To the Honorable Menlo Park Officials:
There are many reasons to end a red light camera contract, here are some of the most important ones.
Reason #1: Residentsand Visitors toyour Fair City despise the programA high majority of your city’s residents and visitors
absolutely despise the program. Most will see it as a cash grab, not a safety program. At least sixteen states ban automated
ticketing due to public opposition and some others don’t have programs because the legislature never authorized them.Some of your
visitors that get a high percentage of the tickets simply never return to risk another ticket.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2769.aspReason #2: Red-light Camera Programs would likely lose in a Public VoteRed-light
and/or speed cameras have lost 36 of 40 public votes so far.Voters reject red-light and/or speed cameras 90% of the time
[http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3655.asp], and votes are a far more accurate view of constituents’ true positions than polls.
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/36/3655.aspReason #3: Red-Light Cameras are usually a Policing for Profit SchemeThe Public
Information Research Group (PIRG) published amajor report in 2011 [https://uspirg.org/reports/usp/trafficcamreport]detailing how
and why red-light cameras are often abused for profits, not safety. Involving for-profit ticket camera companies in any part of
traffic enforcement virtually guarantees that the real focus will be profits, not safety – because profits are the only real
motive of the for-profit camera companies.https://uspirg.org/reports/usp/trafficcamreportReason #4: Many times, the Presence of
Red-Light Cameras will increase crash ratesand they do not improve safety
It doesn’t happen at every intersection, but red-light cameras often increase total crash rates at camera intersections. Higher
crash rates cannot be considered an acceptable result of any safety program. Unbiased sources of data analyses are always the
best, not data or analyses from any group in the revenue stream from red-light cameras.Alarge study by Case Western Reserve
University showed no safety benefits from red light cameras.https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/65/6510.asp
Astatewide report
[https://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/transportation/crashes-red-light-camera-intersections-florida-report-says/Ha5rDmhzD5t7ujJ4eBPPzI/]
was released in Florida in January 2017 stating that crashes go up at red-light camera intersections. Eleven months before,Tampa
released [http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/crashes-have-increase-at-red-light-camera-intersections]a city-wide audit,
which indicated that 19 of the 22 RLC intersections had more accidents with a total increase of 39 percent.
https://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/transportation/crashes-red-light-camera-intersections-florida-report-says/Ha5rDmhzD5t7ujJ4eBPPzI/
[https://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/transportation/crashes-red-light-camera-intersections-florida-report-says/Ha5rDmhzD5t7ujJ4eBPPzI/]
http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/crashes-have-increase-at-red-light-camera-intersectionsIn a2013 report from Philadelphia
[http://thenewspaper.com/news/40/4034.asp], ten years of accident data showed that there was a 27 percent increase in the number
of collisions involving an injury at red-light cameras intersections. Angle collisions did not decrease as promised by the camera
company.http://thenewspaper.com/news/40/4034.asp
Reason #5: For increased Safety, Lengthen Yellow Light Timings
If the yellow traffic light intervals are set long enough for the actual perception/reaction times and actual approach speeds of
at least 85% of the drivers, the violation rates will likely be too low to justify cameras for either safety or financial reasons.
California (and Virginia) introduced rules that required longer yellow intervals at most intersections and these rules reduced
through movement violations significantly. That said, a further increase in yellow intervals of even another half second (0.5
seconds) is likely to reduce the rates even more on a permanent basis. The final rate may be too low to justify having the cameras
at all.TheNMA website [https://www.motorists.org/issues/red-light-cameras/yellow-lights/]has a number of articles and studies
concerning yellow light timings. Particularly note thecompendium of information by Safer Streets L.A.
[http://saferstreetsla.org/wp-content/uploads/reports/A%20Compendium%20of%20Yellow%20Interval%20Increase%20Studies.pdf]that shows
the reduced violation rates with longer yellow intervals are permanent, not temporary as falsely claimed by the for-profit camera
companies.https://www.motorists.org/issues/red-light-cameras/yellow-lights/
[https://www.motorists.org/issues/red-light-cameras/yellow-lights/]
http://saferstreetsla.org/wp-content/uploads/reports/A%20Compendium%20of%20Yellow%20Interval%20Increase%20Studies.pdfReason #6:
Mostly Safe Drivers are Fined for Slow Rolling Right on Red Turns
Most cities with red-light cameras also use them to fine almost entirely safe drivers making slow rolling right on red turns.
Federal research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a Report to Congress
[https://one.nhtsa.gov/people/outreach/traftech/1995/tt086.htm]shows that right on red turns (The research included turns with or
without a full stop.) are involved in only six one-hundredths of one percent (0.06% or 0.0006) of crashes with injuries or
fatalities. Almost every slow rolling right on red camera ticket goes to a safe driver who endangered no one.
https://one.nhtsa.gov/people/outreach/traftech/1995/tt086.htmReason #7: Vast Majority of Drivers Receive Tickets for less than one
second into the Red
A disconnect exists in the sales presentation claims by the for-profit camera companies and the videos they put out. The sales
premise of stopping the dangerous crashes is simply false. Those crashes and near misses occur with violations after the lights
have been red for several seconds, often five to nine seconds into the red is the most dangerous interval. Those drivers never
recognized the lights were red because the drivers were heavily distracted by something, DUI, medically impaired, under the
influence of legal or illegal drugs, severely fatigued, etc. – or even fleeing police. Sending those drivers bills in the mail
weeks later does not stop those terrible crashes because the drivers never recognized the lights were already red until too late.
The vast majority of camera tickets will go to safe drivers for harmless violations of less than one second into the red. Those
drivers clear the intersections during the all-red phase plus the short start up delay before the cross traffic moves into the
intersections when they get green lights. Their crash risks for those inadvertent split-second violations often caused by
too-short yellows are zero – because the cross traffic is not yet in the intersection.The for-profit camera companies depend upon
ticketing mostly safe drivers for harmless technical fouls and then splitting the profits with their city business partners.This
financial conflict of interest is one reason some states make the cameras illegal.Reason #8: RLCs are Regressive for Lower Income
Drivers
Red-light camera fines are very regressive for lower income citizens. The fines may be seen as just an annoying “road tax” to a
middle-class executive, but can be punishingly large to service workers in lowerwage jobs with families to try to house, feed and
clothe. Some of these low-income workers will be unable to pay the fines and may then be subject to collection efforts, suspended
vehicle registrations or driver’s licenses, or other sanctions. The practical results for many poor people may be a lot like
putting them in debtor prisons, unable to legally drive to work.This is particularly true in California where the fines of about
$500 are financially crippling for lower income people.Reason #9: The Local Economy Will Suffer
Ticket cameras do serious economic damage to your businesses, their employees and ultimately hurt your tax base. The Federal
Reserve calculates the “Velocity of Money” at about six times per year, meaning $100 spent on January 1st will circulate though
the year to produce about $600 in total sales of goods and services by December 31st. For a partial example, a red light camera
leasing for $4,000/month x 12 months x 6 generates about $288,000 in economic turnover in a year - essentially none of which is in
the area of the camera city.Menlo Park should calculatethe total dollars it will send in a year to Redflex and to other
governments for the surcharges. Multiply that total by six to estimate the total sales of goods and services that will occuraway
from the Menlo Park economic area.It would be far better to keep much ofthat economic activity in your area to benefit your
businesses and their employees, rather than improving the economies of Arizona& Australia plus the areas favored by Sacramento
bureaucrats.Reason #10: RLC Programs are on the Downslide Nationwide
Red-light camera programs are decreasing nationwide and starting one now in your city would put you on the wrong side of the
decreasing numbers of red-light camera programs. The NMA believes the current quoted number of 421 programs from the IIHS is high,
because some programs have been closed and some of listings are duplicates under the same government authority. We are working on
a list to ask the IIHS to revise their count to be more accurate.A five year "pilot program" in New Jersey was shut down after
high public opposition and without data to show real safety results.
https://www.app.com/story/news/local/new-jersey/2014/12/16/red-light-cameras-nj-go-dark-midnight/20501891/Eighty California cities
were reported to have dropped red-light cameras, or prohibited them before any were installed. There are now only 29 active
programs in California in a state that once had over 100. Cathedral City was the latest CA community toend the use of cameras
[https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/cathedral-city/2018/04/27/cathedral-city-get-rid-red-light-camera-program/508057002/].
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/cathedral-city/2018/04/27/cathedral-city-get-rid-red-light-camera-program/508057002/
Kingman, Arizona just decidednot to restart a closed red-light camera program
[https://kdminer.com/news/2018/may/17/no-green-light-red-light-cameras/].There are now only five active ticket camera programs in
the state Arizona, the state that is home to both Redflex and ATS.
https://kdminer.com/news/2018/may/17/no-green-light-red-light-cameras/
Reason #11: There are now five guilty pleas or verdicts in federal Redflex-related cases for fraud, bribery or extortion
Regardless of claims to have "cleaned house", we believe no government should continue to do business with a company that has that
level of felonious behavior in their history.Your residents, your visitors and your business community would be very grateful if
Menlo Park ended its red light camera program to become the 81st California community to end or ban the cameras, leaving only 28
active programs in a state that once had 103 programs.Respectfully submitted,
James C. Walker
Life Member, National Motorists Association
Board Member and Executive Director, National Motorists Association Foundation
www.motorists.org
2050 Camelot Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-668-7842
jcwconsult@aol.com

BIO: Age 73, licensed for 57 years, over 1.1 million miles of driving experience in 27 major countries, a volunteer student of
these issues for 50+ years. I work closely with the safety department of the Michigan State Police and testify frequently before
state legislative committees on proposed legislation that affects traffic safety and other motorists issues.

Red light and speed cameras are illegal to use in Michigan. When bills were introduced in 2013 to allow them, the combined
opposition and testimony in hearings from the Police Officers Association of Michigan, the ACLU, the Campaign for Liberty, Abate,
the Mackinac Center think tank, the judges association, the National Motorists Association, skeptical editorials in both major
Detroit newspapers, and others caused the bills to be withdrawn. Ticket cameras remain illegal to use in Michigan, and should be
illegal in every location. Ticket cameras are about profits, not safety. Safety comes from proper roadway engineering, not
enforcement.