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+--- Thread: Schaumburg May Shutter Its Red-Light Cameras (/showthread.php?tid=449)
Schaumburg May Shutter Its Red-Light Cameras - kellyann1293 - 06-30-2009
Schaumburg May Shutter Its Red-Light Cameras
Reporting
Dana Kozlov
CHICAGO (CBS) â
If you've ever driven through an intersection only to see a flash, you know you've been caught by a red-light camera â- and a hefty fine will follow.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports the mayor of one sprawling suburb is ready to get rid of them.
These are the only red-light cameras in Schaumburg, at this intersection near the bustling Woodfield Mall. But they might be the last here, despite a national trend to the contrary.
"I'd be very happy," Palatine motorist Steve Resis said. "It's very difficult to actually make the right turn in the spot they want you to, and I've gotten stuck there a couple of times."
Driver friendliness is one reason Schaumburg's village president, Al Larson, is expected to ask the village board to permanently remove the cameras and not install any more when the red-light camera contract expires next month.
"I think it is really important to control traffic. People are intimidated by the cameras and slow down," Arlington Heights resident Paula Kucharski said.
But Schaumburg's police chief tells CBS 2 that a study of accidents at 10 other intersections suggest the cameras won't prevent collisions. And even though these cameras recorded 10,000 violations at $100 a ticket, most were for failing to completely stop in a right turn lane separated by a median -- a factor the police chief says may have confused some drivers.
But red light cameras are known money-makers in many cities. So what about the potential here for lost revenue in the future? Schaumburg officials say it was never about money â it was all about public safety.
"Keep them there," Schaumburg resident Eldon Prothe said. "If you obey the law, you're not going to be punished. So what's the big deal?"
Tammy Marra of Schaumburg wasn't sure whether the cameras should stay. "That's a good question," she said.
It's one Schaumburg's board will have to answer next month.
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