COLUMBUS, Ohio (PNN) - July 16, 2015 - It was reported this week that the city of Columbus was forced to terminate its contract with Redflex, the company that provides all the red light cameras in the area. The termination is the result of a recent court case, where former Redflex CEO Karen Finley pleaded guilty to bribing politicians as part of the company’s business strategy.
However, the mayor did also say that his office is generally in support of red light cameras, but that they just had to cut ties with this company over the corruption. The mayor seems to think that hiring a different company would be somehow less corrupt.
Mayor Michael Coleman, along with Columbus City Council President Andrew Ginther, claimed that they have nothing to do with the allegations and have turned over documents relating to the case to federal investigators.
“I think ultimately this is in the best interest of the people within the city of Columbus because this company very clearly had a culture within it, doing things that were inappropriate and improper and in some cases even illegal. The people in the city of Columbus don’t want the city to do business with a company like that,” said Ginther.
The town’s politicians, while denying wrongdoing, insist that the red light camera program makes the roads safer, however, critics say that they are primarily for generating revenue. Depending on which state you live in, red light cameras could be bringing in well over $100 million to your city’s government.
Eric Skrum, Communications Director for the National Motorists Association, pointed out, “Revenue seems to be driving the red light camera rage. If cities were truly concerned about intersection safety, their engineers would be applying sound engineering practices that improve compliance with traffic laws and traffic signals while reducing accidents rather than installing ticket cameras.”
Skrum continued, “I find it very revealing that Lockheed Martin, one of the biggest manufacturers of red light cameras in the (Fascist Police States of Amerika), has included clauses in their contracts that prohibit city engineers from applying engineering practices that improve compliance and reduce accidents, apparently to maintain the flow of ticket camera revenue. Lockheed Martin specifically prohibits cities, such as San Diego, Kalifornia, from changing the timing of yellow lights in intersections that host their cameras, even though increasing the yellow light time has proven to dramatically decrease red light violations.”
“Photo enforcement of any kind is not about safety. Cities are being caught in the trap of easy money without giving much thought to the pockets they are stealing from,” concluded Skrum.