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North Carolina May Ban Red Light Cameras
The North Carolina legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit the use of red-light cameras.
September 18, 2011 /Law and Legal PR News/ -- North Carolina May Ban Red Light Cameras
Red-light traffic cameras may seem to be the perfect tool for law enforcement. They work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, don't need lunch or dinner breaks, can work in inclement weather, and can take a snapshot immortalizing a traffic violation for potential future litigation. But challenges to the red-light traffic cameras across the country, including North Carolina, are complicating their use. And some states are even taking steps to prohibit their use.
North Carolina's Senate passed a bill opposing the cameras in April 2011. The cameras, which are used in 25 states and more than 500 cities in the U.S., are also opposed by the Los Angeles Police Commission and some legislators in Florida.
Reasons for opposition to the cameras are varied. North Carolina Senator Ralph Hise says the red-light cameras make the intersections more dangerous and cause more accidents because drivers tend to slam on their brakes to avoid running a red light, which can cause a rear-end collision, or speed through the yellow at dangerous speeds.
In Los Angeles, for example, two-thirds of the tickets given were for vehicles that failed to come to a complete stop before turning right on a red, an action that rarely causes a traffic accident.
Other objections are legally based, asserting judges always side with the photographs, and that the method of enforcement violates due process and equal protection rights. Sen. Hise, sponsor of the North Carolina bill, argues that regulating traffic violations is the responsibility of law enforcement rather than an automated system, and that defendants should have the right to challenge the tickets.
The bill passed the Senate by a 29-18 margin in April, but is still pending in the House.
Article provided by Cummings & Cummings, PLLC
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