Firms line up to show traffic cams

Three more companies are lining up to give presentations of their traffic camera systems to the city of Shelbyville.

Meanwhile, a legal opinion by the Tennessee Attorney General says that citations based on the traffic control devices are constitutional.

City manager Ed Craig said Tuesday he has yet to set up any dates for the three unidentified firms to give presentation, stating that once it was published in the Times-Gazette that the city was looking at the systems, "the companies came out of the woodwork."

Redflex has already given a presentation and Gatso USA is scheduled for Dec. 11 at 4:30 p.m..

While many reader comments on the T-G's website in regard to the proposal have been against the system, Craig said he has not heard any public reaction about the concept, although he said he couldn't speak for city council members.

Last week's opinion by Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper stated that the citations based on the cameras are constitutional, but the evidence must be reviewed by the city's law enforcement first.

The constitutionality of the cameras was upheld by the Tennessee Court of Appeals in July. Current state law requires that a ticket given just on the evidence from a camera would be considered a non-moving violation -- such as a parking ticket -- even though the charge would be considered a moving violation if it was issued by an officer based on his or her personal observation.

Recently, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, a government watchdog organization, issued a report that called the argument that red light cameras increase safety "preposterous."

Justin Owen, director of legal policy at the center and co-author of the report on the cameras, said, "The only thing that increases is the amount of money going from the pockets of drivers into the pockets of the cities and the red light camera companies."

The report also claims the cameras increase rear-end collisions, especially if yellow-light times are shortened, and concludes that the cameras are an unconstitutional vehicle for local governments to raise money.

The report, which can be viewed in its entirety at www.tennesseepolicy.org, suggests that longer yellow light times are a better solution for increasing safety.

Craig explained last month that if approved, Redflex would bear all of the operating and capital costs of the camera system and recover funds through a portion of the ticket proceeds. After citations reach a certain level, the city could share the tickets 50/50 with the company.

Redflex has been installing the systems since 1986 and 20 states now have the company's cameras, the firm states. Five Tennessee cities -- Jonesborough, Kingsport, Mount Carmel, Oak Ridge and Selmer -- are listed as using Redflex's system.

Redflex installs the camera detection units at a number of locations and records anyone who either runs a red light or speeds through an intersection. The person committing the office would get a ticket in the mail for $50, Craig said. The ticket would not go on the offender's driving record, he added.

If approved and installed, a high amount of publicity would take place to get local motorists to change their driving behavior, Craig said. The city would have to adopt an ordinance that would allow the system to operate, he added.

Cooper's opinion was requested from State Sen. Steve Southerland of Greenfield, who asked the attorney general to consider the constitutional issues of equal protection, due process and privacy raised by the use of the traffic cameras. It was the third opinion handed down over the cameras.