Judge Lynn Hughes has blocked Houston from taking down their red light cameras, pending litigation from vendor American Traffic Solutions. This is after voters voted to have them taken down.
I previously covered Houston’s decision to take down red light cameras here.
In the “old news is so exciting” department, Houston voters got rid of red light cameras in last week’s election. Well, voted them down, anyway. The usual red light sycophants were saying they couldn’t possibly shut them down until March, due to a 120 day notice contract with (yep, you guessed it) American Traffic Solutions, who you may remember from such hits as “We’re creating Astroturf PACs to keep us rolling in dough.”
(Here’s a hint: No city should set up red light cameras in the first place, since they create more accidents than they prevent, but if you do, how about adding a clause saying “Contract immediately void upon rejection by the voters?”)
However, this time the story has a happy ending: City Hall ordered the plug pulled on the cameras by 10 AM this coming Monday (November 15).
Every time voters get a chance to actually vote on the issue, red light cameras are defeated. Sadly, many local politicians still think its more important to line the city’s pockets (or maybe their own) than paying attention to the wishes of actual voters. Maybe with enough defeats like this, the whole red light camera scam will be pulled down for good.
I’d previously pointed out College Station voters getting rid of red light cameras.
TXGunGeek posted this link to his blog to my two recent red light camera posts, and I thought it was important enough to bring up in a separate post.
A restraining order has been filed to prevent College Station from removing the red light cameras, ostensibly over the question of whether the issue got on the ballot as an “initiative” or as a “referendum.” Who filed the lawsuit? Well, by an amazing coincidence, it’s been filed by the law firm that did work for the pro-red light camera PAC American Traffic Solutions used as a front group.
Golly, what are the odds?
So there’s another reason to avoid red light cameras. In addition to causing accidents and transferring money from taxpayers to government, they’re also a gateway drug for deeper corruption of bureaucrats and elected officials.