I wrote recently about the Chicago Tribune investigative article about abnormal spikes in red light camera tickets at various locations around the city. This story made news headlines around the country. The City Council responded last week with a hearing on the issue and announced that they were going to give ticket recipients a chance to appeal.
At a hearing of the City Council Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety, Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld said the city’s Finance Department will send letters to approximately 9,000 motorists who were issued a red light camera. Those people will be invited to get a new review of their case, and if it’s found the violation was an error, they’ll get a refund.
At the hearing, Commissioner Scheinfeld did come to the defense of how the red light cameras work and that there could be explanations for some of the spikes in tickets:
“It is important to note that there are always spikes in any automated enforcement system due to fluctuations in traffic volume and driver behavior where cameras are located. For example, if a street is closed for construction, increased traffic flow on an adjacent street or alternate route might drive up violations for a period of time during that construction. The occurrence of special events or severe weather can also create significant changes in traffic patterns,” she added.
In particular, she noted one spike cited by the Tribune — at 119th and Halsted in May and June 2011 — appeared to be the result of a project to repair the 111th Street and 115th Street bridges over Interstate 57. Shcheinfeld said the city believes drivers likely used Halsted to bypass the construction work by exiting I-57 at 99th and Halsted, then heading south to 119th Street to get back on the interstate.
I have called into question the validity of red light tickets from the beginning. Both former Mayor Daley and now Emanuel have stated over and over that the red light cameras (and speed cameras) are used for safety purposes. I have written in the past and still believe that this is a ruse and merely money grab by the city. There have been studies around the country concluding that red light cameras actually make intersections MORE dangerous because drivers stop quickly and increase the chance of a car crash. You can read one particular study here.
Now we learn that thousands of these tickets may have been erroneously issued. Prior to that we learned that Redflex, the company that handled the speeder cameras, bribed their way into their contract with the city. This lead to a class action lawsuit against Redflex for being unjustly enriched for the work done for their city based on illegal bribes. I have to ask, when to we finally call for end to these types of tickets? I have to give the city some credit for at least recognizing the possible errors here and the potential for ticket recipients to be refunded their money.
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