Fighting the red-light cameras (Knoxville, Murfreesboro: credit, how much, attorney)

[NJDevil]

Thanks for the links and the info Mr Sold - I will have hubby read up on it. Really appreciate it cause I hate wasting my time online trying to find info about it.

You're going to tell me about wasting taxpayer money! Yeah, people like my husband are to blame. I don't think so!

It is very clear what jabogitlu meant regarding cameras causing accidents, and he is correct in that statement.

DubbleT, if a light has just turned yellow, it may as well be green to me - I'm going. It really depends on what state the light is at, and other factors around me. I use common sense. Most TN natives and older people obey traffic laws to the letter (except for slower traffic kept right), and they do not move on yellow. It's us transplants that excello-yellow.

[NJDevil]

It says emergency vehicles with emergency lights on; so I doubt they would consider a regular car an emergency vehicle. Then you'd have to come with why you were in an emergency. Worth a shot maybe.

[jabogitlu]

I believe most people believe it's legal to enter on a yellow, but most people are afraid of that light turning red before they exit the intersection, as traffic light yellow-red signal timing is NOT standardized. It really, really should be for traffic cameras to be up.

[Barking Spider]

"You're going to tell me about wasting taxpayer money! Yeah, people like my husband are to blame. I don't think so"

What I was talking about is people using the courts for frivolous lawsuits are wasting the taxpayers money. It might be Terry Nichols (Oklahoma bomber) is in prison and suing because he doesn't like the food. It might be the guy suing McDonald's because he got heart disease. Or it could be the some guy suing for..... fill in the blank.

And yes I think someone going to court to fight a red light ticket based on getting a ticket mailed instead of handed to them is wasting the court's time. But that's just me.

[dixierambler]

Red light cameras are revenue generators only, plain and simple. They are not installed for "safety" reasons. If cities really want to improve safety at a intersection, all that needs to be done is increase the yellow time. Instead, what many cities do is decrease the yellow time in order to catch more people going through the intersection. If I'm not mistaken, a year or two ago, Knoxville had to throw out quite a few red light citations because the yellow time had been decreased below the legal limit. From what little I've heard, about the only way to win one of these cases is to prove the timing is off. But that's very difficult to do since they time these things down to the hundredth of a second.

[hiknapster]

I'm all for law enforcement and people following the traffic laws. In fact, I'm a bit overboard about it. That's why I am not wild about those lights.

The yellow makes me nervous without cameras. As soon as a I see yellow I worry.

Should I go? Is there anyone behind me that is following too fast? What about the road conditions? Is it slippery? But darn it, if I go through, will it turn red while I'm in the intersection and then will I be in trouble?

If it is one of those lights then my anxiety level is tripled, so, I am one of those people that could cause an accident at the camera lights.

I must say that I went through the one at Merchant's and it turned red fairly soon after I was in the intersection, but I did not get a ticket. My husband, however, got one on Clinton Highway. We got the pictures and the video. He went into the intersection while it was red, right on the tail of someone else.

He deserved it and we paid it.

[dixierambler]

Red means...... Stop!

Green means... Go!

Yellow means...Go very fast!!

[BRH]

I also tend to agree that this suit would be frivolous. Whether the cameras are for safety or revenue, it really doesn't matter if you aren't breaking the law in the first place. I drive through the ones at Cedar Bluff and I-40 daily on my way to work and I've never gotten a ticket or seen an accident because of them.

The only situation I can see that might cause someone to be angry would be when traffic stops or backs up and you are caught in the middle of the intersection. But this also can be avoided by simply looking farther ahead than the car right in front of you.

Anyway, to be honest, they are probably as much for revenue as any other reason, but as long as the people are breaking the law anyway, why not earn some needed tax money from them. If the money goes toward improvements or services, and not just to line someone's pocket, I don't have a problem with it.

[Barking Spider]

1. I have seen people stop on a yellow at many intersections - camera or not. I was behind one that slowed down because he/she thought it was going to turn yellow soon, and then stopped right when it turned yellow..
2. Does not matter to me if the camera was installed to create revenue, or a place to hang garage sale signs, or just to complete the feng shui of the intersection.

A red light was run, it's against the law, pay the fine.

I guess there are people that would complain if they placed a cop at the intersection waiting for someone to run the red lights. You could get face time with a cop, you could be handed the ticket, you could pay a higher fee, and the city would be making money.

Oh wait - that is a revenue generator too. Hmmmm, giving a ticket to people that break the law. What a concept.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Barking Spider

1. I have seen people stop on a yellow at many intersections - camera or not. I was behind one that slowed down because he/she thought it was going to turn yellow soon, and then stopped right when it turned yellow..

Hey. That was me!