Nov 21
More Red Light Cameras (or How Elected Officials Piss Off Constituents) in Issaquah, Seattle, and Fife, Among Other Cities
Earlier this week Seattle Times reporter Danny Westneat wrote about his frustration and how his driving habits have changed--for the worse--since Seattle decided to put up red-light cameras.
Since drivers call me daily to talk about red-light camera traffic tickets that motorists have received in the mail (and no one has called me happy to have received such a gift), it is important to note that a red-light camera traffic ticket has no effect on insurance premiums, although if a driver is stopped by a police officer and cited for a red light violation, this latter type of violation does have consequences to insurance costs.
Seattle joins other cities like Auburn, Bellevue, Bremerton, Burien, Federal Way, Fife, Issaquah, Lacey, Lake Forest Park, Lakewood, Lynnwood, Monroe, Moses Lake, Puyallup, Renton, Seatac, Spokane, Tacoma, and Wenatchee in having some form of automated traffic camera devices.
Westneat makes many good observations.
Among them:
"[L]ast week came the latest in a series of studies showing red-light cameras may be having perverse effects on drivers. They do nothing to reduce accidents and may even cause them. . . . The cameras raise money, not public safety.
Thank you, Mr. Westneat, for calling it like it is. But Westneat has to compete with his elected officials, chief among them Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata, who hates cars let alone the people who drive them. Licata thinks red light cameras are wonderful.
Opines Licata:
"Seattle Councilmember Nick Licata, a fan of the red-light program, says [Westneat is] nuts. The problem, if there is one, is there aren't enough red-light cameras to get everyone to slow down and drive less aggressively.
"It's a major undertaking to change our driving culture," Licata said.
Licata gets it wrong. We don't need to change the driving culture, we need to change ourselves for having allowed people like Licata to advocate and expend taxpayer resources on these egregious devices. Want to blame Licata? Understandable. But Licata is a small part of the problem. The problem is that no one has stepped forward to stop the Nick Licatas of the world-and there are many on city councils across Washington State-from putting red-light cameras everywhere. Licata would put red-light cameras outside at the foot of your driveway or garage if he could.
Don't like it? Probably the best way to solve this issue is through a voter initiative that would change state law by prohibiting municipalities from using red-light cameras or prohibit municipalities from keeping any of the funds collected from the use of red-light cameras. We had a failed statewide voter initiative that linked the latter idea to other transportation issues, but perhaps it's time to unlink this issue and put it before the voters once and for all. This would be Nick Licata's worst nightmare.
