Florida town installs red-light camera outside hospital entrance to target dying speeders

[Playinghardball]

Citizens of Tamarac, Florida are outraged after learning that the city placed a red-light camera at an intersection outside of a hospital emergency room.

An investigation by Local 10 revealed that townspeople racing to the emergency room with legitimate medical ailments have been ticketed by the automated system on multiple occasions.

Local 10 spoke to Jacob Alcahe, who said that he had shooting pains running down his arm and trouble breathing. He said he rushed to University Hospital, fearing he was having a heart attack: “I really couldn’t breathe, I was sweating, just a lot of things going on.”

A few weeks later, Alcahe said he received a ticket in the mail from a camera on University Drive, which had apparently captured him running the red light at the hospital’s entrance.

“I was just kind of scared and I wanted to get to the hospital as soon as possible,” he told Local 10.

Alcahe attempted to challenge the ticket — even bringing his hospital discharge papers to the hearing — but was told by city officials that his possible heart attack “wasn’t a good enough excuse.”

Tamarac Mayor Harry Dressler denied that the city is taking advantage of desperate people in desperate circumstances. “The city is not condoning anything,” he said. “Neither are we preying on anyone.”

More and see the video at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/03/03/florida-town-installs-red-light-camera-outside-hospital-entrance-to-target-dying-speeders/

[JJChambers]

1. I can see both sides of this issue

People having a legitimate medical emergency driving themselves to the hospital (and speeding) are cresting an extremely dangerous situation for other motorists. We have ambulances for a reason. I don't want my family killed by a speeder who passes out driving himself to the hospital for a medical emergency.

And obviously, sometimes there will be circumstances where waiting for an ambulance isn't practical. Or if the patient is being driven by a family member.

[MrScorpio]

2. Yeah, those poor speeder cams weren't doing anything wrong at all

And look at all of the speeding and potential accidents that they were responsible for stopping.

Not to mention that great revenue stream for the city.

Talk about a win-win situation!

[Fumesucker]

4. I love this place

[Pretzel_Warrior]

3. that is B.S. This is an accounting approach to law enforcement rather than human approach

[Fumesucker]

5. Revenue stream enhancement

I think it's absolutely perfect as an example of the priorities of our culture.

[Violet_Crumble]

10. People who think they're having heart attacks shouldn't drive...

It's dangerous for other motorists if they end up having a massive heart attack while they're driving, and calling an ambulance gets help to them quicker than driving to a hospital.

We've got a red light camera not far from the entrance to our main hospital because that intersection was a bad one for people running the lights and there were accidents. Of course the red light camera didn't stop a speeding driver in a stolen car mowing down and killing a nurse last year, but since they were installed the number of accidents at that intersection have dropped....

[jeff47]

28. A red light camera doesn't stop such drivers

Receiving a ticket in the mail weeks later isn't going to open a time portal and allow the person to go back and call an ambulance.

[Logical]

9. Or worry about the ambulance cost. I see one side ot this issue. The city is greedy. n-t

[JJChambers]

11. Nonsense

Innocent motorists' right to live is more important than someone else's right to drive recklessly while experiencing a medical emergency. Call an ambulance.

[Logical]

12. Because you know EVERY situation these people are in. ESP? Or just arrogance? n-t

[JJChambers]

13. I know their situation doesn't matter.

Someone experiencing a medical emergency shouldn't be driving, much less speeding.

[Logical]

14. LOL, people speed every day for no reason. Are you just messing with me? n-t

[JJChambers]

15. I am suggesting we discourage people having a medical emergency to operate a motor vehicle

In any capacity, much less at a high rate of speed. The last thing we need is someone going unconscious while speeding down the road.

Again, call an ambulance.

[Fumesucker]

16. The best way to encourage people to use an ambulance is keeping it from costing thousands of dollars

Not putting a red light camera in front of the hospital.

If people knew they could call an ambulance without being saddled with an outrageous bill they would be more likely to use that service.

[bigwillq]

23. Fumesucker. For the win.

This is the correct answer.

[Iggo]

19. Their situation DOES matter.

E-MER-GEN-CY.

[JJChambers]

21. AM-BU-LANCE

[Iggo]

22. SAVE-YOUR-FUCKING-LIFE-HOWEVER-YOU-CAN.

Jeez.

[JJChambers]

24. No. Save your life however you can without jeopardizing others.

A person experiencing a medical emergency should not drive to the hospital. That's reckless and endangers all other motorists. Don't be so selfish.

[Iggo]

26. I'm gonna go ahead and admit I'm being trolled.

I fell for it. Nicely played.

Have a wonderful day.

[JJChambers]

27. I don't understand ...

How can you think it's trolling? In what society is it acceptable to recklessly endanger the lives of countless citizens, in order to save a few bucks by avoiding the ambulance bill?

Methinks it is you who is trolling.

[TeamPooka]

30. what a callous attitude that expresses a disregard for unique situations.

[Crunchy Frog]

25. I'm sure that lots of people who think they're having heart attacks

will be deterred from speeding by the possibility that they might get a ticket in the mail a few weeks later. I'm sure that many lives will be saved by this wise and humane system.

[Gormy Cuss]

33. +1 n/t

[santamargarita]

6. These things are an illegal scam-I thought they were taken down?

[Mariana]

8. Some cities have been caught

shortening the yellow lights at busy intersections where the camera are installed, so much as to make it nearly impossible to stop in time. They wanted to be able to issue more tickets, so they intentionally made the intersections MORE dangerous than they were before.

[santamargarita]

17. I've heard that. It's local governments stealing from their constituents.

[Blue_Tires]

20. Another dirty secret is that the camera systems are so expensive

there's a rush to make the investment "pay for itself" as soon as possible...

How towns and cities still get suckered into buying these things, I will never know...(actually, I do know -- it's called 'kickbacks')

[jsr]

7. Harry Dressler is a heartless swine who should be voted out of office

[Iggo]

18. Now that's what I call a death tax!

[pipi_k]

29. Oh, the irony...

OK, so some people feel that someone experiencing a severe medical emergency should be able to drive himself to the hospital, ignoring traffic laws along the way if he wants to.

Because the ambulance costs too much.

Never realizing that should his reckless driving result in an accident, he could be paying for ambulance service anyway.

Not to mention...if he causes an accident in which other people are injured or killed, he could be charged with negligent homicide. Maybe even be sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Because here's the scoop, people...

Ambulances get away with going through red lights and perhaps speeding because people recognize the sight and sounds of an ambulance and are more likely to get out of its way than to avoid some random guy speeding or going through a red light.

If they're on a highway and an ambulance with lights and siren blaring comes up behind them, they'll pull over.

If it's some guy driving himself to the hospital, how the hell do they know it's not some asshole playing chicken or trying to incite some road rage?


So hey...after considering the consequences of being one's own ambulance driver, if people still think it's an awesome idea, then I figure they pretty much deserve what they get, legally.

[TeamPooka]

31. we are not talking about a highway. We are talking about the entrance to a hospital.

[TeamPooka]

32. I don't know what elite privileged world you folks live in but...

in the real world people do take themselves to the hospital.
Ambulance runs are actually rare in most medical situations.
My fiance runs an emergency room and most of the people there bring themselves or are brought by a family member or friend.