Mayor Beutler fully support LB 496, which would "authorize enforcement of traffic control signal violations by automated traffic enforcement systems". That is, it would legalize red light cameras. That alone might be cause for worry. (Or it might not.) What really ought to raise an eyebrow or three is the transparency with which the law is about money. Senator Tony Fulton's bill makes violations caught by red light cameras subject to a civil "fee" rather than a criminal traffic fine.
Fines, you may not realize, go into the state's education fund. To some extent this is a way to fund education in the state. More importantly, however, placing all traffic fines into a common pool dilutes any one municipality's incentive to "seek out" traffic violations for the purpose of funding local government. In other words, it is a measure that helps prevent corruption and unethical behavior.
Fees, on the other hand, can go directly to municipalities. That alone isn't a bad thing. But think for a moment what might happen if a municipality becomes dependent upon fees to fund a portion of its budget. If the budget numbers aren't coming out the way the municipality wants them to, there is an incentive to increase income. How might they do that? More fees. How do you get more fees? Well, you can shorten yellow lights, increasing income but decreasing public safety.
LB 496 is a bill to keep an eye on no matter what. But do pay special attention to the debate on the funding portion of the bill.
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I’m old school, and think yellow lights should be for cautionary reasons, and not timed to enhance the ability to nail speeders.
Is this going to mean the police are spending more time catching real criminals and not sitting for hours on end trying to catch speeders? I doubt it.
Speeding != red light running. In Lincoln’s case, if LPD spends much time looking for red light runners it’s news to me. I doubt much would change with regard to police resource allocation.
Supporters of red light cameras would say that officers’ time will be freed up because they won’t have to work as many accidents at intersections due to the deterrent effect of red light cameras. That may or may not be a reasonable expectation depending on which studies you read.
“Supporters of red light cameras would say that officers
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