Red Light Cameras Coming to an Intersection Near You
The city of Richmond will be installing digital cameras at 20 intersections to capture drivers running red lights. RTD has some details but also has the map below which shows the 10 most ticketed intersections in RVA. As you can see we have 3 in the top ten and New Kent & Westover Hills Blvd comes in at #3. Nothing in the article states that the intersections will get the cameras but it seems a logical place to start.
Interesting sidebar… studies show that when cameras are installed, rear-enders go up.
And does anyone know if the city will shorten the caution yellow so as to trap more perps? I believe they did that in Tidewater and it raised quite a stink.
This should be interesting!
curious will they also ckeck speeders
[...] Hills and Heights blog has a post about the ‘new red light cameras’ that the City of Richmond will be installing at various busy intersections. Note that at east four of them will be installed on Belvidere, with one of these going up at the intersection of Belvidere and Spring Street. [...]
Has it been explicitly stated anywhere that these 10 intersections will be among the 20 to receive cameras?
@ Jonathan not that I have found but in honesty I haven’t looked to hard.
One news report said they were going to rotate them to enhance the revenue potential. They don’t want folks to be sure where they are.
so all the proff they need is a picture of your car with identifiable liscence plate, and the computer does the rest…welcome to the machine…
“Machine” maybe, but in these tough economic times, the more creative a city is in finding these relatively painless revenue enhancements, the less we will have to worry about our property taxes going up.
And it’s not like anyone is holding a gun to your head and making your run that red light.
The only problem is if the city screws with the timing of the lights so that you don’t have a realistic chance of getting through the intersection on the green. That happened in Tidewater I think.
And of course some might find the increase in rear end collisions will find objectionable.
I’d rather have the cameras than this massive police presence that has popped up like toadstools in all our neighborhoods in recent weeks.
@ Liberty, I believe it must also be able to identify the driver.
I don’t care a whit about the revenue stream. It’s high time RPD started making people reconsider running red lights around here.
Faces wouldn’t work because then all you’d have to do is don a blond wig, wide brimmed hat and dark sunglasses when you drive.
Plus the cops will have to have a data-base of all our mugs on file and if THAT’s the case, then Libery is right to be concerned.
Um, the DMV already has that, y’know.
But hey, as the Bush Administration told us for 8 years, if you’re not doing anything wrong, you don’t have anything to worry about.
I can’t believe Forest Hill and Hathaway didn’t make the list. In Richmond stop signs/traffic signals are advisory only.
Is there any way to convince them to install STOP SIGN cameras?? It’s sad that so many folks, even our own nieghbors, who can’t tell yellow from red or a triangle from am octagon or just cannot read. Not to mention the masses who pretend that there is no sign on our corners at all. And I love the ones that run it and are looking the wrong way for traffic…….
A “most-ticketed” intersection is not necessarily a “most-red-light-run” intersection: it is an intersection where the police have found it convenient to sit and watch, and from which it is easy to identify and pursue violators.
And while we’re at it, let’s get a yield-sign camera after the Powhite exit ramp going onto westbound Forest Hill. Does anyone in Richmond know the difference between “yield” and “merge”?
LOL
Our Boston friends (you know,, crazy Boston drivers) think drivers are scary down here.
I’ve never seen anyone get pulled over for running a red light, and that does have an effect on behavior. From the perspective of learning theory, red-light cameras are effective because they’re consistent. Seems like most people complaining about the cameras are really just made they might get a ticket. Just stop running red lights.
I’ve never seen anyone pulled for running a red light either, but that’s not the reason they’re putting up these cameras.
Like most traffic violations, it’s purely for revenue enhancement and nets localities a pretty penny without the expense of cops.
I think that it’s actually for more effective traffic law enforcement: having documented proof of an infraction will probably inhibit frivolous court challenges. That it nets revenue is ancillary, but definitely a bonus.
I’m looking forward to it. Richmond drivers are pretty awful about stopping at signals.
Maybe the City will stop looking to automatically raise real estate taxes or assessments to generate revenue.
Next: speeders!
for once I agree with #14.
And this system has the added benefit of leveling the playing field when it comes to traffic enforcement, making sure everyone is treated equally and not have the decisions as to who gets a ticket left up the vagaries of a cop based system where certain folks get always get nailed while others are let off scott free.