NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg wants to increase red traffic light cameras

Red Light Camera

New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg said in a recent press conference that he wants to “blanket every street corner with red traffic light cameras.”

“I think we should have ’em on every corner if we could,” the mayor said, “It people didn’t go through red lights, you’d save a lot of lives of elderly and kids.”

Bloomberg stated this after there was a report that $52 million in fines were issued to drivers caught by camera and as a result, Bloomberg wants Albany to increase the number of cameras permitted on city streets from 150 to 225.

“Maybe what we should do is do it and start publishing in the paper who does it and then a list of the senators and assemblymen who keep us from having cameras [that can levy fines],” the mayor suggested.

Despite the claim that cameras could save lives, anyone who is familiar with New York City knows that people rarely follow traffic signals, whether they’re for cars and/or pedestrians. Not to mention, anybody who has driven in New York City knows that the traffic lights have a specific and definite pattern, particularly on the Avenues where lights turn red or green consecutively based on the direction of travel. Anyone ever see cabs or drivers come close to running a red light but at the last second, it turns green as if they know?

Altogether, it’s obvious that any push for “red light” or traffic cameras are meant more to increase income for municipalities if anything and have little to do with safety. Out here in Central New Jersey where we work out of, a main highway next to us has a very busy intersection where a red light camera was installed. Everyone here at egmCarTech can’t count how many times we’ve observed drivers screeching their tires to prevent running the red light, even when the light is hovering over yellow. Does that sound safe to you? Could you imagine the number of accidents that would occur in Manhattan from those who “know the lights” and jam on their brakes because they’re used to maintaining speed through the lights, as they turn green?

And as for the “potential lives” that these cameras might save, maybe they should pay more attention to the signals instead of their “New York state-of-mind.”

– By: Chris Chin

Source: NY Daily News

Chris Chin

Chris Chin is the Editor-In-Chief of egmCarTech and is a regular contributor to Automobile Magazine.

admin has 4428 posts and counting.See all posts by admin