HPD issues a red light running ticket!
KHOU-11 gives us a bit of humor today:
Sunday morning, Michael Kubosh, a bondsman in Harris County, purposely ran a red light at Elgin and Milam.
He claims that the city of Houston is being “hoodwinked by vendors” into a program that will cost the taxpayers millions of dollars.
Houston police apparently learned of Kubosh’s plan to run the red light, because he was pulled over by an HPD patrol car shortly after going through the intersection where one of the red light cameras was set up.
How in the world did HPD learn of Kubosh's plan? It was such a secret.
Isn't it good to know that HPD really can issue a red light running ticket? Maybe on weekends when Chief Hurtt is in Phoenix, Houston police officers cut loose and defy the old man.
Meanwhile, speaking of Arizona, Scottsdale-based ATS, which has Houston's red light camera contract, is experiencing booming camera business:
Ultimately, there are 350,000 signalized intersections in the United States. Tuton figures maybe 100,000 or so are candidates for photo enforcement. And each of those have up to four approaches to the intersection.
“The first thing you do is put redlight cameras in and, at some point, you can turn them on and covert them into speed enforcement and speed monitoring cameras and then later do midblock or mobile speed,” he said.
That's the future Chief Hurtt wants -- speed cameras.
And while MayorWhiteChiefHurtt won't admit the (financial) truth behind cameras, ATS's boss will:
Cities and towns across the country are under budget constraints, making the business of photo enforcement lucrative. Residents want more services with less taxes, Tuton said.
It's about generating revenue, not safety.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 09/17/06 06:48 PM | Print |
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