US city OKs red light crackdown – violators face $100 fines and photo evidence as drivers blast 'money grab' | 9Q99B68 | 2024-04-25 12:08:01
DRIVERS and lawmakers are at odds over a new red light camera proposal after a major city noticed an uptick in violent crashes.
Public safety advocates said the cameras are a necessary enforcement tool, while drivers said similar road rules have failed in recent history.
St. Louis, Missouri's Board of Aldermen passed a new proposal that could mount dozens of red light cameras throughout the city.
The Missouri city has seen an increase in traffic violence this year.
Earlier this year, a visiting mother and daughter were killed in a downtown accident after seeing a Drake concert, according to local Fox affiliate KTVI.
Another resident has complained that multiple high-speed drivers have crashed on her property.
A new bill proposal would reintroduce red light cameras in the city's dowtown.
The board passed the red light measure to enhance traffic safety and reduce the pressure on a light-staffed police department.
"We know that we've had escalating traffic violence in our city, especialy during the pandemic," Megan Green, the city's Board of Aldermen President, told KTVI.
"[Residents] want to see more enforcement, but they also don't want to see increased chances for bad interactions between residents and police officers."
But the city had to walk a fine line to create the red light proposal.
The first traffic lights were implemented in St. Louis' downtown in 2007, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> At the time, government officials praised the cameras after noticing a significant downturn in violent crashes.
In 2015, the cameras were challenged in court.
Ultimately, state judges nixed camera mechanisms, saying officials needed to identify drivers when they received a ticket.
Green said she believes the new proposal will pass legal muster because it was "written in consultation with a number of attorneys, some who had even worked to override this previously."
However, the bill didn't pass unanimously in the chamber.
<!--googleoff: all--> <blockquote class="article__quote"> </blockquote> <!--googleon: all--> "You can now wear masks regularly because of Covid," Alderwoman Sharon Tyus told the television station.
"I was here before when they had red light cameras. It was ruled illegal. I think that red light cameras are not going to stop people from going through red lights."
Drivers in the comments section of the news clip agreed with Tyus.
"It's a money grab, if we're being honest," one commenter said.
"It won't make a difference when the license plates aren't legal," another commenter added.
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