Local, state and federal municipalities are forever in search of ways to lower the accident rates in their areas. While I applaud these efforts - their latest brainstorm is not without controversy. In the early part of 2010, Conroe City Council opted to install cameras at various red lights that would film vehicles entering the intersection after the light had changed and then forward citations to these drivers.
Well, this has proved to be a financial 'boon' for the city - bringing in nearly three quarters of a million dollars to local coffers in less than a year! It has, in fact, been so successful that Conroe is looking at extensively expanding the program - perhaps
allowing for fines to nearly double into a little less than one and a half million dollars!
Ah, indeed, there are so many issues that could be considered from this information it is difficult to choose only one! However, first and foremost, what comes to mind is that again our political leaders can and will use their power to exact even more money from the pockets of their citizens.
In these challenging economic times it may well seem that those in charge are only interested in moving money out of the pockets of the 'little guy' into those of legislative bodies.
However, even more astounding is the fact that nearly 17,000 tickets were issued. That means that nearly 17,000 people were running red lights in this short time frame and placing all of us in danger.
While detractors may not like red light cameras- there can be little doubt that the program will make our streets safer and open up alternatives for police officers to be used to solve or prevent real crime in the Houston area instead of revenue by writing tickets manually.
Greg Baumgartner is a Houston wrongful death attorney and the founder of the Baumgartner Firm, which is dedicated to helping victims of Conroe car accidents seek civil justice.
