Letter to the editor: Red-light cameras should be banned

Regarding the article “Venkat announces traffic safety grants for Hampton, McCandless” (Jan. 5, TribLIVE): While ARLE grant projects can be worthwhile, no municipality should accept the money, since it comes from red-light cameras (which should be banned in Pennsylvania).

If we had best-practice engineering and enforcement, then practically nobody would ever “run” a light. Most people do not “run” a light on purpose. Taking money from these grants sends the message that all this is OK. The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story in 2017 noting that some of these cameras had accuracy rates of 3%. It was reported multiple times that crashes went up in Philly at red-light camera intersections.

Nationwide, yellows may be too short, and people can be cited a split-second after a light changes, for stopping over the stop line or for a non-complete stop for a right-on-red turn. Who can defend this setup?

All you need are speed limits set to the 85th percentile for free-flowing traffic speed, longer yellows, decent length all-red intervals and sensors to keep an all-red if someone enters late. No crashes! Lights should be synced and sensors used to change them and know where cars are. After simple changes are made, only egregious violators should ever be cited.

James Sikorski Jr.

Wapwallopen, Pa.

The writer is Pennsylvania advocate for the National Motorists Association.