Right on red: Should you get a ticket
The Village of Schaumburg, in a widely publicized move, removed their two red light cameras at Meacham and Woodfield roads. Village officials have decided not to renew their contract with Red Speed Illinois.
Since the installation of the cameras, about 10,000 tickets were issued resulting in approximately $1,000,000 in fines. That was until the village decided to stop enforcing right- turn-on-red violations.
Deputy Chief Paul Rizzo says that since the removal of the cameras, the number of violations issued has gone done. In June, the last month that the cameras were operational, only 14 violations were issued.
Schaumburg decided not to renew their contract with Red Speed Illinois due to the dwindling tickets and additional studies that showed that the cameras did little to reduce accidents.
Critics of the camera say that the Schaumburg case confirms what they have been saying all along- the carmeras do not prevent or reduce the amount of accidents. Their only purpose is to serve as "cash cows" for the the municipalities that choose to use them.
Critics believe that the red-light cameras are consistently wrong when it comes to issuing violations for right turns. Tickets are being issued for inching past tthe stop line or stopping before the camera picks up the car.
This controversy is the reason that Aurora will not use red light cameras as an enforcement. They instead will have police officers reviewing every citation issued by red light cameras.
Aurora will be installing red light cameras at highly traveled intersections. These intersections do allow for right turns on red. However the cameras can't discriminate which is why the police officers will be examining every ticket issued.
Naperville and St. Charles also use the red light cameras.
The red light cameras have become quite a controversey in Kane county. Sheriff Pat Perez was planning on having a red light camera installed at Orchard Rd and Route 88, an unincorporated area of Kane County. Kane County Board members do not like the idea of the camera because of the potential issue of right turn violations.
Perez is also considering installing a camera at the intersection of Red Gate and Randall roads. Perez believes there is no difference between the red light camera violations and any other moving violation, "If someone blows a red light, what's the difference it it's straight or a right turn."
Plainfield and Geneva have decided to install the red light cameras in their communitiies. Batavia is currently investigating the installation of these cameras and is talking with red light camera companies.
