if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
Shoot Out The Lights
Seriously, how many people have wanted to do this?
A Knoxville man accused of disabling a red light camera with a hunting rifle had been captured running the same traffic light five hours earlier, police said this morning.
Clifford E. Clark III, 47, of Wildercliff Lane in North Knox County is charged with felony vandalism and reckless endangerment. He is accused of shooting the red light camera at Broadway and Interstate 640 about 2 a.m. Nov. 25.
Just hours prior to the shooting, at 9:11 p.m. Nov. 24, that same red light camera recorded a picture of Clark allegedly running the red light at Broadway and I-640, Knoxville Police Department Capt. Gordon Catlett said this morning.
So just how effective are these eyes of the police department? Not much, apparently:
The red light camera had been shot three times and was out of commission for two days. Since it was first activated in September 2006, the camera at Broadway and I-640 has recorded nearly 7,000 incidents of vehicles disregarding the red light, police said.
At the time of Clark’s arrest, police said Clark had never been cited for running a red light by the camera system. However, there is a delay of several days from the time the camera snaps the infraction to the time KPD officers review the incident and decide a violation occurred.
I think it’s time to face facts: These cameras, like speed traps, are all about revenue and have little to do with enforcing the law, unless you count giving local cops something to do when there aren’t any real crimes to solve. I wouldn’t necessarily do what Mr. Clark did, but I can understand why he did it.
As a side note, have you ever noticed how many men in the South have “III” after their names? Who says hicks can’t have royalty?
Comments
He’s got nothing on some of these
Speed cameras in residential areas to enforce 30mph limits i understand. I heavily question their use on unpopulated roads. Luckily my GPS now tells me whenever i get close to one.
People should be shooting out speed cameras, not red light cameras. There’s never an excuse for running a red light, it’s just dangerous.
Who says hicks can’t have royalty?
BOW down and Kiss my ring…
yes
its traditional is to honor our fathers and grand fathers.
About a year after I got my driver’s license, Columbia, MD began putting in red light cameras. It didn’t take very long before people stopped running red lights, because they didn’t want to get tickets in the mail. I’d love to have red light cameras in the area I’m in now—people run red lights here like crazy. I don’t know if they’re color blind or just stupid or what.
People should be shooting out speed cameras, not red light cameras. There’s never an excuse for running a red light, it’s just dangerous.
Well, I wouldn’t say never. I’ve deliberately ran lights before at night.. when leaving a job years back. Would get stuck at a light for literally a minute plus.. when there was zero cross traffic and visibility both ways was very good. Those were just poorly setup lights.
However, there are some places where I think the red light cameras are good. There’s an intersection near my house here, where people would run the light making a left turn (left turn to get to where there’s a Vons, Wal-Mart, and Fry’s just off the I15 at Aero Drive here in San Diego). These would often be people running the light a good 5 seconds after it was red.. because god forbid they might have to wait one whole cycle of the light (which is actually pretty quick). Since the camera has been in place, the runners have dropped to barely a trickle vs a usual flow of at least 3-4 cars in two lane EVERY time it changed. I was almost hit several times in the past when the light turned green for me to turn right down the same road coming down the hill.. long after my light was green and the closest car coming up to turn left was way down at the bottom of a long turn lane.. but they’d come flying up and through the light and almost hit me.
Almost none of the people running it in the past were a case of just thinking you’d make the yellow and barely missing it… no, these were obvious “fuck everyone else, I’m not waiting” type of runners. That whole stretch of road is a clusterfuck anyway though.. the ramp from I15 South to Aero has 2 right turn lanes.. and people regularly take the far right lane and race across the lanes to the left turn to get to the stores… I’ve almost been plowed countless times by people doing that because I’m in the left-hand right turn lane and legally turn into the far left lane that goes straight up the hill, and some ass in the right lane wants to drive straight across me into the left lanes.
For those having a hard time picturing the place.. google map of stretch of road ramp from I15 to aero on top right.. left turn I’m referring to is traffic moving right to left to turn left onto Murray Canyon Rd on bottom left.
I do think the cameras should have a small delay to allow for the occasional person who should’ve stopped, but thought they would make the yellow (hell, we’ve all done that) and only nails the people that clearly run a light they couldn’t make.
I am in complete agreement that putting the cameras where there isn’t a problem is stupid. Also that the cases where they apparently install a camera, and also shorten the length of the yellow light, in order to trick some people into getting caught.. are completely wrong.
oops..
s/Murray Canyon Rd/Murphy Canyon Rd/
We have a Murrary Ridge Rd here too and I typed it several times last night as it was talked about at our planning group meeting. :)
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Nice category to put it in, too. :-)