I have a principled objection to prosecutions without witnesses and cross examination. I try not to be unreasonable, though, and might support a violation of principle if it were found to be needed for safety.
In Texas, every traffic violation is a criminal matter; it was all criminalized in the 90s. Even parking tickets are criminal, except in some big cities and airports where they can be classified as “civil offenses.” Rather than seeing a “commissioner of revenue collection,” you can see a judge and even get a six-person jury to hear the case. This is as I believe it should be. Calling it a civil matter is just a way to prosecute someone without them having the rights of criminal defendants.
Red light cameras are different. The statute in Texas says that a violator caught by a camera becomes liable for the payment of a civil penalty. That’s an accusation with no information or indictment and no witnesses, and a penalty assessed while the defendant has no rights. Maybe it’s justifiable, but I’d say there’s a high barrier to such a violation of principles. Cities needing money may justify more human traffic enforcement, since that doesn’t violate our principles, but it does not justify the violations caused by these cameras.
The cameras also give a perverse incentive to decrease yellow light times in order to increase violations. This actually sacrifices safety to increase revenue. It’s an excuse for cities to ignore real safety solutions, such as increasing yellow light times, which often makes an intersection safer, costs very little, and violates none of our principles, but since it doesn’t make money it can now be ignored as a solution.
I’ve seen traffic in Dallas cause such frustration that people simply go through red lights. A line of several cars proceeded through an intersection after a light had already been red. No accidents resulted because drivers on the other street saw that they couldn’t go. There may be situations that require these cameras, but I find casual placement “just because we can” to be offensive.