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Saturday, March 29, 2008

Beware of Red Light Camera at Gilbert & McKellips in Mesa!

A couple years ago when I had to go to driving school, I was told the cameras in intersections can catch you either speeding or running a red light.  Some are set for red-light only while others are set for speed.  But the cameras are all the same, it just depends on how they're programmed. 

Well apparently, the red light running camera at Gilbert and McKellips in Mesa has recently been re-programmed to catch speeders too.  Don't ask me how I know this!  :(

I live just a few miles east of this intersection and drive through it quite frequently since it's between my house and my office.  For those readers who are lucky enough to have never seen a photo radar ticket, I've posted one of the pretty pictures the City of Mesa was nice enough to send me (with the speed removed to protect the innocent, of course!).  They say you have to be going at least 11 MPH over the speed limit to get your picture taken for a speed violation.

Considering the fees they're charging for speeding tickets these days, I don't know how the City of Mesa is losing money on the photo radar program.  Perhaps this recent re-programming of cameras is an attempt to get a better return on Mesa's investment.  Obviously, I have mixed feelings about that!  As a Mesa resident and taxpayer, of course I want the city to keep the roads safe, and I want them to maximize the return on investment when they spend taxpayers money...but not at my expense!

If you're wondering where other Mesa traffic cameras are located, the City of Mesa's website lists all the intersections with red light cameras, along with the locations of Mesa's photo radar vans.  Also, here's some more info on Arizona photo radar tickets.

Remember, slow down at the intersection of Gilbert & McKellips and drive safe!  :)

Related Articles you may also find interesting:
Scottsdale, Arizona Traffic Cameras (February 2007)
Mesa Adds Several New Traffic Cameras (April 2006)
Arizona Traffic School is Educational, But Not Fun! (March 2006)

Written By: Shannon Hubbard Realtor®-Investor Great American Realty, Inc. Cell: (480) 695-6672 Email me

Posted by Shannon Hubbard, AZ Realtor & Computer Guru on March 29, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

that sux...

Posted by: Jamie | Mar 29, 2008 7:17:59 PM

...big time!

Posted by: Shannon Hubbard | Mar 30, 2008 12:35:34 PM

That's wonderful

Posted by: Selling a home in Richmond Hill | Apr 3, 2008 11:30:30 AM

I don't live in Mesa, but they have those cameras in Tucson too. My only question is, what if you're not the one driving your car that day? Do they take a picture of the driver too? Isn't that the person who should pay a speeding ticket?

Posted by: Theda K. | Apr 6, 2008 8:35:38 AM

Hi Theda -
Yes, they send you several pictures - 2 of the car from the outside and 2 of the driver. They also give you a website to go to where you can login and see the pictures in color with better quality and larger. I don't know about in Tucson, but in Mesa they give you several options:

1. request a hearing
2. pay the ticket
3. go to driving school (if you haven't been in the last 2 years)
4. if it wasn't you driving, you can mail in a copy of your drivers license (which has your picture!) They ask you to provide the name of the driver, but they also say that's 'optional.

Thanks for stopping by, and watch out for those photo radar cameras in Tucson!

Posted by: Shannon Hubbard | Apr 6, 2008 9:41:12 AM

It is a win-win for the city of Mesa. You have to speed up so you make it through the light in time so you don't get ticketed for running the light, and you end up with a speeding ticket instead!!! Unbelievable...

Posted by: Paul | Apr 13, 2008 4:55:46 PM

Good point, Paul! They'll get you one way or another. Can you believe they've actually been losing money on these cameras? The way people drive in the Valley, you'd think these traffic cameras would be a gold mine! Only the government could turn something so profitable into a deficit situation!

Posted by: Shannon Hubbard | Apr 13, 2008 6:16:31 PM

I received an email with a link to this spray-on 'photo-blocker' for your license plate: http://www.photoblocker.com

Does anyone know if this is legal in Arizona?

Interestingly, I also received an offer in the mail for a clear, reflective license plate cover that's supposed to keep you from getting photo radar tickets. I thought they were illegal too??

What I want to know is this: Who told the company that sells the clear license plate covers that I got a ticket? I got the ad for the license plate cover in the mail the same day I received the photo radar ticket. Do photo radar tickets become public record before you even plead guilty or innocent (and before you even receive your ticket in the mail?), or is the City of Mesa selling people's information to this company? And if that's the case, isn't that counter-productive? Maybe someone out there knows the answer and will post it.

By the way, the light at Gilbert & McKellips is a set-up! It's the only intersection on McKellips that's not timed. So even if you're going the speed limit, you won't catch that light green. You expect to catch it green if you go the speed limit, so when it turns yellow it catches you by surprise and you speed up... then voila, you just had your picture taken!

Like Paul pointed out earlier, you either get the red light ticket, or the speeding ticket!

Posted by: Shannon Hubbard | Apr 17, 2008 10:32:52 AM

Wow it's funny that you talking about that I was just reading about other cities change the time rate faster so the drive has less time to go though the light before they get a ticket. I believe from what I read is that they are doing it to make the city more money. as for setting the speed it can also be another way for the city to make more money!!!!

Dave Eshleman

Posted by: Los Angeles Real Estate | Apr 26, 2008 6:59:15 PM

That's great...

Posted by: Mack | Sep 29, 2008 5:21:55 AM

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