Bill Rogers opposes the Red Light Cameras

I was glad to see this from my rep on WHMI. These cameras are bad news and is a big issue in the transportation committee. Thank you, Bill.

State Representative Bill Rogers is speaking out against proposed legislation that would allow red light cameras to be installed in Michigan. House Bill 4763 has been taken up for testimony by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. It would give local municipalities the ability to install red light cameras at their most dangerous intersections. It carries a requirement for those intersections to follow the state’s yellow light timing standards. Rogers is opposed to the bill, which he says is a way to generate revenue rather than improve public safety. In a press release, he pointed out that those caught on camera would have to pay a fine for a moving violation but would not receive any points on their license. (TD) 

I've dealt with these from personal experience - without ever being at the intersection in the first place. 

We do not need Red Light or Speed Cameras in Michigan

I saw this alarming article in the Oakland Press today.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's local governments would have the option to put cameras at intersections to spot drivers running red lights under proposed legislation in the state House.

A measure recently introduced by Republican Rep. Wayne Schmidt of Traverse City would give local communities the power to put cameras in place.

This isn't safety. This is about revenue enhancement. I learned that from experience. I despise these cameras from personal experience.

I got a $100 red light camera ticket from Chicago in the mail today. One problem. I haven't driven in Illinois, let alone Chicago, in at least 12 years. I also have never driven my current wheels there. The vehicle's license plate was off by one letter (Which I can tell even on the red light camera picture sent to me). It was a different vehicle from Michigan. I won't post pictures but you can bet your arse that I'll be sending a nice file to Sh-tcago (gave up swearing for Lent) to contest this piece of trash. They got the wrong car.

I'm even more insulted that they sent a picture of a foreign car to me and claim that it was my car. Anyone that knows me knows I drive Fords, not Scion. My family would disown me otherwise The picture of the vehicle was a Scion XD. I drive a older truck based Ford Explorer. There is a big difference. M and N are different letters. Fords and Scions are different vehicles. One quick license plate cross check should have handled that. 

I got a letter last week with the ticket dismissed.  I would have gone to Chicago to fight this if I had to. This is guilty till proven innocent measure. For one thing, cars don't run red lights. Drivers do. These cameras don't send pictures to drivers, but to license plates they think they have. Sometimes, they get the wrong one. I know! I know! In order to beat this ticket, I had to:

A. Prove that I wasn't the owner of the car that ran the light.
B. Prove that the license plate wasn't of my car.
C. Send the information taking time out of my day to fight something I didn't do.
D. Cough up about $10 in postage and printing costs (Certified mail to make sure they received it).

That is because people didn't read a license plate properly, nor check which VEHICLE is licensed on the DMV, although they did enough work to find an address to try and get their $100, that's for sure. 

If a cop is there instead of a camera, they can ding the driver. They will see who drove the car and give the driver a ticket whether or not, it is the car's owner.   Cameras don't do that and open things up for a long list of abuses.

HB 4763 is a bipartisan turkey that needs to be defeated. Wayne A. Schmidt - (primary)Fred Durhal, Jr., Thomas F. Stallworth III, Brian Banks, Michael D. McCready, Woodrow Stanley, Henry Yanez, Scott Dianda are the sponsors. Six democrats and two republicans. Unfortunately, Schmidt is the committee chair on transportation, so this might not easily be killed in committee. 

Wayne Schmidt (R) Committee Chair, 104th District

Ben Glardon (R) Majority Vice-Chair, 85th District

Kevin Daley (R) 82nd District

Kurt Heise (R) 20th District

Bradford Jacobsen (R) 46th District

Margaret O'Brien (R) 61st District

Peter Pettalia (R) 106th District

Dan Lauwers (R) 81st District

Michael McCready (R) 40th District

Marilyn Lane (D) Minority Vice-Chair, 31st District

Scott Dianda (D) 110th District

David Rutledge (D) 54th District

Gretchen Driskell (D) 52nd District

Tom Cochran (D) 67th District

Charles Smiley (D) 50th District

_____________________________

Time to make some phone calls to defeat this thing.

Illinois Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis

Warning - Some language in the Blues Brothers clip.

I got a $100 red light camera ticket from Chicago in the mail today. One problem. I haven't driven in Illinois, let alone Chicago, in at least 12 years. I also have never driven my current wheels there. The vehicle's license plate was off by one letter (Which I can tell even on the red light camera picture sent to me). It was a different vehicle from Michigan. I won't post pictures but you can bet your arse that I'll be sending a nice file to Sh-tcago (gave up swearing for Lent) to contest this piece of trash. They got the wrong car.

I'm even more insulted that they sent a picture of a foreign car to me and claim that it was my car. Anyone that knows me knows I drive Fords, not Scion. My family would disown me otherwise The picture of the vehicle was a Scion XD. I drive a older truck based Ford Explorer. There is a big difference. M and N are different letters. Fords and Scions are different vehicles. One quick license plate cross check should have handled that.


I wouldn't expect anything less than incompetence or a moneygrab attempt from the city that gave us Al Capone, Barack Obama, the Daley family, Dan Rostenkowski, Sam Giancana, Fred Roti (A Mobster who was a city alderman which lead the push for the gun ban), Pat Marcy, Jesse Jackson, Mel Reynolds, Rod Blagojevich, Rahm Emanuel, Daniel Walker, and Otto Kerner. Many of them are or have been jailbirds at some point. It's called C(r)ook County, Illinois(e) for a reason. Half of the pols there seem to end up in the big house.

 That's what democrat run cities get you.