Red Light Cameras to Increase Traffic, Crowd Jails, and Create More Homeless City of Miami Beach, you have got to be out of your sun-bleached mind. You want to install red light cameras? In a city where running red lights has been de facto legal for years? You money hungry, greedy, uncreative invasive bastards. This is the worst idea I think the city has ever had. Because it will create traffic, because it will fine people who have no intention of ever paying, and because it will punish an already-cash-strapped population. Thank you, City of Miami Beach, for inconveniencing and lowering the quality of life for all of your residents. MAYBE TRAFFIC CAN BE OUR NEWEST TOURIST ATTRACTION
This is a terrible idea for a lot of reasons. The first of which is that it will create immense backups on the streets where people need to turn left. Anyone who has lived here for any amount of time knows about the “Miami Left,†where three cars or so go through an intersection turning left after the light changes. It’s not exactly legal, but the option is having cars go one car per light cycle. Which can back your left turning lanes up for blocks. The Beach already has enough traffic. If people can’t go three to a red when turning left, it’s only going to get worse. And one thing nobody living in Miami Beach wants is for the traffic to get worse. So thanks for that one. RED LIGHT CAMERAS WILL INCREASE OUR HOMELESS POPULATION Secondly, these tickets are expensive. According to the city’s website, “A red light violation carries a civil penalty of $125 City-mandated fine for first occurrence, $250 for the second, and up to $500 for a third and any subsequent offense.† So in a city with 15 percent unemployment, you are now going to try and squeeze even more money out of us that we don’t have. Say you get caught by one of these things. But you don’t have 125 extra dollars to spend, so you don’t pay the ticket. Then your license gets suspended. But you have to drive to work or you get fired (and God knows you’re not finding another job) and one day your taillight burns out and you get pulled over. The cop sees your license has been suspended, and you are then put in jail. Causing you more court costs and fines. You have to pay court costs so you can’t pay rent. And you get fired from your job because you were in jail. So now you are unemployed and homeless. All because of a stupid red light camera. Thanks again, City of Miami Beach! BIG BROTHER AT ITS WORST  It is also invasive. This is, essentially, the government taking pictures of you when you are out in public. Now I know the Patriot Act pretty much opened the door for the government to watch whatever you do, whenever they feel like it. But this isn’t exactly thwarting any terrorists. Why can’t the police just do this like they have for years? Are you saying your police are incompetent, City of Miami Beach? No, you’re saying “We want to get more money out of our people, so we’re going to start invading your privacy.†This is Big Brother at its worst. NO CONSEQUENCES FOR TOURISTS  Finally, how many foreign tourists do we get in the Beach every year? You really think they’re even going to consider paying a camera fine? You think when Hertz sends them that letter demanding $150 they’re even going to read it? Doubtful. Similarly doubtful is that an American tourist not from Florida would pay, since you can’t get your license suspended for a violation from another state. They may not be able to legally drive in Florida again. But if Frank from Kenosha is spending his only weekend ever in South Beach and gets one of these things, my guess is he tosses it right next to those mailers from the March of Dimes. You’re not going to make money here, City of Miami Beach. Your unemployed residents can’t pay these fines, your visitors won’t pay them, and you’ll spend so much in jailing and enforcing this that it will be a total loss. What you will succeed in doing is angering your residents and putting people in jail whose only crime was not having enough money to pay your ridiculous fines. In an economy like this, it’s just cruel and unnecessary. Find another way to fund your corruption. Because invasion of privacy and making those who can’t afford it pay the most is not a good way of going about it.
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12 Comments on"Red Light Cameras to Increase Traffic, Crowd Jails, and Create More Homeless"
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rk says:
Matt, While you do make your case rather colorfully, I have to disagree with much of what you said. If people are being forced to make a left on red, then the solution is to have better left-turn lights and lanes, not ignore the rules. Miami Beach has some of the worst drivers anywhere, and an accident rate second to none (here’s a link from another website: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/ped_scdproj/webinar052809/miami/). If people are worried about the fines and losing jobs, then the obvious thing is to slow down and obey the rules and not have to worry. Those extra 5 minutes you save might be life or death for some unlucky pedestrian or bicyclist. I do agree with you on the way this is being done, i.e. the cameras. The police should be out there doing it the old-fashioned way: enforcing traffic rules on foot, bike and car, not with cameras. Lowering the speed limit a good 5 to 10 mph on most roads is also a good idea.
Posted on 02/03/2010 at 7:14 PM