Throw your traffic-camera speeding tickets in the trashcan!

1. How it worksI'm not from the U.S. so correct me if I'm wrong but these US providers of traffic lights from what you say seem to be like the Private Parking Companies in the U.K. such as "UK Parking Control - UKPC" who issue tickets on privately owned land even though they are not backed explicitly by law (a grey area of law), and because many people can't tell whether they were issued by the council or police they often believe they must pay. Such companies can make millions each year by managing one or two car parks, and are often called cowboys because they wait to pounce on someone for leaving their car unattended for a second even to help someone who's collapsed [1]. Should you pay speeding, red light fines or any other fine if you don't have to? I don't believe you should pay if you are tricked in some way, or given a ticket unfairly. But I suspect the US providers of red light and speed cameras are not as shifty as you make them out to be. I have taken the following extract from a source of yours:"Overall, people like them: In a 2011 poll conducted by the insurance institute, two-thirds of drivers in 14 big cities with cameras expressed support for them. And last November, voters in Longview, Wash., and Pohatcong, N.J., rejected ballot measures to remove the cameras" [2]The cameras are not just a revenue raiser, they reduce the number of serious accidents, though it should be noted an increased number of accidents have occured due to drivers braking harshly to avoid getting a ticket. However furthur extracts below from the same source as above show the cameras are managed in a fair way."State legislation typically sets the ground rules for the use of the cameras, and then cities negotiate the specifics of the deal with the camera vendors. The vendors, which include American Traffic Solutions and Redflex Traffic Systems, install the cameras and generally charge communities a flat fee for camera rental each month""The camera shoots video of the offender and sends it to analysts at the camera company for closer examination. If the analysts think the situation merits a ticket, they forward the video to local law enforcement agents, who review it again. Law enforcement officers have the final say about whether or not a driver receives a ticket"If you are captured breaking the law on a video belonging to an official provider, which you can even view after committing an offence, you should pay. There is no good reason why someone other than an emergency vehicle should go through a red light. Drivers have a responsibility to keep their self safe, their passengers safe and other drivers safe via being medically and physically fit, not being distracted and not exceeding the speed limit etc. Apparently the yellow light have been shortened to increase violations and profit at the expense of causing more accidents. But on roads with limits of 25mph they last for 3 seconds, and at 55mphlimits they last for 5 seconds, see extract belowYellow light times will be increased from 3 seconds to 3.4 seconds on roads with speed limits of 25 miles per hour and increased from 5 to 5.5 seconds on roads with speed limits of 55 miles per hour. [2]I've done some smple caluclations, when travelling at 25mph (11.176m per sec) your car will travel 33.53m in 3 seconds. Your overall stopping will be between 12m and 23m (20mph - 30mph). When travelling at 55mph (24.59m per sec) your car will travel 122.94m in 5 seconds. Your overall stopping distance will be between 53m and 73m (50mph - 60mph). So, if you drove at a speed that allows you stop within the distance you can see to be clear and only go on at a yellow light if it appears after you have crossed the stop line or when you are so close to it that stopping might cause an accident, you wouldn't have a ticket, or an accident. Since you have recieved a ticket which you say was due to driving too fast then you have not taken responsibility and should pay. 2. Reasons you don't respond to these tickets The people who decide whether you should have a ticket or not after reviewing the video or photos will know if you've not paidbecause it will be held on a computer, and I'm sure you will recieve a number of letters or phonecalls reminding you if you haven't. Also video/photo evidence is reliable, and is reviewed by the police. I don't believe someone should not pay just because someone else could take their car, get caught on camera speeding and return the car, as people should be responsible for their own car but anyway this is not something that happened to you as you say you sped.The time length of yellow lights is being increased, and red light cameras are being removed in areas where low violations occured before the installations due to causing more accidents. This shows that safety is their main concern.3. SafetyThough more accidents have occured when red light cameras have been introduced, it is due to drivers inability to anticipate, and drive at an appropiate speed, so they are having to make split second decisions to brake or not at interesctions with lights designed for the speed limit, which is something they wouldn't need to do if they simply followed the law. If you accidentally go through a red light due to being tired, upset, angry, feeling unwell, distracted by kids in the back seat etc then you should have taken measures to prevent that. Unfortunately I can't read the letter my oppoent has provided as the writing is too small, I ask my opponent to provide a link to this. It would be great to read what it says about a formula to ensure motorist safety and adequate time to stop safely. I'd like to know why you think "traffic cams violate physics which must be there to actually prove you were speeding, as seen in the letter"Con does explain that it unlikely for anyone to be punished if they choose to ignore a speeding fine and this is a reason for not paying, but I believe that if you make a mistake you should pay for it, because if you don't accept you've done something seriously wrong like running a red light then you may end up killing yourself, killing others, or injurying yourself or others. Since the cameras operate fairly, there is no good reason not to pay.sources:[1] http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk...[2] http://www.usatoday.com...