Ticket Camera Flack Infiltrates Orlando Tribune
When The National Motorists Association blog noticed a large number of pro-red-light-ticket-camera editorials coming out of the Orlando Tribune, they decided to investigate. Turns out that every one of the pro-camera pieces was written by a single member of the Tribune's editorial board, George Diaz. Well wouldn't you know it: Diaz is "the point man on editorials pushing for red light camera legislation in Florida" for the National Campaign To Stop Red Light Running. The lobbying group is funded by the fine people who make and sell red-light-ticket- cameras. Needless to say, the Tribune has ethical standards which state that Editorial staffers "should avoid situations in which their activities in connection with any group or cause could be perceived as influencing what the Sentinel publishes or broadcasts." What's more, "when conflicts of interest are unavoidable but not obvious to readers, they should be disclosed in the story." And of course, Diaz did neither. For shame.
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I'm just glad to see the Petsmart.com's mascot got himself a new job.
I used to be a member of the NMA years ago and recently renewed my membership. You could spend $30 on a lot less worthy or valuable things, TTAC'rs, so please consider joining.
When I lived in Florida, people ran red lights a shocking amount of the time. Even cops. What this article doesn't discuss is that Florida has an insane amount of "timed" lights (non-intelligent) and the waiting period for the cycle is so, so long, that drivers have serious incentives to run them. Ever been stuck at a red light for 5 minutes without a single car in sight? That's normal in the Florida I know. They need to focus on better management of the traffic flow, not on enforcement of an imperfect system.
Red light cameras are a complete scam used by governments to collect money from motorists. Red light cameras are placed in intersections that have higher rates of people running red lights. The drivers going through these intersections are the same ones that are going through the surrounding intersections that don't have higher rates of red light running. This means that there is something about these intersection that encourage running a red light. The government could choose to do an engineering study to determine what is causing the increased incidences of running the red light. They then fix the problem(s) and make the intersection safer. Or they can set up a camera to collect money from all of the drivers who fall victim to the poorly designed intersection. On top of this, some cities shortened the yellow light time at intersections with cameras to pull in more money. Money is the motivation behind red light cameras. Any talk about safely is simply to distract the gullible.