Purging American Traffic Solutions from CSTX

My goal is to see this happen around the State of Texas.  The red light camera interest should know that the State of Texas is full of people that long to be free.  Enforcement without due process is not something that will stand in Texas.    We will watch the court proceedings closely, but I believe that once the red light camera interest force the city to pay for the cost of election, some where between 70,000 and 80,000 they will all move on to oppress other people and other cities. [caption id="attachment_701" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The End"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_702" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The End ...

Email from Mayor; is trouble coming?

I asked the Mayor of College Station Ben White a simple question via email. The Mayor's response did not answer the question. My reply to the Mayor perhaps shows to some extent the frustration that the citizens of College Station feel when they ask a simple question and all we get is the talking points of the day.  My first sentence is not sarcasm.  I do feel that Mayor White has earned the formality of a proper salutation. My Reply to Mayor White. This is what I think is going to happen next week as we move towards the removal of the red light cameras here ...

One Stop Info Page

There is No Appeal Allowed There is No Jury Trial Allowed Red Light Cameras Violate the Fifth Amendment of US Constitution Red Light Cameras Violate the Fourteenth Amendment of US Constitution Who is funding the Opposing PAC City Purchases Advertising with Public Funds City Holds Back Open Records of City Council Members FaceBook Page >2700 members as of Oct. 22, 2009 Safety Test Red Light Cameras associated with higher levels of crashes RAW Crash Data from City of College Station, TX

Raw Data Set From College Station, TX

This is the raw data file from the City of College Station.  We were tired of getting told what the City wanted us to hear and asked for all the crash data for the past five years. College Station, TX Accidents 2005-present if you want a data set that has been sorted to remove the blank lines in the City's data set click here Accidents 2005-present - Blanks Gone All Fatalities that are on the College Station system Fataliy Accidents 1992 - 2009

Longer Yellow = Reduced Violations

Anyone that is serious about traffic safety will tell you that extending yellow light times will reduce traffic light violations.  If you are new to the idea of extending the yellow light times there is a catch; extend them to much and you start giving back the savings that you gained in the first part of the yellow light time extension.   The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported April 15, 2009 “the solution to red light violations is a longer yellow.” WSJ goes on to say “T-bone and other accidents are greatly reduced by longer yellows.  Half a dozen Georgia ...

No CSTX Money for Camera Keepers!

Total to KCSS spending as of Oct. 25  is $71,240 and not a single cent of financial support from College Station residents.  You have to read this to believe the depth that some companies will go to to save a contract. Just in case you still think it is about safety:  Remember the City Council of College Station, TX voted "NO" to spending $10,400 for school zone cell phone signs.  While behind the scenes voting to fund a $20,000 advertising campaign to keep the cameras.  Actions speak louder than words.  Only when the city found a way to tie it ...

A Conversation with the Constable

Constable Wayne Thompson agrees with me and thousands of other College Station residents: “Red Light Cameras should allow for a jury trial and a traditional appeal process. “ I believe that he was a little shocked when he found out the truth about the Red Light Cameras, and how the process works in College Station. I noticed Constable Thompson's presence in many of the advertisements that have been flowing from the Pro Camera sect.  So I thought that I would stop by his office yesterday for a short visit (Oct.  23, 2009).  My goal for this visit was to introduce myself and ...

Are you going to make it?

The "jump in the car test" If you jump in the car and drive through the intersection of Harvey and Munson what is the probability that you can make it across the intersection safely? On a standard day the probability is 99.99994099%  that you are going to make it across without a crash.  Stated another way the odds of you getting hit in during our "jump in the car" test of fate is 1 in 1,694,642. How did I get the numbers? The 2004 traffic count of Harvey Road was put at 26,000 cars a day.  The five year average number of crashes at ...

No Jury Trial Allowed

There is NO JURY TRIAL ALLOWED in the matter of red light ticket cameras. Finally, there is an issue that the opposition does agree on.  Why should you care? The idea that the State can bring charges against you that you can not defend yourself against in front of other citizens should be right at the top of your list of things that you should fight against.  The very foundations of our laws are that the Citizens are in control.  The State must come before the Citizens and 12 otherwise disinterested members of the jury must agree with the State that you ...

Cams Come Down

Thank you to the more than four thousand people that came out to the polls to support our cause and the idea that you can "Take Back Your City." The Mayor, City Council Members and Powerful City Staff all thought that the election would go the other way.  I was reminded of the Truman effect.  Once all the dust settles and the campaign finance reports are submitted I believe the total spending on this simple issue will be more than the sum of all campaign spending of any College Station election in history.  As of the reports that are required by ...

Email from Mayor; is trouble coming?

I asked the Mayor of College Station Ben White a simple question via email.

The Mayor’s response did not answer the question.

My reply to the Mayor perhaps shows to some extent the frustration that the citizens of College Station feel when they ask a simple question and all we get is the talking points of the day.  My first sentence is not sarcasm.  I do feel that Mayor White has earned the formality of a proper salutation.

My Reply to Mayor White.

This is what I think is going to happen next week as we move towards the removal of the red light cameras here in College Station, TX.  Early in the week will see some sort of court action brought by our camera vendor against the City of College Station.  A quick review of the termination sections of the contract explain the ways that the City can end the contract.   Look for this action prior to the appointed hour to unplug the cameras of 12 noon on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2009.

Cities that are considering entering into contracts for red light cameras should read closely what is happening here in College Station.  I have requested the open records of the city regarding communications with their red light camera vendor and the city would like us to believe that the vendor has not made any contact with them in more than four months.  I do not believe that is the case and people from within the city have told me that the vendor is contacting the city via phone directly with the highest levels of city government in an effort to communicate without leaving a record.  If your city is thinking that the idea of free money coming into the city’s accounts will not lead them to do what ever is necessary to keep the flow going they have forgotten what human nature can lead to.

BTW, there is nothing new under the sun:

“It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession.  I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first”   Ronald Reagan