DYK? Killing The Cameras Might Cost Jobs in Mesa @ American Traffic Solutions

Are people in Arizona and the U.S. getting pissed about surveillance?

Is it about safety or profits?

According to a report on March 10, 2016 8:39 pm  •  HOWARD FISCHER Capitol Media Services the days for photo radar on state roads may be numbered.

It's also reported that the move to kill the cameras has come despite an intense lobbying effort by American Traffic Solutions of Mesa and Redflex Traffic Systems of Arizona, both of whom make money operating photo radar cameras for cities.

Image above of ATS headquarters located at Waypoint here at Riverview in Northwest Mesa that provides jobs to 600 workers. What are the contracts between the City of Mesa and American Traffic Solutions worth?

According to US PIRG, some organizations supporting traffic cameras such as the National Coalition for Safer Roads are simply astroturf fronts for the traffic camera industry.  The coalition’s own website states that it is supported by camera provider American Traffic Solutions.
But it did not help their case after the former chief executive of Redflex pleaded guilty to bribing Chicago officials to get contracts for photo enforcement in that city.

Say what? Behind-the-scenes lobbying and pleading guilty go bribing city officials [at least in Chicago]

There's always a story behind a story, so read on, dear readers!

There's a report in Digital Trends that deserves your attention

Red-light cameras are producing profits more than protecting drivers

By Jeff Zurschmeide — March 12, 2016

Sadly, the opportunity to save lives by preventing accidents has quickly turned into a lucrative cash cow of traffic fines for cities and the corporations that supply the cameras.

Red-light cameras are automatic (mostly) and run 24 hours a day without any human supervision. When the light turns red, the camera is on and will photograph any car that crosses the white limit line, and then transmits the photo along with the date and time to the city.  The city can then issue a citation to the owner of the car.

So who are the companies that provide red-light cameras, and what do they do? Simply put, these companies invest in the hardware, and then contract with cities to install and maintain the cameras in exchange for a slice of the revenue. Competition to win city contracts is fierce. Many companies want a piece of those traffic fines.

For example, according to data in the report, as of 2013, a photo speeding ticket in Baltimore costed $40, and a red-light camera ticket carried a $75 fine. About $11 of each fine was contracted to go to the camera company, leaving a profit of $29 to $64 on every ticket for the city. According to US PIRG, Suffolk County in New York gives up half its automated ticket revenue to its camera vendor

For example, in a series of suits and counter-suits, camera provider Redflex ended up at odds with both the city of Chicago and its own former executives. After a bribery scandal with the city, Redflex fired several executives. One of the fired execs, Aaron Rosenberg, stated that the company had sent gifts and bribes to officials in at least 14 states.

One tactic used by politicians and red light camera companies is to donate a share of the profits to a worthy cause in an attempt to “bluewash” the money. In Colorado, a bill to ban red-light cameras is working its way through the state legislature, but faces opposition from Sungatekids, an organization that fights domestic abuse. Sungatekids has stated that they stand to lose up to $500,000 in funding if the red-light cameras are removed. Digital Trends contacted Sungatekids for comment, but they did not respond.

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/red-light-camera-controversy/#ixzz42njt9sy4
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook