Some more information 1

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars_trucks/2420766.html BY GLENN HARLAN REYNOLDS Others worry about safety. Red-light cameras are supposed to make us safer by discouraging people from running red lights. The trouble is that they work too well. Numerous studies have found that when these cameras are put in place, rear-end collisions increase dramatically. Drivers who once might have stretched the light a bit now slam on their brakes for fear of getting a ticket, with predictable results. A study of red-light cameras in Washington, D.C., by The Washington Post found that despite producing more than 500,000 tickets (and generating over $32 million in revenues), red-light cameras didn't reduce injuries or collisions. In fact, the number of accidents increased at the camera-equipped intersections. Likewise, red-light cameras in Portland, Ore., produced a 140 percent increase in rear-end collisions at monitored intersections, and a study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council found that although red-light cameras decreased collisions resulting from people running traffic lights, they significantly increased accidents overall. This problem can be aggravated by jurisdictions that shorten the duration of yellow lights, apparently to generate more ticket revenue. Last year, CBS News reported on an especially egregious case in Maryland: A traffic-camera intersection had a 2.7-second yellow light, while nearby intersections had 4-second times. Shorter yellow lights are more dangerous--but shorter yellow lights plus traffic cameras generate revenue. Whatever their limitations, law-enforcement cameras can be irresistible for local governments since they're literally money machines. But voters have other ideas. As an editorial on the automotive blog thetruthaboutcars.com notes, "Every time photo radar is put to a direct popular vote, it loses." UCLA law professor Stephen Bainbridge to write on his blog: "In my book, these instruments of the devil are just a tax on drivers." Two groups likely to embrace traffic cameras, however, are lawyers and political consultants. In many states, photos taken by the cameras will be discoverable under state Freedom of Information acts. That means anyone who asks can get copies. A personal-injury lawyer might use the photos as evidence in support of a lawsuit claiming that intersections are unsafe. A political consultant might look for pictures of incumbent politicians speeding and running lights--and then check to see if the pictures show someone sitting in the passenger seat, and do a little more digging to find out just who that person might be. The possibilities are endless. But there's more to it than politics. Do we as a nation really want to go down this road? To see where we could be heading, look at Britain with its surveillance cameras. Starting in December, the British government began compiling a database of information from thousands of cameras around the country. Using 35 million license-plate "reads" a day, it will be able to pinpoint the location of every vehicle on British roads. Can you say "Big Brother"? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx From the Internet...