In the next couple of days Pennsylvania lawmakers must decide whether to extend the red light camera program for another four years. The Philadelphia parking authority insists the program has been wildly successful. They say the cameras improve safety, reduce accidents and even save lives. But some like Tom McCarey of the National Motorists Association disagree, saying that the program is just a money grab geared more towards profit than safety.
If the lawmakers extend the program there could be more sets of eyes in the sky watching you. The Philadelphia Parking Authority plans to add new red light cameras to four busy intersections in the city. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Parking Authority says within 30 days they want to break ground on new red light cameras at the intersections of Knights and Woodhaven near the Franklin Mills Mall and Grant Avenue and Academy Road.
They also have plans on the drawing board for red light cameras at Byberry and Worthington and Bustleton and Byberry. All of these intersections are in the Northeast. The cameras automatically photograph drivers who run red lights, and send a violation ticket to the home matching the car’s license plate.
Recently in New Jersey there was some action on red light cameras. In 63 of 85 intersections with red light cameras in 21 different New Jersey towns, they’ve taken the cameras temporarily off line and are not currently issuing tickets. Officials tell the NBC10 Investigators that the amount of time that the traffic signal was yellow may not have been long enough.
For more information on the red light program, click on the following links
