Several years ago, the Police Officers Association of Michigan and the National Motorists Association combined to support a bill in Michigan to prohibit the use of numerical ticket numbers for either work assignments for officers or their evaluations. Ticket quotas of any kind became illegal in Michigan.

EVERY STATE SHOULD HAVE THIS LAW TO PREVENT TICKET PROFITEERING.

James C. Walker, Life Member-National Motorists Association

Facts.
1) Posted limits have almost no effect on the actual travel speeds, as speed trap officers know.
2) Posting low limits below what most drivers find safe and comfortable does NOT reduce travel speeds but it DOES increase crash risks by increasing speed variance, passing, tailgating, and aggressive driving.
3) The only practical effects (if not the malicious intent) of artificially low posted speed limits are to increase ticket revenue and decrease safety.
4) IF SAFETY IS THE GOAL for the posted limits (rare in New York), then the posted limits are set at the 85th percentile speed of free flowing traffic under good conditions. See the science on our website.
5) Correct 85th percentile limits are rare in NY because they gut the speed trap ticket revenue.
James C. Walker, Life Member-National Motorists Association (frequent visitor to NY state to see family)

Whether the vote was a good one or a bad one depends upon your goal for the cameras.

IF your goal was safety, then getting rid of the cameras was a good vote. Crashes went down without the cameras and there are MANY documented studies showing that cameras often increase the crash rates at camera intersections.

IF your goal was to enrich the for-profit camera company and help reduce the bloated state budget with the massive fine surcharges, then the vote was a bad one.

Red light cameras are very expensive and require ticketing mostly safe drivers to generate enough fine revenue to even pay the costs of the cameras alone. This is done in two predatory ways. Yellow intervals are set too short for the ACTUAL approach speeds of at least 85% of the vehicles and/or drivers making safe slow rolling right on red turns are targeted for money - with no safety benefit in almost every case.

See the federal research showing that right on red turns are involved in only 0.4% of crashes at signalized intersections and only 0.06% of all traffic crashes with an injury or fatality. Ticketing right on red drivers is for money, not safety, in almost every case.

Poway is the 58th California city to have ended their camera program, or banned them before any were installed. Good riddance.

James C. Walker, Life Member-National Motorists Association

No trials are required, if safety is the goal. The 85th percentile speed of free flowing traffic under good conditions is the safest point to set the speed limit and the 85th percentile speeds on Motorways were 79 mph about 3 years ago.

IF safety were the true goal for the Motorway limits, rural areas would have been posted at 80 mph many years ago. But safety is NOT the goal for the DfT for Motorway speed limits.

James C. Walker, National Motorists Association (USA), frequent visitor to Britain - most recently in May 2013 where I did a LOT of Motorway driving around the 85th percentile speeds of 80 mph.

Red light cameras are a terrible idea.

1) They require deliberate mis-engineering of the lights to create enough split second violations by safe drivers to pay the high costs of the cameras.

2) Cameras often raise the total accident rates at camera intersections.

3) Slow rolling right on red turns account for only 0.4% of all crashes and only 0.06% of crashes with injuries or fatalities, per the federal research. So any tickets for right on red turns are 99.6% to 99.94% about money, not safety.

4) Red light cameras are for-profit business partnerships between for-profit camera companies, local governments willing to mis-engineer their traffic lights for profits, and the state that gets a big cut of the total take.

5) VERY few red light camera tickets actually go to dangerous drivers who cause or risk t-bone crashes, because these dangerous drivers are far too small a percentage to financially justify having expensive red light cameras. Cameras typically lease for $4,000 to $5,000 per month, per camera - so they must ticket mostly safe drivers to generate enough revenue to just pay their own costs, let alone produce the high profits that city and state governments demand from such programs.

If you care about safety and fairness in traffic enforcement, call your state Representatives and Senators to tell them you do NOT want red light cameras or any other automated enforcement devices in Michigan. Those programs will be about money, not safety, and may well reduce safety if implemented. Links to find the contact information for your Representative and Senator are here: http://www.michigan.gov/som/0,4669,7-192-29701_29....

See the science of the safest traffic light engineering on our website in the red light camera section.

James C. Walker, Life Member-National Motorists Association

The rea$on$ citie$ u$e red light camera$ and $peed camera$ $hould be obviou$ to mo$t ob$erver$ and the rea$on$ do not include $afety.

Ticket cameras are about MONEY, MORE MONEY, and EVEN MORE MONEY.

Artificially low posted speed limits and artificially short yellow intervals on the lights drive this corrupt money-grab industry. Ticket cameras require deliberately improper and less-safe engineering of the speed limits and traffic lights to produce maximum profits. It is corrupt and immoral and should be banned.

James C. Walker, National Motorists Association

Speed cameras make profits ONLY when the posted speed limit is set way below the safest point, usually the 85th percentile speed of free flowing traffic under good conditions, and this is done for the sole purpose of giving speeding tickets with cameras or officers - tickets to mostly safe drivers.

Red light cameras make profits ONLY when the yellow intervals are deliberately set too short for the actual approach speeds and this is done for the sole purpose of giving red light camera tickets mostly to safe drivers for MONEY.

Ticket cameras are scams that require deliberately improper and less safe traffic engineering that can reduce safety. The scams must end.

James C. Walker, National Motorists Association

Senator Renfroe is correct, speed and red light cameras should be totally banned.

Speed cameras produce profits ONLY when the posted speed limits are set artificially low, below the safest point which is the 85th percentile speed of free flowing traffic under good conditions. Setting 85th percentile posted speed limits almost always produces the smoothest and safest traffic flow with the fewest accidents. Typical posted speed limits are set 5 to 10 mph (and sometimes even 15 mph) below the safest levels. This enables speed traps and speed cameras to be very profitable, at the cost of lower safety.

Red light cameras produce profits ONLY when the yellow intervals are deliberately set too short for the ACTUAL 85th percentile approach speeds. This improper engineering is less safe, sometimes causes increases in accident rates, and makes red light camera profitable.

A total ban on ticket cameras is the only way to stop the temptation for cities to deliberately mis-engineer their speed limits and traffic lights to maximize camera ticket revenue. Without the financial incentive to raise ticket revenue, cities will more likely engineer for maximum safety, NOT maximum ticket profits.

Colorado voters need to contact their state Representatives and Senators after the 2013 legislative session opens to ask them to support Senator Renfroe's bill to ban the cameras.

James C. Walker, National Motorists Association

Red light cameras are about money, not safety

Allowing Redflex to evaluate which intersections should get the cameras is like allowing the fox to plan nightly visits to the hen house for the hen's pleasure.

Norfolk's red light cameras will be profitable ONLY if 1) the yellows are set too short for the actual approach speeds and/or 2) the city tickets safe slow-rolling right on red turns that endanger no one and/or 3) tickets people who stop in the "wrong place" that endanger no one.

Red light cameras are a for-profit business scam that requires ticketing mostly safe drivers to produce enough tickets to cover the high $4,350 per month per camera costs. See the science on our website of how better engineering will almost always produce fewer violations and greater safety than using predatory ticket cameras.

James C. Walker, National Motorists Association, www.motorists.org

This ruling specifically authorizes greedy cities to use predatory ticket cameras and unsafe engineering to collect ticket revenue from safe drivers by using improper engineering of speed limits and traffic lights. It will make it CRITICAL to elect and hire only city officials that put safety ahead of ticket revenue.
In the meantime, Washington now needs a state law that totally bans ticket cameras - joining the many other states that ban ticket cameras. See the list at www.thenewspaper.com
See our website for the science on speed limit and traffic light engineering parameters that maximize safety. James C. Walker, National Motorists Association, www.motorists.org, Ann Arbor, MI