Christina Bellantoni of The Washington Times on N. Virginia to turn off 'spy' cameras:
Red-light cameras in Northern Virginia will be unplugged tomorrow, as a 10-year pilot program expires.
A state legislative committee in February voted not to continue the automated traffic-enforcement program, which has been operating in six Northern Virginia localities and Virginia Beach.
As two legendary philosophers used to say, "happy, happy, joy, joy." Kill this thing dead. Do not resuscitate.
Critics, including delegates who voted to end the program, say the cameras are money-making devices that invade a residents' privacy and cause rear-end collisions.
Word on that. I don't know how many times I've had to brake hard in order to stop in time at intersections with these cameras. While driving the speed limit within the same block as the light, there simply isn't enough time to stop safely once these camera-enabled intersections turn yellow. It appears to my tinfoil hat self that at the intersections these cameras were installed, the yellow light period was shortened, causing people driving the speed limit or even a few miles under to have to brake hard (increasing the chance of being rear-ended) in order to stop in time to avoid being in the intersection while the light is changing from yellow to red. This has become a real problem at intersections such as Huntington and Telegraph Road in Alexandria, Fairfax County near the Metro.
How is that making us safer again?