putting up cameras at traffic intersections...

[CosmicCowboy]

OK, I'm seeing high dollar wireless cameras going up at street intersections/red lights all over town. Who's paying for these? Who's watching them?

Is it safe to assume that once they get them all installed San Antonio is about to go to "red light camera" tickets?

Otherwise, what the fuck are these things for?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Inquiring mind wants to know.

[mrsmaalox]

Redlight cam caught MR MAALOX in Balcones Heights last month; cruising thru that intersection as if he owned it. The website had 2 still shots of his license plate, and 2 10sec videos. There's a declaration that can be filled out if you lent your car out or if it was stolen, but in this case it was no contest because he was in a convertible and his face was plain as day :lol

I read that the cameras San Antonio puts up are for traffic pattern observations, but I'm not positive on that. Of course the different municipalities can put them up for red light violations if they want.

edit: I don't know which of all the cameras are TX DOT's, but supposedly theirs are only for traffic observation.

[Frenzy]

Don't tax payers pay for anything going up in the city? Red light camera...tickets. why not ?extra income,less work for cops,slap a "more safe" sticker on it and your good to go.

[CosmicCowboy]

Don't tax payers pay for anything going up in the city? Red light camera...tickets. why not ?extra income,less work for cops,slap a "more safe" sticker on it and your good to go.

Some cities/states contract out the red light cams...for instance, the company bids on a 10 year contract, pays to install all the camera/monitoring infrastructure and then gets a cut of the ticket proceeds.

Thats clearly not what is happening here.

[Cry Havoc]

So stupid.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that traffic cameras lead to lazier police and MORE accidents. People get ticketed for even running a yellow so they SLAM on their brakes, causing the person behind them to rear end them while the light is still yellow. There are numerous instances where cities have tampered with the timing on the lights as well, to catch motorists off-guard, so they run a red that shouldn't even be there, and get fined.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/road-safety/2743688/Rip-them-out.html

[CosmicCowboy]

I have looked at purchasing cameras like that...Those damn things are EXPENSIVE. I'll bet every intersection costs at least $10,000 to install.

[mrsmaalox]

Some cities/states contract out the red light cams...for instance, the company bids on a 10 year contract, pays to install all the camera/monitoring infrastructure and then gets a cut of the ticket proceeds.

Thats clearly not what is happening here.

Well Cowboy, if that clearly is not happening here, you must know more than you are letting on. Spill it!! :)

[Goran Dragic]

The city is paying for the cameras assuming it's anything like Phoenix. Phoenix was basically the founding father of photo enforcement, red light cams were the first things that went up in Phoenix and weren't a terribly big deal because most people don't run red lights.

If you think red light cams are annoying, you guys ain't seen shit yet. Just wait for speed cams to be installed right after you turn the corner on a street and have no time to slow down, or the vans with cams at the top that find a good spot every day to use as a speed trap. Fortunately in AZ that all the speed cams on freeways were taken down recently because of all the shit it led to, mainly one guy operating a van being shot.

[CosmicCowboy]

Well Cowboy, if that clearly is not happening here, you must know more than you are letting on. Spill it!! :)

Just saying, the city council would have had to award the "red light" contract and we would have heard about it.

[Cry Havoc]

The city is paying for the cameras assuming it's anything like Phoenix. Phoenix was basically the founding father of photo enforcement, red light cams were the first things that went up in Phoenix and weren't a terribly big deal because most people don't run red lights.

If you think red light cams are annoying, you guys ain't seen shit yet. Just wait for speed cams to be installed right after you turn the corner on a street and have no time to slow down, or the vans with cams at the top that find a good spot every day to use as a speed trap. Fortunately in AZ that all the speed cams on freeways were taken down recently because of all the shit it led to, mainly one guy operating a van being shot.

It's stupidity like this that led me to buying a Beltronics RX-65. It might not get all the red light cameras, but I'll never, EVER let a police officer see me before I know he's there, provided he's got his radar on.

It's an awesome detector. Hasn't missed a beat yet.

[Wild Cobra]

That type of cameras are they? There are ones that just watch traffic patterns? With vision software technology, they are better than inductive sensors for controlling signal lights. They can also see a bicycle, where a bicycle could be too small to trip the inductive sensors.

I know these exist. I have a cousin who has patents on this technology. Maybe they have all the bugs worked out, and the markets ready.

[CosmicCowboy]

These just look like red light cameras and wireless transmitters. I'm seeing them all over town. Just noticed yesterday they got installed recently on Hwy 16 South between 35 and 1604 (towards the Toyota plant).

[Destro]

write your local city council people

[Goran Dragic]

It's stupidity like this that led me to buying a Beltronics RX-65. It might not get all the red light cameras, but I'll never, EVER let a police officer see me before I know he's there, provided he's got his radar on.

It's an awesome detector. Hasn't missed a beat yet.

Those detectors don't do anything against photo radar. By the time it starts beeping because it detects radar being used on your car, the cam is already taking a picture.

[Trainwreck2100]

These just look like red light cameras and wireless transmitters. I'm seeing them all over town. Just noticed yesterday they got installed recently on Hwy 16 South between 35 and 1604 (towards the Toyota plant).

are they the big ass balcones height ones or the little cylindrical ones that sit on top of the lights

[CosmicCowboy]

like this

http://www.seattlecaraccidentlawyerblog.com/traffic-camera.jpg

[Drachen]

That type of cameras are they? There are ones that just watch traffic patterns? With vision software technology, they are better than inductive sensors for controlling signal lights. They can also see a bicycle, where a bicycle could be too small to trip the inductive sensors.

I know these exist. I have a cousin who has patents on this technology. Maybe they have all the bugs worked out, and the markets ready.

They really need to put one of these at the entrance to my neighborhood. NEITHER of my motorcycles can trip the sensor. The first one, I understand. Its a Rebel with a 300 lb. dry weight. The other, however is a Sabre with a 525 lb dry weight. I think that should be sufficient. When leaving my neighborhood, I have to run a red light all the time unless there is a car in front of or behind me turning left.

[Trainwreck2100]

like this

http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/TRC4636.jpg

:lol hotlinking

[Trainwreck2100]

dude you got your panties in a wad over those cams they've been around for years, they use them instead of street sensors

[CosmicCowboy]

dude you got your panties in a wad over those cams they've been around for years, they use them instead of street sensors

sure about that?

[Trainwreck2100]

sure about that?

yeah cause they are outside huebner oaks and i worked there 7 years ago and ran that light a shit load of times cause it was really late and never got a ticket and there was a news report when they first came out saying they were replacing street sensors cause people thought they were traffic cams

[CosmicCowboy]

yeah cause they are outside huebner oaks and i worked there 7 years ago and ran that light a shit load of times cause it was really late and never got a ticket and there was a news report when they first came out saying they were replacing street sensors cause people thought they were traffic cams

Duh. I know they aren't issuing red light tickets...........yet.

[01Snake]

like this

http://www.seattlecaraccidentlawyerblog.com/traffic-camera.jpg

Those are sensors that detect emergency vehicles. If you happen to be at a light when a cop/firetruck/ambulance passes through the intersection with its lights on, you will see the unit flashing (strobe light).

[DisAsTerBot]

...yet.

exactly....
i remember an article a year or so ago about a city that ended up taking the cameras down because they were working...ie, people weren't running red lights anymore so the city was putting more money in than they were getting from tickets......basically admitting it's about the revenue and not the safety of citizens.

[Wild Cobra]

sure about that?
I haven't talked to David in maybe 9 years. He already had optics patents for some years already, and the were being tested that long ago.

Hell, his patents have possibly expired.

[Wild Cobra]

Those are sensors that detect emergency vehicles. If you happen to be at a light when a cop/firetruck/ambulance passes through the intersection with its lights on, you will see the unit flashing (strobe light).
That too.

However, a good camera and good vision software can do multiple functions.

A Red Light camera will be lower to see a plate well. Anything high up is not a red light camera. It is watching traffic, and can even be a traffic cam (http://www.oregonlive.com/traffic/).

San Antonio Traffic cams (http://www.transguide.dot.state.tx.us/Website/FrontEnd/default.html?r=SAT&p=San%20Antonio&t=cctv)

[Sisk]

People get ticketed for even running a yellow so they SLAM on their brakes, causing the person behind them to rear end them while the light is still yellow. There are numerous instances where cities have tampered with the timing on the lights as well, to catch motorists off-guard, so they run a red that shouldn't even be there, and get fined.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/road-safety/2743688/Rip-them-out.html

Yup. These were in College Station and they got rid of them for this exact reason.

[phyzik]

These are not like the traffic camera's that are in Balcones Heights that give out tickets. Im positive that I read somewhere that they will not install any more red-light camera's and only the current ones will remain (Balcones Heights) and thats only because they have a binding contract with the company.

Im pretty sure the things you see that they are putting up are traffic sensors to allow for the lights to adjust to traffic flow. They also detect the strobe of an emergency vehicle to change the light to green.

THIS is what a red-light camera looks like. I know, I live right outside Balcones heights and see them almost every day.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uWpg7qPo684/SBAABTjdTGI/AAAAAAAACdQ/w43G2JEvcQY/s400/100_5265.jpg

[PM5K]

http://www.modot.mo.gov/stlouis/links/signalcameras.htm

[Blake]

May 2009

Texas Cities Defy House Attempt to Ban Red Light Cameras
Cities of Arlington and Southlake, move to skirt pending Texas ban on red light cameras.

At least two Texas cities are openly defying the will of the state House of Representatives which earlier this month voted 107-36 to ban red light cameras. Texas lawmakers, unlike their counterparts in other states, decided to allow cities with existing red light camera contracts to keep issuing citations until those contracts expired on their own. The proposed law would then prohibit any new contracts after June 1.

This week, the cities of Arlington and Southlake took a slap at that generous exception. Arlington's city council on Tuesday unanimously decided to change the city's five-year contract with American Traffic Solutions into a twenty-year contract. Long-term photo contracts are rare in the US as cities -- such as Scottsdale, Arizona and Washington, DC -- prefer to have the ability to switch contractors to ensure a competitive bidding process. Arlington decided to bind future councils for nearly twenty years after a debate that lasted a full twenty-five seconds.

.........

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2784.asp

In 2007, the state banned the use of speed cameras

[TDMVPDPOY]

revenue raising ftl...well someone has to fund ur net debt :D

its fkn bs how cops would park in a alley and catch u with their speed guns...

goto asia its even funnier, cameras are mounted on scooters and they just give out tickets randomly :(

[phyzik]

In 2007, the state banned the use of speed cameras

yeah, I was looking for that. couldnt remember if I really read it or not. :lol