Smile! You're on red light camera!

Madison - Say cheese, red-light runners.

State lawmakers are considering a bill to let Wisconsin municipalities use cameras to crack down on the thousands of roadway renegades who plow through intersections. They'd get tickets in the mail.

Cameras would capture more violators and send a signal to lead-foots to slow down, saving money on injuries and accident responses, the bill's supporters told the Assembly Urban and Local Affairs Committee during a brief hearing Tuesday.

Nearly two-thirds of Americans see someone running a red light more than once a week, according to a survey cited in a 2006 Federal Highway Administration report on red-light cameras.

I'm on the fence with this. Reading what I could find it seems not all the "studies" involving reduced accidents where cameras are used aren't entirely accurate. Side impacts did decrease. But rear end impacts went up some. Over all safety did improve as fewer people sustained major injuries and traffic was slowed. In some cities, however, people noticed traffic lights being tampered with thus accussed the city of "trapping" people by shortening the duration of yellow lights. More tickets were issued and suddenly the cameras became more about revenue than safety.

That's the problem. I wouldn't trust government to implement this properly. But, let's be honest, drivers are worse than ever these days. The police have too much other work to do to worry about many traffic violations. We just can't afford to have a squad posted anytime we please. So, in that sense, I'm all for the cameras. Efforts to make our roads safer are always welcome. But, for me, there'd have to be some concessions. One, reduce the cost of parking violations. It's ridiculous how high it is. Way to make downtown Milwaukee more attractive. Two, reduce the cost of parking stickers. I live here, bought a house, and pay property taxes. You want to charge me for parking on the street? Greedy and goofy.

One benefit, this is something that could virtually pay for itself since it would generate revenue. Of course, that shouldn't be the reason for having them installed, but you can't ignore that point.