[Nfbf-l] Last chance to save redlight cameras

[Bill Outman]

Thanks for sending this out to the list.  

I already sent an email to Sen. Lynn about this.  

If the Senate is stupid enough to pass this we need to urge a veto by Gov.
Scott; hopefully he'll have enough sense to do that if necessary.  

Bill Outman 


-----Original Message-----
From: nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbf-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Patricia A. Lipovsky
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 8:16 AM
To: NFBF List
Subject: [Nfbf-l] Last chance to save redlight cameras


 Put brakes on red-light camera repeal
Editorial by Orlando Sentinel May 5, 2011
Sen. Mike Haridopolos must keep red-light cameras alive. 
Proving as wishy-washy as teenagers, the Florida House on Monday completed
its reckless red-light camera roundabout.
 
Last year, legislators granted local governments authority to install the
safety devices at intersections. This year, Rep. Richard Corcoran rolled out
House Bill 4087 to rescind that thumbs up. Disappointingly, lawmakers bought
the New Port Richey Republican's misleading spiel about red-light cameras
causing more accidents than they prevented.
 
The measure now heads to the Senate. There, a companion bill squeaked
through the Senate Transportation Committee in late March. It has remained
stalled ever since.
 
Given the Senate bill's inertia and a fast-approaching Friday legislative
adjournment, conventional wisdom suggests red-light cameras should survive
this wrongheaded challenge. Only, this Legislature has poked a stick in the
eye of conventional wisdom.
 
Look no further than House Speaker Dean Cannon. The Winter Park Republican
cast one of the decisive yes votes that pushed through Corcoran's bill in a
59-57 photo finish. Cannon - who was for red-light camera use before he was
against it.
 
If Wrongway Cannon can so suddenly lose the bearings that once pointed
toward public safety, it's not inconceivable that this stalled but still
dangerous bill could gain 11th-hour traction.
 
We hope that Senate President Mike Haridopolos steps up to ensure the bill
never sees the Senate floor.
 
All along, Corcoran has insisted that the cameras boost crash rates and
produce ticketing errors.
 
Even though law-enforcement officials back the devices.
 
Even though researchers at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at
the University of South Florida and the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety have concluded that red-light cameras prevent accidents and save
lives.
 
And even though positive outcomes in districts represented by other House
Republicans rebut Corcoran's Chicken Little assertions. Rep. Bryan Nelson
noted traffic tickets at a busy intersection in his hometown Apopka have
plunged from nearly 300 last August to 18 within five months.
 
As Nelson put it: "Folks, that's safety." That's right.
 
The Insurance Institute's analysis found red-light cameras reduced the
per-capita rate of deadly red-light-running crashes by 24 percent. Yet, some
lawmakers prefer to champion flawed ideology over public safety.
 
Rep. Chris Dorworth of Lake Mary - continuing to prove he's unfit to become
House speaker in 2014 - insisted the cameras promote "a nanny state." He
says he supports personal responsibility and limited government.
 
If public safety is no longer the purview of government, what is? "The chief
purpose of government is to protect life. Abandon that and you have
abandoned all." So said Thomas Jefferson.
 
Dorworth's nonsensical comments - "You know what, you can always be safer" -
suggest he hasn't any abandonment issues.
 
But as Rep. Eddy Gonzalez noted, now isn't the time to abandon red-light
cameras: "I believe in my heart that we're saving lives."
 
Fortunately, Haridopolos has more to lean on than heartfelt suppositions.
There are studies. Statistics. And the lives that are obscured in the
numbers. One-hundred-fifty nine. That's how many lives red-light cameras
saved in the Insurance Institute analysis. And had the devices stood sentry
in all large cities, some 815 people might be alive today.
 
What better way for an aspiring U.S. senator to show leadership now than to
ensure government honors its first responsibility: protecting the people.
 
 

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