From Red Lights to Red Tape

As you will recall, awhile back El Picador ran afoul of one of the big mayor's red light cameras. El Picador was poised to beat the rap at a hearing---he was accused of not coming to a complete stop before making a legal right turn on a red light, with no oncoming traffic, while the one-line camera shot clearly showed El Picador had at least momentarily come to rest---but upon reflection, it didn't seem worth the hassle. So El Picador paid the fine on line per the city's instructions, and also called craque red light office to cancel his hearing. A seemingly nice lady answered the phone, and suggested that El Picador fax the receipt of payment to her 'just to be on the safe side" , which of course I was happy to do.

You would think that would have been the end of it, but no! El Picador was hit with a "failure to appear" notice and a demand for another payment of $100! Multiple phone calls and faxes later, the matter still isn't settled. With all of that cash coming in, one would think that there would be ample resources and staff to take care of these problems.

EL Picador, being a good cynic, thinks there might be a purpose behind this apparent inefficiency. What could it be, other than to rake in even more cash from the distracted or the frustrated, and to discourage any future attempts to schedule hearings? Sounds paranoid, right? But have you timed some of the yellow lights, or green turn arrows recently? The arrow at Menaul and Wyoming lasts for 3.5 seconds---I've timed it. Just enough time for one car to turn left.

The city claims a drop in accidents at red light intersections, but that can be misleading. What you really want to know is the RATE of accidents to make any sense of the possible red light camera impact. It may simply be that people are avoiding these intersections (and the nearby businesses). Less traffic through a given location will result in less accidents at that location without any change in the accident rate. And less traffic means less GRT revenue. It also may mean more gas consumed and miles traveled to avoid these intersections, which could paradoxically lead to MORE accidents, not to mention increased pollution, etc. The company hawking these doesn't want anyone to think of these ramifications.

I had to put that last paragraph in just in case hizzoner Abraham (El mayor menor, aka the thug in a rug) gets the bright idea to bring a red light camera to Los Ranchos. I'll bet he's considering it. Six million buys a lot of shiny new fire trucks to park in front of the fire station so they will be ready to speed out of Los Ranchos to put out fires elsewhere, as they do now. It also buys a lot of old buildings and junk--er, art---to grace our public spaces. And there would be plenty left over for the Unsers. Don't do it, Larry!

On the other hand, Marty has perminently damaged his political career with these lights. And now he's been emasculated by state politicos making hay with flashing warning beacons and rumble strips. On second thought, go for it Larry!