Citizens take issue with Dundee Stop Light Camera program

from the Dundee's Stop Light Camera

East Dundee resident Allen Skillicorn is tired of local government corruption, lack of fiscal transparency, and the encroachment of civil liberties. In response, Skillicorn founded Grassroots Revolution, an organization designed to enable average citizens to take back control of their government, including the removal of stop light cameras.

He recently spoke to the Fox Valley Libertarian Party about the Stop Light Cameras in the villages of East Dundee and West Dundee. He has discovered that local citizens are very uneasy about the invasion of privacy, safety problems, and profit motives behind installing these cameras. Many impartial studies prove that both accident and injury rates increase after installing stop light cameras.

 [http://www.grassrootsrevolution.us/9_studies_that_prove_cameras_hurt_public_safety.pdf]

”These cameras are only about profit, not safety. Follow the money. The camera companies and cities, eager to make a profit, only use biased surveys. Guess who paid for those surveys? You got it – the stop light camera companies.” explained Allen Skillicorn.

Statistically over 90% of the fines are for stop line infractions (like stopping too far past the line in a poorly designed intersection) or people not completely stopping on a right turn on red. “These cameras only prove that the light timing and intersections are poorly designed. Instead of correcting the intersections with engineering solutions, the cities want to fine motorists,” stated Skillicorn.

Other local activists are also concerned that these fines are hard to challenge. Recipients of camera fines are not allowed to confront their accuser nor view the service records of the machines and Illinois state law has no required performance standards or maintenance guidelines for these cameras. Because these fines are not technically a criminal act, the municipality can waive motorists' right to a jury trial and other legal protections.

Skillicorn plans to address the local village boards and remind voters which trustees voted in favor of the stop light camera companies. Currently, camera companies receive the first $3000 in fine revenue each month plus $66 dollars of each subsequent $100 fine. The results: camera companies are raking in the profits, safety is diminished and traffic is more congested because fewer motorists are willing to legally turn right on red for fear of the flash bulb and the $100 fine. 

For more information please click here:

http://www.grassrootsrevolution.us/camera_comments.pdf

Stop Light Cameras Increase Accidents: 9 Studies That Prove It:

http://www.grassrootsrevolution.us/9_studies_that_prove_cameras_hurt_public_safety.pdf

Comments

[Barnet Fagel]

Red light camera and speed camera manufacturers fear a recent US Supreme Court ruling in the case Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts could create legal turmoil for the industry. The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running issued a statement warns that the ruling has armed motorists with a greater ability to challenge the basis of automated traffic citations. Speed cameras, for example, depend heavily on legal faith in a certificate that claims to confirm the total reliability of a machine’s speed reading. In the Melendez-Diaz case, the high court ruled that merely producing such a certificate in court is insufficient. Defendants have the right to cross-examine any individual who claims to have certified evidence. The camera enforcement vendors are not governed by a accuracy standards or regulations. Citizens in many cases are denied their constitutional rights to confront their accusers, the cameras. Equal justice under the law is not served. Guaranteed Constitutional Rights are being wholesaler off for ongoing ticket revenue without using proper traffic engineering practices to correct dangerous intersections.