Letter from the KC Star

[samfloor]

"Red light camera ticket for funeral procession

I recently received a “Notice of Violation” from the Kansas City Municipal Court produced by a red light traffic camera. It stated that I ran a red light.

Yes, I did. But so did the other 50 or so family members I was following in a funeral procession.

I had a bright orange “Funeral” tag displayed on my rear view mirror, and my flashers were engaged. There was also an official car with the appropriate lights holding traffic at the intersection where I was cited.

Doesn’t it stand to reason that this situation should be swiftly handled with a phone call?

No. I must either pay my $100 fine or show up on my court date with proper documentation and legal counsel. An officer has signed my violation and stated as fact that my charges are true and valid.

Did he even take the time to look at the pictures I saw? My not breaking the law has sure caused me one big headache."
Lisa Dunleavy"

Do laws get any worse than this? This woman is a victim of a system in it purely for money. These cameras and collection are run by a private company.

[havasu]

Those camera systems are pure scam, and as you say, are run by private companies. Los Angeles finally pulled the plug on them recently as well.

[Sideways]

Houston was using cameras until recently and stopped. The city had to pay a HUGE (7 figures) fee to cancel the contract.

[havasu]

I was actively involved with the sales pitch from a company who wanted to place them in my city. I told them that it was my opinion they could not care less about the safety of the motorist but only were concerned with the money they would make. Yeah, they were going to give us half the money, but I didn't buy it.