[Nfbf-l] Last chance to save redlight cameras

[Sherri]

Thanks for passing this on.
Sherri
Have you visited my personal page at
http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/Sherri.Brun
If so, Thank you for changing what it means to be blind.
If not, please go there now!
Thank you.
flmom2006 at gmail.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Patricia A. Lipovsky" <plipovsky at cfl.rr.com>
To: "NFBF List" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 8:16 AM
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.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfbf-l mailing list
> Nfbf-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> Nfbf-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/flmom2006%40gmail.com
>