,

I agree with nearly everything you have written. There is the issue, though of speeders/red-light drivers of company vehicles (no way to determine the actual driver): On the Radar Screen

I also wish they could capture errant cyclists as well. As a law-abiding cyclist, those who run lights and ride in defiance of the law make it more difficult and dangerous for me.

What I'd like to see are cross walk cameras that nail all the jerks who drive through at full speed while I'm standing in the cross walks waiting on NW 21st and 23rd..

I don't mind red light cameras as long as they are really red light cameras. The problem is that some of this stuff is more about money than actual enforcement. If you dig into this subject a little bit you'll find plenty of garbage where the providers of the cameras get most of the money and the city doesn't get much. You'll also find allegations (and maybe proof?) that some of these cameras are rigged to provide more revenue to the camera owners.

I do hate the red light cheats and I see them all the time. There is always some idiot of a clown who thinks he can just come thru the intersection and that everyone will let him. So if the camera nails that idiot and the bust is legit then I'm all for it. But the problem is that all it takes is a little messing with the firmware and those legit busts aren't legit anymore and it is very difficult if not impossible to prove that you got framed.

yes, OK. And, the fine shouldn't be so over the top, please? I got one of these in Beaverdoom and the fine was $330! going to court brought it down $80, but still! Got one in the Bronx and it was $50. Can we be reasonable?

n short, their may be a some further digging on who gets fingered and how, but ultimately the owner of the vehicle is responsible if hey are letting people use it and are hence legally culpable if they can't put forward who was using their vehicle.

This is dead wrong. The owner of the vehicle gets a form with their picture, but all you have to do is send in a copy of your driver's license and sign a form saying the driver wasn't you. Yes, there is a spot on the form where you're supposed to indicate who was driving, but you're under absolutely no obligation to fill it out.

Want to speed through some red lights? Borrow your friend's car.

"lestatdelc" said: "In short, their may be a some further digging on who gets fingered and how, but ultimately the owner of the vehicle is responsible if hey are letting people use it and are hence legally culpable if they can't put forward who was using their vehicle."

Actually, that's not the case. The person driving the vehicle is responsible under the law, end of story (I'm too lazy to dig up the ORS on this, but have researched it before). You cannot hold the owner of the vehicle accountable (nor should you be able to as that would require the owner to incriminate somebody as opposed to the law enforcement entity doing the incrimination).

That's why husbands and wives who register their primary vehicles to each other on the vehicle title will never get a ticket under photo enforcement laws in Oregon (the ticket can be successfully contested with a letter saying you were not driving the car and a photo copy of your drivers' license showing you are not the person in the driver's seat. The law does not require you to say who was). The police could research the situation and re-issue the ticket, but the workload that would require makes it cost-prohibitive.

I'm also very uneasy about monitoring of public places. And if the light times and software are controlled in any way by the vendor, that's just asking for trouble. I don't like the idea, but it looks like most people are conditioned to accept this sort of thing nowadays.

Maybe a little bit of the police resources freed up by this could be used to catch drivers who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections?

Kari,

As an admitted drover-through-the-yellow-light-turning-red-and-got-caught perpetrator, I totally agree with you. It's a binary issue, and if you are running red, you're guilty. If you don't like quick yellow lights, then slow down when it turns yellow (like we all know we're supposed to, but almost none of us do).

I think this is an issue that requires a little less highfalutin political philosophy and a little more common sense. A red light camera is hardly the gestapo spying through your windows. It's a reasonable way to save police personnel time (and taxpayer money) and enforce good laws.

The way I see it - if you are following the law, you will have nothing to worry about and you won't get your pic taken. If you want to let a friend drive your car, make sure they follow the law too. No way will I let my sister drive my car - even if I am injured. She has racked up too many violations and I take pride in having a good driving record and (in turn) low insurance rates. If you can't pay the fine, don't drive and whine.

One of the points used to support use of these cameras is that they facilitate equal application of the law. But this is only true if the cameras themselves are equally distributed across neighborhoods. Does anyone have any data showing whether this is the case?

I concur with all that Kari has said on this issue. Pass the bill, eliminate the limit, bring on the cameras, and do not run red lights.

Bots nailing you for blowing a red light? I can think of at least a few cogent arguments opposing such tactics, but I don't find that practice too objectionable so long as they play fair.

Speed cameras are another matter. They tend to eliminate personal discretion, traffic & road conditions from the equation, making them little more than a nanny state automated revenue generator.

My biggest beef on local roads & highways (besides ridiculously limited capacity) is poor drivers. If only there were an automated method to identify them and revoke their licenses. Then there's the overly aggressive drivers, riding bumpers, weaving through traffic and altogether making conditions unsafe. No automated camera system that I know of has jackass detection capabilities.

The tax NYMBY syndrome is alive and well for the users political supporters of alternative transport. No matter what the reason why, it is always tax or charge somebody else or the motorists for the alternative form of transport and infrastructure they use and want to socialistically force other people to use too. So here is a novel democratic idea. Put higher transit fares before the voters and tell the public what they will get if passed. Put a bicycle tax on that ballot and let the public know what it will pay for, even if it is to pay for transit. It is a total disservice to the citizenry of Portland and the region for Metro and PDOT not to have an open conversation, or even survey the public with straight forward questions on the issue of taxing alternative transport use. Obviously this has been kept off of local political agendas and the dictatorial squabble table because making alternative forms of transport more financially self sustainable, paid for by users, would handily be passed by the voters.

I'm with Jeff and Joe on this one. I'm far more uncomfortable with both the Big Brother aspects of this and the incentive for the contractor to cheat on setting the camera than I am about the red light runners.

The only way I would support this is if some government agency that didn't benefit from the revenue being generated was in charge of setting the timing on the cameras and checking them regularly. I don't always trust the government but I trust the contractors way, way less.

There's another thing to consider. I lived in California until I was 36 (insert obligatory groan here from Oregon natives :) and I saw first-hand what happens to a place when the government turns into the nanny state. The more laws there were restricting what people could do, the more people acted as though anything not already illegal was ok. Personal responsibitlity and common sense were just left by the wayside. I don't think people did it consciously, but that was the result. So it becomes a snowballing effect... the more people fail to self-regulate the more laws have to be passed and the worse they get. I'd really like to see Oregon not head down that slippery slope.

Sorry about the above post, I copied and pasted it from another blog for my own information and did not mean to post it here. You are welcome to remove it.

The following is my intended post:

Red light cameras are nothing less than vehicle profiling. Time and again I have observed bicyclists ignore red lights and rocket past stopped cars into intersections where red light cameras exist. No flash or ticket, but several near crash misses with larger vehicles This along with the many times I have been nearly been run down, not by cars, but by bicyclists in downtown area crosswalks, the need is clear for bicycles in Oregon to be licensed with plates large enough for the traffic cameras to read them, and the need for the traffic cameras to be triggered by bicycles. Until all that happens, the title of this column should read: “Why I love selective and discriminatory law enforcement practices.”

I just realized I had better clarify that just a tad. Of course running red lights is already illegal, but we still rely on people to do the right thing. In my opinion adding red light cameras has the same psychological effect as the "nanny state" laws I was referring to - people who do this sort of thing get to know where they can and can't get away with it. Instead of doing the right thing, they can get into a mindset of "can't catch me here". Not everyone does this, of course, but it's the worst offenders who do, and it's a mental shift that turns into a vicious cycle, as I said before.

I just realized I had better clarify that just a tad. Of course running red lights is already illegal, but we still rely on people to do the right thing. In my opinion adding red light cameras has the same psychological effect as the "nanny state" laws I was referring to - people who do this sort of thing get to know where they can and can't get away with it. Instead of doing the right thing, they can get into a mindset of "can't catch me here". Not everyone does this, of course, but it's the worst offenders who do, and it's a mental shift that turns into a vicious cycle, as I said before.

I hate those things. Here's the problem -- I'm a normal guy. Got a place to live, I register my car to myself, at my house, I buy insurance for it, etc. So if I blow one of those things, it costs me. Contrast that with the guy who doesn't buy insurance or bother to register his car -- he doesn't have a reason to worry about red light cameras.

The penalty for breaking a law should not be higher for a citizen than for a dirtbag. Sorry, but no way will I ever be okay with that.

Meanwhile, I'll keep blowing red lights as always on my motorcycle, which doesn't set off the sensors at most intersections. I guess that's okay though, since I don't have a front plate and I wear a full face helmet. Right?

Curt

the more red light cameras and speed cameras the more customers we get buyign our device http://www.navalert.com

bring em on.

So... how do we know the cameras only take photos when triggered? How do we know they're not filming all the time for other purposes and the only thing we're informed of is the red light enforcement photo reason? Call me crazy, but I'm not very trusting.

I like the idea of enforcing red lights (I still see way too many people race through them) but I wonder about some of the yellow lights. Some really do seem shorter than others. If we're going to have this enforcement system in place, then we should have a set time period that the light is actually yellow.

I'm with Ellie. It's a bit nixonian, but what if the same cameras were reprogramed to record the faces of protesters as they marched through the intersection?

And I was told by a Portland officer that "yellow means stop." The cameras trigger on yellow, by his explanation.

Has anyone ever filed a Freedom of Information Request for these photos over, say, a given weekend? What exactly would Beaverton need to provide with an FOIA request?

These things aren't anything but a revenue generator for the city govts. that use them. I was working near the courthouse when they instituted these things in our city and watched the line waiting to get into the courthouse double them triple. I talked to the people and most of them were contesting. Plenty of them walked out of there with no penalty because it simply costs too much to have a court debate on photo cops. If you fight it you'll probably get off with little or no penalty. Of course you have to wait in the line.

There are no statistics conclusively demonstrating red light cameras cut down on accidents from running red lights: If somebody has in fact run the light and gotten into an accident, all you have is a picture of the accident. And there are no credible statistics proving red light cameras make drivers more careful.

Red light cameras are a classic public-private scam that does serious harm to public comity for private profit. If this was such a public safety issue, it would be in the interest of the community for the system to be public owned and subject to all the requirements, scrutiny, and limits to which public services are subjected. There are several companies who have made a business scamming cities, and obviously tools like, into privatizing all manner of what should be public operations like this. The companies end up making whatever money there is to be made and the cities are left holding the bag. Left in the wake of this ripoff is the ill will towards our neighbors and wormy little leaders who support this for their own childish, selfish reasons.

For obviously dangerous drivers like Blue Note:

Green means go, Red means stop, Yellow does NOT mean accelerate.

Yellow does not mean slow down, yellow does not mean slam on the brakes, yellow does not mean stop, yellow does not mean do not enter the intersection, yellow does not mean do not accelerate. Yellow doesn't mean anything of those things absolutely. Yellow means caution. Yellow means to use judgement to determine what is the genuinely safest thing to do under the specific circumstances and do it. You obviously are a danger on the road if you do not know that and do not drive accordingly.

Put away the tin-foil hat, ok?

The rightwingers reading Blue Oregon need to know that people like Kari, Blue Note, and a lot of commentors here do not represent the true and honorable spirit of liberal progressive politics. Every political movement has it's contingent who just don't quite get it. For the most part it's not even those folks fault they aren't that sharp and can't help themselves from letting their limitations show. Unfortunately, they really mess things up for everybody. Someone really does need to study why, though, Portland and Oregon seem to be disproportionately burdened in this regard.

I'm in the TJ/Jeff camp as well.

Photo or video, I'm uncomfortable with all the cameras.

You love them? That's a pretty strong word.

I guess my feeling is that we have larger, more important issues to deal with- including issues that involve vehicles and transportation. I'm uncomfortable with this Bushionian/Republican notion that the solution to every issue can be solved via stricter enforcement. They can't- and where does it end?

It's not about tinfoil hats, it's about taking off the blinders that allow some to think that our privacy and quaint notions like human interaction and judgement should somehow be overcome. Too Orwellian for me- the wrong solution that only develops other problems instead of dealing with the issues at hand.

I mean, really. You love them?

A (correctly configured) still camera only catches the precise moment of the law breaking - as opposed to a video camera which watches everything.

This, of course, is the essence of the argument police use when they are caught beating someone only for the opposite purpose: They always claim the photo, or short video, doesn't paint a true picture of what actually went on. Kari is using the extreme version of a still camera shot here to justify this scam, while the cops use that short glimpse as an argument to against accusations of bad behavior.

The cops depend of having clueless people like Kari on a jury who mainly are interest in what benefits them in particular circumstance: In the case of red light cameras, Kari's political benefactors and he personally each believe they derive a benefit from this scam; jurrors believe they benefit from police having a free hand, generally to abuse those of lesser means than the majority society jury pools proportionally represent.

At the bottom line, it demonstrates why the justification is bogus and why I think we are seeing how the crowd of folks like Kari aren't progressive, they are just self-interested. It just is the nature of our state that a lot of what they want happens to appear to be congruent with the progressive cause, even though their core values are more in step with regressive elements in our society.

No to cameras. I hate our surveillance culture and the abuses it opens us up to.

It seems heavyweight to solve this problem this way. Social norms against this behavior should be relied on and strengthened instead.

Also, these cameras will only make a difference if the individual is consciously making a choice to run the light, rather than just driving absentmindedly or drunkenly oblivious.

-Jeff

What a fabulous debate we've got going here (yay Blue Oregon). I'd have to weigh in on the TJ/Jeff side of the equation, both for my theoretical concerns and for how photo redlight/radar are actually used.

Kari (and I'm addressing you as the official "pro-camera" voice), there are a lot of ways we could employ technology in a binary way to enforce the law against citizens when we law enforcement has absolutely no probable cause to suspect a law is being broken, but we don't do it because our law requires PC for such surveillance. We could have devices attached to all our cars, say required when you register them, that automatically issue you a speeding ticket when your speedo exceeds 70 (or 75, or whatever the max speed limit is in this state). We could have breathalyzers installed that you must blow into before putting a car in gear; if above .08 bac BING you get a ticket once the car is in motion.

And though our courts have ruled otherwise, my concerns about 5th amendment right not to be forced to incriminate oneself have never been assuaged. When you get that grainy little photo in the mail you are asked if that is you in the picture. Theoretically they have to ask because all they know at that point is the registered owner of the vehicle, not who was driving. To me I don't see the difference between that and forcing a defendant to go up on the stand and answer questions - but Oregon Courts do because traffic violations technically civil matters, not criminal (despite their remarkable similarity in every way to traditional criminal matters).

As far as the practical aspect of the enforcement, I would submit that there is still too much subjectivity for it to earn the "egalitarian" tag you'd like to give it. I once got a photo radar speeding ticket and fought it. At the trial the officer admitted that something like 20% of all the photos snapped of allegedly speeding drivers were simply tossed out. The officer said sometimes it was because the images were of poor quality, but he admitted that at other times when the image captured more than one vehicle the officer had to make a judgment call as to which one was speeding. Officer's judgment to me equals room for subjectivity.

Not to mention the subjectivity in the penalty. If you are lucky enough to have a job (or, I guess have no job) that allows you to contest the ticket in court, I can almost guarantee you'll get the fine dropped. Mine when from something like $135 to $55, just because I showed up. That's not terribly egalitarian.

Plus, some of the ways to "beat the system" are much more easily available to the more wealthy. Like having multiple cars in different people's names. Have husband and wife (or just about anyone you trust) put each other's car in the other spouses name, and bingo when husband gets caught speeding the ticket comes to wife who can honestly say "that's not me in the photo", so it goes away.

Anyway, I just find the whole idea dangerous both theoretically and as actually executed.

Kari: I get it that you're pushing back on the slippery-slope argument. We shouldn't oppose reasonable public policy just because someone, somewhere, might use it as justification for unreasonable public policy. But proponents of red light cameras need to be able to articulate what makes them different from all the unreasonable applications of spy technology in a free society. I don't think you've done that.

For instance, what about photo radar cameras that ticket speeders? What about sensors in Pioneer Square that alert cops anytime someone lights a cigarrette? What about cameras that snap a picture anytime someone jaywalks, instantly transmits it to a cop's PDA, and tells him what direction the scofflaw is traveling so he can catch up and issue a ticket?

All of these things are within our technological reach, all could be programmed to only come on when someone actually breaks the law, all are egalitarian, and all could be justified as a way to supplement the underfunded police bureau.

Would you support this use of technology? If not, what makes it fundamentally different than a red light camera?

The problems with photo anything.

First, if an officer pulls you over when you appear to run a light, or speed, you have a chance to rebut and recall immediately what happened. When you get a photo in the mail two weeks later all you can say is...I sort of remember driving on that road, so you are frankly at a loss to address the exact circumstances or recall them if you have a trial

Second; And sort of related to #1 above, There are circumstances where the machine says you committed a violation, but maybe you didn't. For instance, as you are following a car in front of you it suddenly slows or brakes while you are in the intersection. Or it is icy out, you are going slightly under the speed limit the light goes yellow and you simply feel you can't stop safely and as you are going sort of slow the light turns red halfway thru the intersection. If the officer was there to observe, maybe no ticket, and even if s/he did stop you, at least you could have a great recollection of what happened.

Third, as the City of Beaverton likes to prove over and over again, the state laws sometimes mean nothing to some local jurisdictions when it comes to enforcing traffic laws. While as some point out, by law you should be able to sign a statement saying it isn't you , mail that to the court and they would dismiss a photo radar ticket, the City Courts in Beaverton ignored that law and required people to either snitch on the actual driver, or come in, take time off from work for a trial, and be asked by the judge who the driver was. So invariably, whatever safety restrictions you put into these laws, there will be some jurisdictions that simply ignore them because its too onerous for the local governments to comply and cuts into their income.

I do not think we should be afraid of using technology in law enforcement. I do not think progressives are some how against technological change, just because it's change, or just because it could be abused. I think we are clever enough to put checks in place that reduce abuse to the levels (or less) of the current enforcement systems (which certainly has abuses). I think progressive stand for progress and for experimenting with new ideas. I'm for trying cameras and other technologies for a number of purposes, seeing what problems (constitutional, privacy, etc ) do emerge for each purpose, trying to solve those problems, and then, if we cannot solve the problems, not using technology for those purposes.

I do not think we should be law enforcement Luddites. I am for a vigorous discussion (like this and in courts) of protecting our rights under such new technology systems.

I've given up driving, and only walk or use the bus now. I would love it if the the police did more enforcement against cars that ignore pedestrains who want to cross the street. Still, I think the cameras are a bad idea. The police review the photographs, and I have not heard of a single case of a Tri-met driver getting a photo-ticket, even though I have been a passenger on buses that frequently blow through the intersections on Sandy blvd. The photo system is not completely automated, and can still be subject to humans who may want to play favorites.

Technolgy is fantastic! I'm hoping that everyone in the US is required to carry or have a computer chip embedded in thier passport, driver license or better yet under thier skin at birth. Sensors could be piggy backed to exisitng surveilance cameras so that anyones movement and identity could be readily tracked. Hmm, passports already have the chip. My cell phone can be tracked via GPS. My car can be tracked via lojack. For that mater my lap top can as well. Um, my dog has a chip in his ear so he can be located if lost. My computer can be tracked as well. Costco knows how much toilet paper I buy, when and how often I buy it and even knows how I pay for it. Fred Meyer can track exactly what I buy and when. Target even has a system that can tell them how long I dwell in a certain aisle while deciding what I want to buy. So I guess a red light camera is not all that much more.

Kari,

Pls post the DATA that is/was used to justify red light cameras. Pls also do some research into yellow light timing, and whether Portland and a lot of other cities have adopted the new SHORTER yellow timing that makes more red light runners out of all of us. I believe there is data out there suggesting there are actually more rear ender accidents since folks jam on their brakes regardless of the traffic to avoid technology like this. Simply adding one second onto the yellow light timing for dangerous intersections can increase safety dramatically, was this even tested? If safety is the only concern, we dont need all this technology. Perhaps they can install a camera on the street outside your house, you dont have anything to hide, right?

People who don't like red-light cameras are people who run red lights. As someone who prefers safe driving to idiotic driving, I'm fine with red-light cameras.

That level of surveillance doesn't bother you?

I wish I could find a 'removed' protest video on YouTube. I should have saved it before it was culled. It did a beautiful job of illustrating the incredible surveillance capabilities with video, face recognition software, RFID & database information. You know all that data security the US VA seems to have... imagine what that could be used to accomplish with BlackWater or any of the SIXTEEN US intelligence agencies

enough to make your blood run cold when you realize what the NSA must have if Google Earth StreetLevel is in the Public Domain...

...or what your 'marketing' aka 'data-gathering' tagging online & your can accomplish to describe your personal habits & psychological profile...

When you realize what can be accomplished with public technology alone...

I look @ Negroponte... then, cameras on streets gives me the freaking night sweats...

"U.S. a theocratic state", says former Canadian ambassador "The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, & the Truth about Global Corruption"

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These negative comments about red light cameras in these postings remind me of a comment I heard while I was a temp at a local company some time ago. When someome told the management "this is illegal" the management would reply "unless there is proof or charges actually filed, it is not illegal". Red light cameras provide the proof and show the law breaking that goes on without any question. Just because an officer isn't there to monitor an intersection does not mean you can break the law and make things unsafe. Just follow the law and you will be OK. I do - why not you?

Greetings from Oregon East, a.k.a. the People's Republic of Maryland.

As insane an idea as red light cameras are (increasing rear-end collisions in Washington, DC and elsewhere; not generating enough revenue for other cities), there's a new problem:

They simply aren't working.

Wake me up when I can question a camera in court per the 6th Amendment, ok? Safety, my disc pads; red light cameras are all and only about revenue, and that's always been so.