Red Light Camera Detector Ban in 3... 2... 1...

By Prescott Carlson in News on May 12, 2009 5:40PM

With the increase in the use of red light and speed cameras across the city and suburbs also comes an increase in devices to detect those cameras. Some GPS navigation systems have had the function for a while, and now Cobra Electronics is getting in on the act, introducing a radar detector that also alerts the driver when they're approaching a red light or speed camera. The device allows for its internal database to be updated on a regular basis as new cameras are added which should make for a never ending cat-and-mouse cycle.

At a whopping $389, you had better be serious about avoiding tickets -- a "camera only" detector is coming out next month for around a hundred bucks. A marketing VP at Cobra says the detectors don't encourage drivers to blow through red lights where cameras aren't installed, but are "another indication to proceed with caution" and that "it just provides more awareness in the vehicle." We suppose that's easier to swallow than the notion that radar detectors aren't for people who want to drive fast, but are used so the driver "can be more speed aware."

Jennifer Martinez from the Chicago Office of Emergency Management says the city "has no opinion about red light camera detection devices." That is, not until Mayor Daley hears about them and their potential at impacting ticket revenue. [S-T]