For years, The Pelican Institute has been warning citizens in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, and elsewhere about red light traffic cameras and how they may not be what they seem. They may not be as safe as previously thought, they may not be constitutional, they were ripe for corruption, but the one thing every supporter was sure of was that they were revenue generating. However, declining revenues over the years have really bit into that argument and now the latest news out of New Orleans is that $28 million in fines from red light cameras is going to need to be refunded to citizens.

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With the revenues consistently draining from these programs, how long can they last in Louisiana? There have been several attempts to ban them in Louisiana, but they’re still hanging on. A reminder: many cities have been caught shortening their yellow light times just to get more revenue from red light cameras. If we don’t want this happening in Louisiana, we need to do something soon.