Access Control
& Security Systems

Supporters and opponents of the legal and safety issues surrounding the use of red light cameras recently met to debate at a House subcommittee hearing.

"With approximately 900 Americans killed in accidents associated with red light running, I am confident we are all interested in punishing those who illegally run a red light," said U.S. Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.). "That said, the question is whether or not red light cameras are a valuable safety tool or an attractive revenue stream for the cities that use them?"

One of the opponents of the red light cameras, U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) raised troubling questions about continued secret governmental intrusion into citizens’ lives. He noted the 2001 Super Bowl, where every attendee was secretly photographed, computer-scanned and compared to images of known criminals.

Barr went on to cite House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s (R-Texas) report that municipalities have been known to manipulate the timing devices on traffic cameras to artificially raise the number of violations and ultimately increase revenue.

Chief G. Wayne Livesay of the Howard County (Md.) Police Department was perhaps the greatest proponent of the red light cameras.

"To date, the number of vehicles recorded failing to stop at red light signals where cameras have been placed has dropped by over 60 percent," he said.

Currently, there are approximately 345 cameras used at intersections within 30 cities in the U.S. The Department of Transportation reports 19 States use or are planning to install red light cameras. Eleven states, however, prohibit their use (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin).

This month in Access Control

• Targeting The Customer
• Electronic Pedigrees
• One Hero Among Many
• Who? What? When? Where? Why?
• More from September's issue