 Custom Search  How Many Photo Tickets Will It Take Before You Fight Back? GPS is 100% Legal and Pays For Itself. Click Here To Learn More. Alberta Government Ok's Green Light Cameras.Photo radar at lights OK'dCameras will zero in on all speeders By Jason Fekete And Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
Lead-footed Alberta drivers will soon face a double whammy: photo radar at inter-sections with red-light cameras. The Alberta government officially proclaimed Wednesday changes to the Traffic Safety Amendment Act that permit municipalities to incorporate "speed-on-green" photo-radar enforcement at intersections where red-light cameras are in use.
The new rule takes effect Jan. 1, but drivers will have at least a three-month grace period, until April 1, before the tickets will be valid, while also giving cities time to modify their cameras to include photo radar. "If you don't speed, you're not going to get a ticket. It's optional," said Calgary-Hays Tory MLA Art Johnston, a former Calgary police officer who sponsored the bill through the legislature. "It is to address safety." A red-light camera ticket costs an Alberta motorist $287,while photo-radar tabs range from $124 for 20 km/h over the limit to $264 for 40 km/h over the posted limit, according to government data.(Winnipeg starts ticketing at 10kph over the limit.) The Calgary Police Service already has 36 red-light cameras--and 45 intersections set up for their use--which require minor tweaking of software to allow them to identify speeders. Police would still have to establish at what speed over the limit the cameras would be activated, but officials have stressed they're not interested in nabbing people traveling a few kilometers per hour over the posted limit.(Not interested however likely they will!) Denis Painchaud, chairman of the Calgary Police Commission, said the group has been supportive of the initiative since bringing it forward for approval. "This is one we felt very strongly was the right thing to do. Anything that enhances traffic safety out on the roads of Calgary is a positive step," Painchaud said. "The population is growing, the traffic on the road is growing. We have to do everything we can to protect the public." (Why not try lengthening Amber times?) Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson wasn't available for comment Wednesday, but he's previously said he would like to test the speed-on-green at a few intersections and start out with warnings for drivers. "I want to be sure if we're going to use them that they're properly tested, properly applied and that they work to reduce collisions in those intersections,"Hanson told the Herald a year ago after the legislation was passed in the legislature. Several studies have shown that red-light cameras are effective in reducing major collisions at intersections, while others have indicated the presence of such devices cause drivers to slam on the brakes and be rear-ended. The opposition Liberals aren't convinced the new traffic measure will achieve the desired results. "This is about revenue generation. It's not about improving traffic safety," argued Liberal transportation critic Hugh MacDonald.
He rejected criticisms the new speed enforcement is simply a cash cow. "The whole push on these is to discourage people from stepping on the gas and racing through intersections to beat the light because people get killed that way," Bellikka said. "There's a very simple way not to pay the fine: obey the speed limit and save some lives."(Or lengthen Amber times so people do not have to be put into a 'dilemma zone' that would cause a motorist to accelerate through.) Don Szarko with the Alberta Motor Association welcomed the new traffic enforcement, noting more than 80 per cent of Albertans they surveyed support such measures that improve safety at intersections-- often the most dangerous places on the road. "It's not Big Brother. It's not a cash cow," Szarko said. "What we're doing is really sending a message here. It's one more tool in the enforcement arsenal." A Leger Marketing poll conducted for the Herald, when MLAs originally approved the bill, found a majority of Albertans--64 per cent--supported using red-light cam-eras to capture speeders at intersections, though many believed the scheme would ultimately become a "cash grab." (64 % is not a huge majority) Guru's view's. Once again an ill informed media agency printing spoon fed press releases with no questioning or investigation by reporters. To view our response to this article Click here.
Back to The Guru's Views.
|
