This smells of the O’Connor businees grap for revenue. He is really hurting us.

That being said, let me make a few comments as to why I feel the state of Tennessee and many of its municipalities have been too cavalier and irresponsible in there acceptance of this unproven technology at the expense of TN citizens.

1. Safety. We all want improved safety. This is a noble goal. Unfortunately “Safety” is also a buzz word used by the manufactures and lobbyist of this type of equipment to win the opinion for their products. They have successfully brainwashed people to believe that electronic traffic enforcement = safety. There is no convincing scientific evidence supported by unbiased & sound research to support the claim that people are safer when these systems are implemented. In fact there are many studies now showing that there may be the potential for more harm in some situations. Until there are sound, unbiased scientific studies that demonstrate consistently that automated electronic traffic enforcement systems improve the safety of motorists, these devices should not be equated with improved safety.
The theory of improved safety is inflated by the companies. In addition surrogate markers such as fewer red light violations don’t necessarily equate to safety as these companies imply.

2. Influence from Private companies. Red flex and other companies are not in the business of saving lives….. Their purpose is to make money. You can trade stock in Red flex. I am afraid these companies have had too much influence with lawmakers in many states, including TN. It seems that thier lobbying efforts and slick talking have convinced legislators (like R in Knox area who proposed a bill last year to give cities gov the power to use these devices and impose violations as civil penalties ) that there systems improve safety, are accurate, and reasonable alternative to police officers. It is absurd to believe these companies receive 50% or more of the fines they collect. If the city truly thinks it needs one of these systems the system should be bought & maintained by the city. Instead of funneling large amounts of local money to companies around the globe with no interest in the area… keep the money local…. Let traffic fines stay local and create jobs for new officers.

3 Due Process of Law. If you receive one of these citations in the mail expect to have your constitutional rights blatantly disregarded. Example…. TN cities have the power to designate Photo enforced speeding tickets as “non moving civil violation..” This empowers the city (and the cam$cam company) to essentially extort money from people who are accused of a violation. The burden of proof is now on the accused. This is probably the biggest problem with the whole electronic enforcement issue. It undermines the whole basis of our legal system and the rights of the accused. Consider this… If a police were to issue the same citation for speeding in the same place it would be classified as a “moving violation”…. This is better for the accused if they felt they were not guilty… at least your constitutional rights are not disregarded and they could appear in court and have there case heard and even question there accuser if they felt it were necessary. I’m not sure who figured this out… but it is brilliant for the municipalities who are using this kind of technology to produce $$$$$

3. Error / Calibration – these systems are not perfect. who ensures calibration…. The company????

4. Corruption….. with potential for easy revenue there is room for corruption. Examples… NC fines were being misappropriated. Many cities have been caught with shortened yellow light times 3/2008, Chattanooga TN had to refund 8800 tickets because someone discovered that the yellow light times were shorted that legally allowed at the intersections with theses type devices…… at least 5 other cities have been accused of the same. There are many more problems in this area

In closing I ask that your continue to research this topic closely. This is a very important topic that has wide spread implications for public safety, constitutional rights, corruption, and other issues.

Regarding who gets the tickets, I share your understanding the the ticket goes to the person whose name is on the vehicle registration. I expect that to create touchy situations within families, and even touchier situations when the vehicle is registered to an employer (and was being driven by an employee)… Fortunately for vehicle owners, though, tickets will not be reported to insurance companies and will not result in “points” on a driver’s license. I’m curious to find out how effective the collection of fines has been in other Tennessee cities. I’ve seen reports about problems collecting on tickets in California, but that does seem to be due in large part to issues about California’s requirement for identifying the driver.

Trina: Thanks for your thoughts on driver behavior and locations needing monitoring. This is stuff that deserves a lot of discussion before any electronic monitoring program is put in place.

And the other obvious choice would be the Turnpike & Illinois intersection. Stats from the ORPD indicate an accident occurs there more than 1 time every other week.

Traffic Accidents for the intersection of Illinois Ave & the OR Turnpike:

2003 - 34 accidents
2004 - 35 accidents
2005 - 30 accidents
2006 - 34 accidents
2007 - 30 accidents

Though I don’t recall a greater number of light runners necessarily coming from Oliver Springs, I would suspect that the momentum from coming over that hill (at the speeds that were typical before the school zones were enforced) played a big part. This would be particularly true of the many large trucks that come through.

Also, though my stats focused specifically on red-light runners, it seemed that the majority of drivers sped up rather than slowed down for yellow lights – so the timing should also be carefully analyzed if a camera is placed there.

It’s all speculative of course, but my predictions were based on a fraction of time before the other measures were put into place. And while behavior modification is the goal, given the high volume of out-of-town traffic we see, I would think that eventually, most revenue would come from those who come through less frequently. When you consider those factors, along with your numbers on Kingsport, and the placement of multiple units throughout the city, I can’t see there being any real problem funding the extra officer Chief Beams would need.

In addition to the Robertsville/Illinois intersection, I’d like to see a speed camera placed on the Turnpike between the HS & Civic Center. It is a main thoroughfare for our city and has heavy pedestrian traffic coming from the HS in the afternoons. Given the frequent speeding that occurs there anyway and the limitations of placing a patrol officer there, it seems ideal for being a priority location. We have a lot of non-drivers (9th & 10th graders) who go to the library and civic center for multiple reasons including to study, to socialize, or to await pick up from parents. I don’t foresee this trend changing, nor would I necessarily want for it to.

I won’t be able to attend this evening’s meeting, but appreciate your engaging the public on this matter. I’ll try to pass along some thoughts to the rest of council if time permits, but you know I support the measure. I’ll monitor for any add’l questions or comments I can contribute.

Thanks Ellen!

I understand that our use of cameras will be vehicle picture only, so if someone stole my tag or was borrowing my car, I would still be issued the ticket, comparing California with Tennessee is apples and oranges due to their double license plate and actual photo of the driver. Seems to me that a credible alibi would dismiss tickets, as is the case with an officer. This point of no person to attach the fine to is why I believe it will ticket many people, but how much will be collected? I believe many will pay since not losing in court will keep the fine off their insurance? Yet, many people living outside will not pay the fine, and what is done about that?

The amount of time needed for cameras from an already strapped police force is a steep slope to climb, and the camera doesn’t relieve any officer currently. Our city needs to stop spending for “fake” ideas and put real ones into effect. Establish correspondence with the camera company that many problems they say it will fix we do not have, to present to citizens, and the money is not put into a general fund for more “fake” positions in our city council to use up. Would a fake crossing guard help the situation or be allowed with students traveling to school, and how the school’s budgetary spending seems to be bottomless?

This issue of how much money it will bring in must be clear and go to a usable effort for citizens to get behind any idea of “big brother” taking pictures of insiders and outsiders.
This revenue must be marked before it is collected, or I find this camera effort as another way to hide what Oak Ridge money does for its citizens. The camera company would understand why a clear measure of the revenue must be mapped, for manning the intersection with a real officer would find more in fines when the vehicle is stopped, possibly saving someone’s life by removing a convict and his gun from the streets of our Re-Entry City.

A camera installed there to monitor red-light compliance and speed probably would not collect nearly as much money as you predict, as few drivers would make the same mistake twice. The deterrent effect is a good thing.

Still, I wonder if more could be done to improve that intersection’s design in order to induce drivers on Illinois Ave. to take the intersection (including the stoplight) more seriously. I don’t think drivers pay as much attention to that intersection as they do to most stoplight-controlled intersections. Having stood there for all those hours, do you have any theories to explain the driver behavior you saw?

Regarding that intersection with the short yellow — have you notified the police and electric departments so they can measure the timing and adjust it, if needed? (If not, please let me know and I’ll follow up.) I’ve never been rear-ended at an Oak Ridge stoplight, but there have been a bunch of occasions when I decided (on what I thought was a close call) to keep going on the yellow light and was amazed to see that the next 3 cars behind me also went through the light.