The New Orleans Advocate: It cannot be said that LaToya Cantrell was elected mayor of New Orleans just because voters believed she would get rid of traffic cameras, but her stance sure was wildly popular.
Cantrell is hardly the first politician to abandon her principles on election, or to resort to dirty tricks. But it requires a special talent to do both at the same time.
Citizens loved to revile Cantrell’s predecessor, Mitch Landrieu, for many reasons, but prominent among them was his faith in the camera network, which he significantly expanded. The official pretext — that hizzorer was out to enhance public safety — was widely pooh-poohed. Conventional wisdom was that the idea was to fill the city coffers with cash extracted from drivers, mostly for mere peccadilloes.
That theory got a boost when the Landrieu administration added 55 new cameras in 2017, more or less doubling the total, and the press reported that the city had never conducted a study of their impact on public safety.
The city promptly commissioned one, reaching the less-then-astounding conclusion that cameras did indeed mean fewer accidents. That ticketing speeders makes the streets safer is a proposition that had common sense on its side.
Then-mayoral candidate Cantrell remained unconvinced, however, and refused to back off from the notion that the city could shed the cameras entirely. She said she had “some concerns about the data” cited in the study, and needed to know more. “That way we can determine which cameras, if any, can stay and which ones should be removed.”
The question was left hanging when she took office last year, inheriting a budget that included $25 million in camera-generated revenues. So much for campaign promises. Renouncing that kind of money proved too much of a challenge. more
h/t RWF.
Cameras did just the opposite in MD, at least for a little while. We never had so many wrecks as we had in the first 4 years of traffic cameras. They’d all nail the accelerator and crush the piss out of everything.
That’s what you get when you elect a politician from the red light district.
I was a motorcyclist at the time, in MD. That was the worst era for motor bikes. We were all getting close calls, or downright killed because of those fucking cameras made idiots be even more idiotic idiots.
is horswoggling contagious? I can think of several politicians that might have it.
maybe it is caught from being on certain platforms
next week, they’ll pass legislation making it illegal to control hornswoggling- that will fix the problem
It was either go 110 through the light, or SLAM on the brakes while the light was still green and stale. No win situation. And if the light went yellow whilst the clown was 110 feet from the line, going 55, he’d fucking lock up the brakes, go sideways, and flip over the fucking car.
It was fucking awful.
‘out to enhance public safety’.
After the hundreds of ignored seniors died in the floods of Katrina.
Let’s all not want another flood, but if it comes, the traffic light fines may this time make some more available funds for maybe for a bus or two.
The Mayor at time was Ray Nagin,,,
Go for it LaToya, sure you’ll make well.
So. Voters elected someone named LaToya Let because she promised more free shit than her competitors and now the voters are claiming they were fed a buncha shit?
I have read several times that when red camera lights are installed, the length of the yellow goes down.
They are not for safety, they are there for revenue.
GA passed a law several years ago that extended the hold time of the yellow light by 1 second more than regulations suggested where cameras were installed. Within a few months, the cameras disappeared because they couldn’t pay for themselves with the greatly reduced revenues that were generated (local govts. “leased” the cameras from private companies that also did the ticketing – once the law was passed, there were hardly any tickets generated).
Before the law, some cameras were raking in a few million dollars every year because they reduced the length of time the light was yellow forcing people to innocently “run red lights” or get rear ended by others that didn’t have time to stop. It proved the red light cameras were always nothing more than a scam to steal money from motorists.
if I go there, all this ‘short yellow light’ stuff has me scared. I think what I’ll do, if I get to the intersection and the light is still green- I’m going to just stop and wait for the next green light. That way I won’t get a ticket, and everyone will be safer.
White line cameras
Speed cameras
Shortening yellow lights
DUI check points
All of these are just money-grabs for politicians too afraid to raise taxes to cover the costs. So they prey on the public.
Since when does government care about your safety? That should be a huge hint that they have ulterior motives. -That’s just the cover story.
If thw swamp cared about your safety, they’d be with us in stopping criminal invaders at our border. Instead, they’re with them against us.
…And don’t get me started on that %$&#* “commuter lane” scam.
Hooked on Stupid
I’ll be okay with even more cameras here in NOLA but only as long as they re-install Genl Lee’s statue at Lee circle. The White Memorial the Democrats can keep – that was a KKK-inspired dealio anyway. And the KKK was founded and run by the Democrat Party to keep black people down after the War Between The States.
what did you expect, you elected someone named latoilet.
The absolute best traffic device installed in my car is….
WAZE……installed on my iPhone……
it’s a community of traffic fine avoiders.