Say good-bye to Houston, TX Red Light Cameras

 

Not so fast...

cool

You can bet it will be challenge in the courts first!

--
"Destination Eternity" Garmin 765T, & Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Courts? Maybe...but Politicians, Oh yeah!

Red Light Cameras

glwilbert wrote:

cool

You can bet it will be challenge in the courts first!

They have already talked about a lawsuit the night of the election.

Camera

OK ta ta back to going thru lights.

Politicians are so predictable!

Follow-up to Houston Red light camera story:

"American Traffic Solutions is proud to have stood with an unprecedented safety coalition including Houston police, firefighters, medical groups and other community leaders in support of the Keep Houston Safe campaign to keep the red light safety cameras and save lives. Now that the voters of Houston have spoken, we have reached out to city officials for their guidance on the steps ahead. These consultations have already commenced, and we pledge our fullest cooperation throughout the process."

Full story:
http://www.click2houston.com/politics/25624366/detail.html

Voters speak....politicians feign deafness!

Cheers!

Due Diligence

Voter referendums are a clear and well known hazard to the business that ATS engages. If they want "protection" from voter referendums their best defense is their own due diligence.

In the future perhaps they should target only cities where voters are sympathetic to their machines, or places where it is more difficult to get referendums on a ballot.

With a 100% vote-down record, perhaps ATS, Redflex, et al. will begin doing better due diligence before entering a given "market".

As for Houston's city council - I'm sure thier city charter has guidence for the disposition of contracts rendered void by a referendum law. This is not uncharted territory...

A forward thinking and proactive city council would have had an action plan ready to go, for either outcome, on November 3rd.

Sounds like foot dragging from the city council to me.

Thanks for the info

Thanks for the info

The latest

I heard today on the issue was the contract Houston has with its camera vendor requires a 120 day notice to stop the service. The city is claiming the cameras will be down by March 2011. Not holding my breath.

--
(formerly known as condump) RV 770 LMT-S, Nuvi2797LMT, Nuvi765T

Now if

we could do the same up here in the DFW area.

--
Not doing anything worth a darn.

Red Light Cameras

donicus wrote:

we could do the same up here in the DFW area.

Go for it. it seem like when the Red Light Cameras are put to a vote most voters ban them. It was getting out of hand in Houston with 70+ cameras.

Texans

Cheers!

Lets see if the politicians listens to what the voters want.

Houston Red Light Cameras

That's great. Just yesterday, the light changed red and the green turn arrow went on. A truck from NJ who knows you can make a right turn on a red light in NJ, just sits there, even with a green turn arrow . As he decides to go, the green arrow starts to turn red and I was just about to go, as I was behind him. Luckily I saw the change and stopped, before clicking the camera. As I stop I hear this screech and look in my rearview mirror to see this woman stop approximately 6 inches from me. Don't you love these red light cameras.( BTW) This happened in Staten Island, NY, not NJ. Come on NY get these cameras out of here!!!!!

--
Alan-Garmin c340

Right on Red

The truck driver was probably talking on his cell phone or texting someone and didn't see the turn arrow.

A short toot of the horn usually wakes them up.

T-120 and counting?

Gastx wrote:

...the contract Houston has with its camera vendor requires a 120 day notice to stop the service. The city is claiming the cameras will be down by March 2011...

Must be politician math too. Voted to remove in early November, and not taken down until March? At the very least, they should make some kind of statement that no more citations will be issued after early January 2011 (the real 120 days).

--
NEOhioGuy - Garmin 2639, MIO Knight Rider, TomTom (in Subaru Legacy), Nuvi 55, DriveSmart 51, Apple CarPlay maps

I agree with the decision in

I agree with the decision in Houston. I just cannot wait for NY to do the same. They cause more problems having them than not having them.

Just vote no!

I am currently surrounded by Red Light Cameras here in the suburbs of Chicago. More are appearing every day. It is time we vote them out also

--
Dudlee

Baytown also

Not just Houston voted out the revenue cameras, Baytown TX did also.

--
___________________ Garmin 2455, 855, Oregon 550t

Hope this gains momentum

and more States follow suit.

Its about Revolt.

Too many people just accept what the government does to them. The Revolt in these towns comes from the little guy who steps up and challenges those who rule over them. It is the difference between citizens and subjects.

--
Observations of a Yankee in Galveston, TX libertysblog.com

woohoo!

I can't wait until they official remove all of them.

Good for them. Just waiting

Good for them. Just waiting for the revenue generators to start up where I am. I can see a lot more accidents for a while. I wonder how it will work with people always crossing the street everywhere. Oh well.

I wish they'd get rid of

I wish they'd get rid of them in the DFW area. They keep piling on new ones faster than I can update my GPS.

They Do a Job

Personally I'm in favor of red light cameras. I don't have much tolerance for scofflaws. But, if the majority prefers no cameras, so be it. Maybe they should make it legal to run red lights, then everyone would be happy, right? Except maybe the one that gets broadsided...

Just my 2 cents.

--
Tuckahoe Mike - Nuvi 3490LMT, Nuvi 260W, iPhone X, Mazda MX-5 Nav

And the Merry Go-Round goes 'round and 'round

Voters speak....Politicians are deaf

The latest in the Houston Red Light flap.

"HOUSTON -- A group Tuesday protested red-light cameras that are still operating despite a popular vote to take them down. But city officials said the cameras would operate until March 15.

City officials said anyone who is issued a red-light citation must still pay a fine of $75. Failure to pay it within 45 days results in an additional late fee of $25.

If a second notice remains unpaid, collection proceedings and an entry of judgment against the driver may proceed."

Full Story:
http://www.click2houston.com/news/25684220/detail.html

Cheers!

Updated camera list

FYI. Download the latest Red light camera list from PoiFactory. All of Houston's camera are no longer on the list.

Up Dated Camera List

jmatt wrote:

FYI. Download the latest Red light camera list from PoiFactory. All of Houston's camera are no longer on the list.

They probably should be,Houston still has a contract and the cameras are still working and they are still passing out tickets,according to the Houston Chronicle.

I removed them because they have been turned off

mdh31951 wrote:
jmatt wrote:

FYI. Download the latest Red light camera list from PoiFactory. All of Houston's camera are no longer on the list.

They probably should be,Houston still has a contract and the cameras are still working and they are still passing out tickets,according to the Houston Chronicle.

The cameras have been turned off http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/13-days-later-ho...

Miss POI

Red-light camera programs see cities' support fading

Democrats were not the only losers on Election Day. Traffic cameras designed to catch red-light runners also took a ballot box beating as they were voted down in Houston and at least four other cities nationwide.

Article in the Dallas newspaper 11/18/10:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/298pagn

--
Nuvi 2460LMT

Glad to see it

I am glad to see the cameras being removed from Houston. Hope they are removed and banned everywhere.

Voters in other States should follow Houston, TX.

We won't missed the red light cameras. Time to kick them out of business and put more foods on our table for the holidays coming.

I Have Removed Them Because hey Have Been Turned Off

miss poi wrote:
mdh31951 wrote:
jmatt wrote:

FYI. Download the latest Red light camera list from PoiFactory. All of Houston's camera are no longer on the list.

They probably should be,Houston still has a contract and the cameras are still working and they are still passing out tickets,according to the Houston Chronicle.

The cameras have been turned off http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/13-days-later-ho...

Miss POI

Yes they are off now the City Of Houston is trying to figure out their contract,and seeing if they are suing or being sued.

Houston Red Light Cameras

Why worry about it...it will be pushed through....just look at the Texas School Board..it does not matter what the people want...but, only when it is in their interest...clueless

--
WLF

Wahington DC

cheweez78 wrote:

I can't wait until they official remove all of them.

We will know that the red light cameras are dead when (not likely) they are turned off in the Washington DC Metro area

Houston Red Light Cameras

mdh31951 wrote:
miss poi wrote:
mdh31951 wrote:
jmatt wrote:

FYI. Download the latest Red light camera list from PoiFactory. All of Houston's camera are no longer on the list.

They probably should be,Houston still has a contract and the cameras are still working and they are still passing out tickets,according to the Houston Chronicle.

The cameras have been turned off http://camerafraud.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/13-days-later-ho...

Miss POI

Yes they are off now the City Of Houston is trying to figure out their contract,and seeing if they are suing or being sued.

The latest is the cameras will stay up,until it is finished running through the federal court system.Also people who got tickets up and to November 15,2010 still have to pay the tickets.

The Houston camera issue is

The Houston camera issue is far from over:

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/33/3336.asp

"Federal Judge Blocks Red Light Camera Removal in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas city attorneys attempt to preserve red light camera program by throwing lawsuit filed with vendor.

Judge Lynn N. HughesA federal judge issued an order last Friday blocking the immediate removal of red light cameras from Houston, Texas intersections. On November 2, voters adopted an amendment to the city charter making photo tickets unenforceable, against the wishes of the Houston city council and the private vendor that operates the cameras, American Traffic Solutions (ATS). Over the Thanksgiving holiday, US District Court for the Southern District of Texas Judge Lynn N. Hughes worked out a deal with the city and ATS to preserve the cameras, for now.

"The city of Houston and American Traffic Solutions, Inc, will continue to collect the fines for the traffic violations that occurred through November 15, 2010," Hughes wrote in his order. "The cameras will not be removed during the pendency of the litigation."

Hughes had called a colloquy among lawyers for the city -- David Feldman and Hope Reh -- and the lawyers for ATS -- Andy Taylor and George Hittner -- on the day after Thanksgiving. Although the city technically filed suit against ATS, the city staff do not want to see the cameras removed any more than ATS does. The parties hashed out a compromise that happened to give ATS everything the firm wanted.

"ATS requests the court to preserve the status quo by enjoining the city from terminating the public safety program or otherwise implementing Proposition 3, pending an adjudication of these fundamental issues of law affecting not only these parties, but the general public at large," Taylor wrote in its brief to the court filed Wednesday.

The actions in Houston track what happened last year in the city of College Station after voters approved an anti-camera referendum. Attorneys for the city attempted to lose the lawsuit that ATS filed to overturn the result of the public vote. Ultimately, public pressure on elected officials forced the College Station cameras to come down, even though a local judge ruled against the vote. ATS is hoping it can win this time by arguing not only that voters have no right to overturn a city council decision through the charter amendment process, but that no power can take down the red light cameras.

"Both the US Constitution and the Texas Constitution prohibit legislation impairing the obligation of contracts," Taylor wrote. "The purported charter amendment cannot validly be upheld if doing so would in any way impair the city's ability to fulfill its pre-existing contractual obligations to ATS."

Those obligations are iron clad, ATS argued, thanks to the city's own actions. The firm pointed out that Houston did have a contract provision that would have allowed a "termination for convenience" without financial penalty. Just three days before this provision would have taken effect, the city signed a new agreement with no termination provision in an attempt to avoid a proposed ban on new red light camera contracts, House Bill 300, that passed in the state House but was blocked in the Senate.

"The city, fearful of HB300, did not want to be forced to terminate the agreement upon the passage of a new state law and therefore, removed the termination provisions of the agreement entirely by clearly stating in the amendment that it 'remains in effect until May 27, 2014,'" Taylor explained. "The city also removed 'unless sooner terminated under this agreement' phrase that appeared in the original agreement. Had the city intended to keep its termination options available to it, it could have easily done so."

Judge Hughes has set a Friday hearing for arguments in the case."