Have your views on red-light, speed cameras changed?
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The speed limit drops to 55 miles per hour at the Diagonal Drive exit, where speed cameras capture violators. Photographed Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, in Cedar Rapids. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
The state has slowed down Iowa City’s plans for red-light cameras, and other Iowa communities may also confront roadblocks to using traffic-enforcements cameras.
A divided City Council early this year OK’d the use of the cameras and expected them to be up by this fall. But then the Iowa Department of Transportation said it wanted more traffic data on intersections marked for monitoring that include state routes, such as Burlington and Dodge streets and Highway 6.
Collecting the crash history, traffic and speed counts and other information the DOT wants may take until the spring, said John Yapp, Iowa City transportation planner. And then the city will have to await word from the DOT. So even if approval is given, the cameras could go up a year later than expected.
Other Iowa communities interested in red-light or speed cameras, and even those like Cedar Rapids with cameras already running, may face similar obstacles after the state this summer implemented written guidelines for the use of the cameras on the DOT-governed primary highway system, which includes interstate, U.S. and state highways.
One central Iowa town is even suing the DOT over the denial of its request for speed cameras.
The more rigorous state guidelines are an example that four years after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled traffic-enforcement cameras are constitutional, the technology remains controversial.
What do you think? Have your views on red-light and speed cameras changed since their installation? How do you feel about them today?
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Still dont agree with them. Really dont agree with shortening the yellow light times either,just so more tickets can be handed out! Thats a scam!
Please tell us your basis for the claim that yellow light times have been shortened. I have not noticed that.
Never been ticketed by one, but I don’t agree with their use, especially the trick speed camera around the H avenue area on 380 where the limit shortly thereafter goes back to 60. Furthermore, I avoid doing business in and supporting communities that profit from them such as Cedar Rapids.
Came here to make the same comment about that speedcam on the J Avenue bridge.
Speedcamera lovers; please explain how a speedcam located AFTER all the curves on the north side of downtown, mere hundreds of feet before the increased speed limit sign is there for safety and not just a money grab?
What I expect is that eventually the 2 sets of cameras on I-380 will be coordinated to capture one’s average speed from one set of cameras to the next. That will really reveal how fast one drove through the worst of the curves.
So you’re not disputing that the aforementioned speedcam is anything but a money grab?
Initially I felt that the red light and speed cameras seemed to have the positive effect of lowering speeds on the interstate and making people around town more conscious of coming to a stop at red lights. Now however, I see drivers on the interstate passing at well over the posted speed limit, and often with some attitude while doing so. I also see a lot of people doing less slowing and little stopping at unmonitored intersections lately.
Finally, I still believe that the cameras are contrary to the protections guaranteed by the US Constitution. And I believe that this is the question that lawmakers are wrestling with when they work to remove or prohibit these cameras.
Even after recently getting a speeding ticket from a speed camera, I still have no problem with these cameras. My main reason for this is that anyone who gets a ticket (including me) can only blame themselves for it. When you enter a city that has these cameras, there is a sign saying that traffic laws are photo enforced. When you approach a speed limit or red light that is controlled by a camera, another sign is posted that it is photo enforced. So, as long as you pay attention while driving, you should never get a ticket from a camera.
I do have a bit of a problem with the mobile units that are disguised, but that isn’t much different than when a police car hides behind an overpass or something for a speed trap. Just keep your eyes open and you should be just fine.
As long as speed limits are reasonable and clearly marked I have no problem with cameras or hidden or unmarked police cars, the more the better. The same for traffic lights. Obeyance of the law should not be based on the likelihood of detection. If I’m behind the wheel, or allow another driver behind the wheel in the case of cameras, I’m responsible, no one else, and inattention is no excuse. Reasonable speed limits are posted for the safety of everyone. If I get a ticket I won’t like it but I’m not going to try to place the blame elsewhere and whine. ( “Speed traps” along with kangaroo courts crafted to take advantage of people simply for the purpose of revenue rather than public safety is another matter. That’s a form of extortion.)
“Obeyance of the law should not be based on the likelihood of detection.”
“Slower Traffic Keep Right” is also a traffic law, but I see folks violating that law with impunity all the time. Heck, they even get all agitated and start flipping you off if you try to remind them of it.
I’m thinking Cedar Rapids needs a camera to write tickets for this. Based on what I’ve witnessed, they’d make a fortune, and mostly off locals.