My feelings on these cameras are no different than my feelings on radar and on police authority in general. Properly used, I have no problem with them. Improperly used, such as described by Shadow and others, they do nothing to promote safety. Used for the purposes of generating revenue, they’re a violation of the principles of law enforcement.
Installed and run as the revenue source for a private company, with the state splitting the revenues with the private company, they’re an abomination. Such collusion should be illegal. Traffic controls, enforcement of the statutes, and penalties for violations should all be the sole and private province of public agencies operating under the legislative, judicial, and executive mandates from the proper state agencies. Private companies involved in enforcement and/or citing and fining private citizens is an abomination. Doing it in collusion with state officials is, well, criminal.