FAIRFAX,Va. - A large portion of Northern Virginia has been free of red light cameras for several years. But that could soon change.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is studying the possibility of bringing red light cameras back to the county's roads.

The county operated ten cameras before 2005. Then the General Assembly took away the county's authority to use them.

The county did not bring the cameras back when that authority was reinstated in 2007.

But Supervisor Michael Frey (R-Sully) says a recent study in Arlington County by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed a sharp decline in red light-running in areas where the cameras were installed.

"The Insurance Institute study clearly shows, once again, the improvements to safety that you get from these things so I think you gotta do it," says Frey.

Frey says there could be some budgetary constraints to consider as the cameras cost money anddidnot make money for the county when they were installed before.

The county does not plan to lay off any police officers in its proposed 2014 budget. But Frey says some patrols were cut back in the last few years because of budget cuts.

He says if the red light program comes back, it would be phased in.

The board of supervisors has asked county staff to look at how a new program could be set up and where the cameras might be placed.

Red light cameras are already installed at some intersections in Arlington County, and in the cities of Fairfax and Alexandria.

Light, camera, action and revenue! and yes its for the children too.

D.C. Rakes In $65+ Million On Speed & Red Light Cameras in ’12

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/10/01/d-c-rakes-in-65-million-on-speed-red-light-cameras-in-12/

DC 69 sq miles, FFX 400 sq miles. Just think of how many more red light cameras the FFX BOS (POS?) can fit in the additional 340 sq miles and the revenue it can generate.

They should put these in Tysons. Let me explain before people throw crap at me.

Part of the traffic problem in Tysons is a-holes who block the box. They jam up an intersection far worse than if they had waited their turn by making the middle portion of the intersection a no-mans land.

I completely disagree with the ridiculous fee structure in DC's red light cameras, but if you look at Arlington's model, they have normal ticket costs and it has shown a reduction of intersection clogging which used to occur at Fairfax/Glebe and 29/Washington.

Put a $25 fine to it, and call it a jackass fee in Tysons, cause if you are in the middle of an intersection in this kind of congestion, then you did it on purpose.

In one respect, red light cameras ain't so bad.

The Police Department needs revenue (don't believe any BS that don't...I don't care where that revenue may go, or who may tell 'em that they need $$$...the fact is, EVERY organization needs $$$).

If they get it through red light cameras, and not tickets, that is OK with me.

For you see, you get points with tickets. You get no points with red light cameras.

I seem to remember an article that said red light cameras can be dangerous when cars stop short to avoid getting caught.
Also, "On the other side of the debate are statistics that show the cameras also cause accidents. A 2005 federal study demonstrated that while injuries from right angle or T-bone crashes decreased by 16 percent at red-light camera intersections, injuries from rear-end collisions increased by 24 percent."

Alright, speaking of this kind of thing...

Some states make it "illegal" to flash traffic coming from the other direction alerting them of a cop's presence, others don't.

As for the states that don't, one opinion is that "we don't care how traffic is slowed down, as long as it gets slowed down, we don't need to write tickets', or something to that effect.

Other states view it as interfering with a police officer in official duty, or something like that.

I go for the fomer view...that is, police aren't there to "make busts", they are they to protect and serve. If their presence makes others alert oncoming traffic to their presence, thus making oncoming traffic slow down, mission accomplished, right?

What the F say you?

Arlington Blvd & Jaguar Trail is a good place to start.

If you get caught, tough shit.

Priapus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I seem to remember an article that said red light
> cameras can be dangerous when cars stop short to
> avoid getting caught.
> Also, "On the other side of the debate are
> statistics that show the cameras also cause
> accidents. A 2005 federal study demonstrated that
> while injuries from right angle or T-bone crashes
> decreased by 16 percent at red-light camera
> intersections, injuries from rear-end collisions
> increased by 24 percent."


Well you'll have some of that and I'm sure some people will get fucking killed or paralyzed, but that's tough shit, too.

Tysons Engineer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They should put these in Tysons. Let me explain
> before people throw crap at me.
>
> Part of the traffic problem in Tysons is a-holes
> who block the box. They jam up an intersection far
> worse than if they had waited their turn by making
> the middle portion of the intersection a no-mans
> land.
>
> I completely disagree with the ridiculous fee
> structure in DC's red light cameras, but if you
> look at Arlington's model, they have normal ticket
> costs and it has shown a reduction of intersection
> clogging which used to occur at Fairfax/Glebe and
> 29/Washington.
>
> Put a $25 fine to it, and call it a jackass fee in
> Tysons, cause if you are in the middle of an
> intersection in this kind of congestion, then you
> did it on purpose.


Jesus, I hope you don't get into another pissing contest with that "Jess1" bitch again.

What a cunt.

Relief is here: Red Light and Speeding alert file for GPS is available at www.poi-factory.com . Subscription based.

Happy Driving

Another Republican deciding to be a dick and set up camera's to harass people with tickets.

We welcome Sup. Frey into the Democratic Party of nanny-state/big-brother government. Thank you for shedding your concerns about our police state and instead embracing ever more intrusive govt!

Tysons Engineer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They should put these in Tysons. Let me explain
> before people throw crap at me.
>
> Part of the traffic problem in Tysons is a-holes
> who block the box. They jam up an intersection far
> worse than if they had waited their turn by making
> the middle portion of the intersection a no-mans
> land.
>
> I completely disagree with the ridiculous fee
> structure in DC's red light cameras, but if you
> look at Arlington's model, they have normal ticket
> costs and it has shown a reduction of intersection
> clogging which used to occur at Fairfax/Glebe and
> 29/Washington.
>
> Put a $25 fine to it, and call it a jackass fee in
> Tysons, cause if you are in the middle of an
> intersection in this kind of congestion, then you
> did it on purpose.


I dont know how that will help to prevent idiots who block the box. Most people cross into the intersection when the light is still green and get stuck. Then it turns red and they are the middle. The cameras have sensors at the crosswalks not in the middle.

rock steele Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Tysons Engineer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > They should put these in Tysons. Let me explain
> > before people throw crap at me.
> >
> > Part of the traffic problem in Tysons is
> a-holes
> > who block the box. They jam up an intersection
> far
> > worse than if they had waited their turn by
> making
> > the middle portion of the intersection a
> no-mans
> > land.
> >
> > I completely disagree with the ridiculous fee
> > structure in DC's red light cameras, but if you
> > look at Arlington's model, they have normal
> ticket
> > costs and it has shown a reduction of
> intersection
> > clogging which used to occur at Fairfax/Glebe
> and
> > 29/Washington.
> >
> > Put a $25 fine to it, and call it a jackass fee
> in
> > Tysons, cause if you are in the middle of an
> > intersection in this kind of congestion, then
> you
> > did it on purpose.
>
>
> I dont know how that will help to prevent idiots
> who block the box. Most people cross into the
> intersection when the light is still green and get
> stuck. Then it turns red and they are the middle.
> The cameras have sensors at the crosswalks not in
> the middle.

I dont think it has to be a sensor set up at the crosswalk. The sensor can also be set to determine if people are in the middle of the intersection. Otherwise how do they catch people who have already crossed the crosswalk and the light is red.

If anything, I would rather they take their reading 3 seconds after the red, so that it isn't applied to non-box blockers. Everyone at some point in their life runs a light that just turned red, yea its not the safest thing but honestly its the people who block the box, or the person who is not paying any attention and go through long after the red that cause the accidents and congestion

When I commuted on Rt 1 in Alexandria you could see the camera flash at cars that ran the red light but the ones already in the intersection would not trip the camera. They used to have cops at the major intersections writing tickets if people pulled into the intersection and got stuck when the traffic was not clear.

old govt guy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When I commuted on Rt 1 in Alexandria you could
> see the camera flash at cars that ran the red
> light but the ones already in the intersection
> would not trip the camera. They used to have cops
> at the major intersections writing tickets if
> people pulled into the intersection and got stuck
> when the traffic was not clear.

But there isn't something constraining them from being able to put it in the intersection instead is my point, which to me makes more sense. The sensor should take a reading 1 second (lets say) after the red light, and the photo should be taken if something trips it in the middle of the intersection.

Right now the idea is, take picture when it turns red, and have the sensor at the crosswalk itself.

Same car could theoretically be ticketed either way, but the former would also ticket a-holes in the intersection blocking traffic

People (mostly women) who enter the intersection when traffic is stopped, blocking cross traffic when the light changes, should be pulled from their cars and stomped into the pavement.

Stomper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> People (mostly women) who enter the intersection
> when traffic is stopped, blocking cross traffic
> when the light changes, should be pulled from
> their cars and stomped into the pavement.
Attachments:

Tysons Engineer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They should put these in Tysons. Let me explain
> before people throw crap at me.
>
> Part of the traffic problem in Tysons is a-holes
> who block the box. They jam up an intersection far
> worse than if they had waited their turn by making
> the middle portion of the intersection a no-mans
> land.
>
> I completely disagree with the ridiculous fee
> structure in DC's red light cameras, but if you
> look at Arlington's model, they have normal ticket
> costs and it has shown a reduction of intersection
> clogging which used to occur at Fairfax/Glebe and
> 29/Washington.
>
> Put a $25 fine to it, and call it a jackass fee in
> Tysons, cause if you are in the middle of an
> intersection in this kind of congestion, then you
> did it on purpose.

Bad idea.

If we started charging jackass fees the entire county would be broke by the end of the year.

Never met as many people who like to bend over and take it from the govt, as in this area. If this is for safety, then force your lying pos politicians to donate all the "profit" to charity. Just one more way to bilk the public out of money to be wasted by crooked politicians on their self-enriching projects. Fairfax is full of sheeple.

Mikeymike Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Never met as many people who like to bend over and
> take it from the govt, as in this area. If this
> is for safety, then force your lying pos
> politicians to donate all the "profit" to charity.
> Just one more way to bilk the public out of money
> to be wasted by crooked politicians on their
> self-enriching projects. Fairfax is full of
> sheeple.

Easy there Trey Parker. If thats the case, why have traffic laws at all. Go to a country without traffic laws and see if you'd like to drive a nice car there. Make sure to bring molding putty and enough paint to last you 3 lifetimes.

You need government for an area of 1+million people, otherwise this would start looking like a brazilian favela. If you want government off your back, there 1.7 million square miles of nothingness that awaits you in Idaho. Have fun on your dirt farm, I hear they have lovely filth.

@TE +1

@everyoone else: ok, so riddle me this. County of ONE MILLION, none of whom want red light cameras, right?

so how is it that it's even possible that this could happen? How is it that although NOBODY wants them, WE WILL ALLOW THIS PROCESS TO ACTUALLY CONTINUE?

in other words, what do we do RIGHT NOW to insure that no more OF OUR $$$$$ is wasted in restarting a program that was PROVEN IN THE PAST IN OUR COUNTY to take more $$$$$ to run than it does in ticket $ returns.


edit: dont buy in on that "SAFETY" bullshit, either - changing traffic light timing helps WAY BETTER than cams do in that - but it doesnt make as much $$$$ to private companies leeching off yr tax $$$$ , now does it? LoLz



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2013 11:30AM by Gordon Blvd.

Republitards Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Another Republican deciding to be a dick and set
> up camera's to harass people with tickets.

Another tax on the stupid (aka an AVOIDABLE tax)

FUCK THE RED LIGHT CAMERAS!!!

WHERE ARE THE RED LIGHT DISTRICTS IN FFX??????

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @TE +1
>
> @everyoone else: ok, so riddle me this. County
> of ONE MILLION, none of whom want red light
> cameras, right?
>
> so how is it that it's even possible that this
> could happen? How is it that although NOBODY
> wants them, WE WILL ALLOW THIS PROCESS TO ACTUALLY
> CONTINUE?
>
> in other words, what do we do RIGHT NOW to insure
> that no more OF OUR $$$$$ is wasted in restarting
> a program that was PROVEN IN THE PAST IN
> OUR COUNTY to take more $$$$$ to run than it does
> in ticket $ returns.
>
>
> edit: dont buy in on that "SAFETY" bullshit,
> either - changing traffic light timing helps WAY
> BETTER than cams do in that - but it doesnt make
> as much $$$$ to private companies leeching off yr
> tax $$$$ , now does it? LoLz

Traffic light timing works on the block the box sometimes. But, for instance there is a situation at Great Falls and Chain Bridge, and at Great Falls and Dolley Madison where no matter what, there is a large directional flow which can't be offloaded without impact in the other direction

That is because both Great Falls, and Chain Bridge have a stacking problem in both directions AND that stacking is too short on Great Falls which backs up to the Chain Bridge intersection. Nothing you do with this light, absent adding another lane which will only last so long before those 50 or so cars also overwhelm the situation, will fix the problem.

This is a perfect place to put a dont block the box sensor.

Can you show where in the past this cost more than the ticket $ returns, and how can that be the case? Its not like there is a large overhead cost to this, its an automated system with minimal human follow up.

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @everyoone else: ok, so riddle me this. County
> of ONE MILLION

In 2012 the population of Fairfax County was over 1.1 million... if we can't get facts straight then your opinions are obviously questionable.


> How is it that although NOBODY wants them

Source of 0% favorability? Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: 59% of those surveyed believed that the red light cameras made those intersections safer. (ref http://lcdwriter.hubpages.com/hub/The-Red-Light-Camera)


> in other words, what do we do RIGHT NOW to insure
> that no more OF OUR $$$$$ is wasted in restarting
> a program that was PROVEN IN THE PAST IN
> OUR COUNTY to take more $$$$$ to run than it does
> in ticket $ returns.

By your logic we should get rid of FCPD, because it spends more money than it takes in. We should stop subsidizing mass transit because, by definition of subsidizing, it doesn't pay for itself via user fees. We should eliminate public schools because they aren't based on a fee structure that pays for them. Paying for programs that don't pay for themselves is WHY government pays for it, otherwise a for-profit entity would. This isn't rocket science, it is why you take a paycheck from VDOT at my expense (which also isn't fee-funded).

@TE - whelp, Id go with what the county said about it last year when they told us all "no, we arent gonna do what we're planning to do in about 6-8 months or so" LoLz

http://fairfaxstation.patch.com/articles/no-plans-to-return-red-light-cameras-to-fairfax-county

gotta LOVE the last part of that article.

“When we had it, it was very successful,” Otten said. “Across the county we had about 45 percent reduction in (violations). Of course, when you have reductions, you’re not making any money.”

if it's TRULY a safety issue, then making money isnt a concern, now is it? anywho, are cars really running the light or boxblocking on Great Falls Street? Havent really seen that. Now that Lewinsville/Farm Credit light, now that is NOTORIOUS for the red light running LoLz - but I've not seen an accident there - i dunno....................but I DAMN WELL KNOW THAT red light cams are not really about safety - if they where THEY WOULD SIGN THEM IN ADVANCE AND MARK THEM CLEARLY! like they do dangerous curves and other road hazards - since clearly, you are entering a VERY dangerous intersection - so dangerous, in fact, they need to put a cam up. But not so dangerous enough that they wouldn't alert you in advance of the fact a cam was there? That the intersection was more dangerous than others? (since this is, of COURSE, all about safety)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2013 01:31PM by Gordon Blvd.

FFX BOS says what the hell we want red light cameras and speeding cameras too "give us your money!"

Village of 2,200 people racks up 6,600 tickets worth $1.5m in just one month from its first two speed cameras

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290188/Village-2-200-people-speeding-cameras-installed-6-600-tickets-month.html

TE- BOHICA. And, this area is a legend in its own mind. I can't wait to get the fuck out of here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/2013 12:06AM by Mikeymike.

@imbiker - but I bet that 1.5 million was hella-safe, now wasnt it? LoLz I wonder how much of that money went towards safety improvements to that OBVIOUSLY UNSAFE SPEED ZONE? ha ha ha ha ha ahh ah aha h aha ha ha

@fairfaxian - that study is by the IIHS - that's like telling us an NRA poll shows that 59% of all Americans support arming first graders. Get me a NON-BIASED poll NOT PAID FOR by insurance companies and then we'll talk, k?

And read what I wrote to TE about the money/safety thing. And also, quit being an ass about the million/1.1 thingee LoLz

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @imbiker - but I bet that 1.5 million was
> hella-safe, now wasnt it? LoLz I wonder how much
> of that money went towards safety improvements to
> that OBVIOUSLY UNSAFE SPEED ZONE? ha ha ha ha ha
> ahh ah aha h aha ha ha
>
> @fairfaxian - that study is by the IIHS - that's
> like telling us an NRA poll shows that 59% of all
> Americans support arming first graders. Get me a
> NON-BIASED poll NOT PAID FOR by insurance
> companies and then we'll talk, k?
>
> And read what I wrote to TE about the money/safety
> thing. And also, quit being an ass about the
> million/1.1 thingee LoLz

Or like a Violence Policy Center poll that says 72% of NRA members
support the assault weapons ban and it winds up being repeated
verbatim all the way to the DNC?

wmrr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Or like a Violence Policy Center poll that says
> 72% of NRA members
> support the assault weapons ban and it winds up
> being repeated
> verbatim all the way to the DNC?
and this has to do with red light cameras how? o_0

A JUDGE CALLLED THEM ILLEGAL

Gordon Blvd Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @fairfaxian - that study is by the IIHS -

Red herring... I asked you for YOUR source. I proposed another you may not like, but it is a source that is more credible that what you pull out of your ass.