Credit: Photo Courtesy of Sylvar, Flickr Creative Commons
Like our friend who got out of a ticket for having a Pulp Fiction wallet, those who also choose to take their chances on running red lights may soon be able to relax if new legislative measures come through.

Sen. Bill Seitz is sponsoring a new bill that would ban the use of traffic cameras in the state of Ohio, according to a cleveland.com article. Advocates for the bill cite infringement on rights as their main argument against the cameras, and claim that the cameras are only used as ways to make money for “cash-strapped municipalities,” the article reports.

The bill is supported by a “clear majority” of senators, according to Sen. Seitz.

Those against the bill, of course, argue that public safety is the cameras’ main purpose, but the cameras seem to invoke such rage in the general public that one was even set on fire last winter; if the bill does come to pass, it would seem that many won’t be too distraught over the cameras’ absences.

This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2014.

Cortni Dietz is a senior at Ohio University and a Scene blogging intern. When taking a break from the rigorous pursuit of journalism, she enjoys eating, reading, hanging out with dogs of all shapes and sizes and drinking overpriced coffee.

9 replies on “Doomsday May be Imminent for Ohio Traffic Cameras”

  1. I don’t like those traffic cameras, but I should point out that this is the state telling the cities what they can’t do. I’m sure if the state was getting a bit of the money, things would be different

  6. For those who say to just “stop breaking the law,” I just want to remind you that machines are always 100% reliable…and that corporations and governments are always fair…especially when the corporation and government stand to profit from the machines. No one should be OK with giving away anyone’s 5th & 6th Amendment rights just to make a buck the way these cameras do…

  7. I find the cameras to be annoying and also a safety hazard. I am EMT and drive an ambulance in the Cleveland area. I can not tell you how many times my company has received tickets from the city or owners of these cameras for our squads” running” these lights… with lights and sirens activated. I also can not count the amount of MVA’s (motor vehicle accident) I have been on caused by those things… people slam on their brakes to avoid a ticket or get distracted by the flash of the camera and hit something. Personally I hope they get rid of them…

  8. In a perfect world, something like this can make things safer and cause people to drive safer. This isn’t a perfect world, however. A lot of $$$ is generated by these machines, and it pays to program the machine to be over-aggressive, inaccurate, and just plain wrong. The current state of these red light cameras is horrible, and they need to be done away with.

  9. I got ticketed by mistake by these machines. Although the photograph given was literal proof that I was not the speeder, but rather the vehicle next to me, I tried to dispute the ticket and was turned down (Before and after photo showed a car directly in front of me equal distance while the actual violator was shown drastically in front in the after-photo in the lane beside me). To go to court to further battle the ticket would have cost me a days pay plus court fees. These cameras are nothing but toll collectors and a burden to society.

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