Some Iowa cities looking to cameras to help enforce red lights

Key republicans in Congress say it’s an invasion of privacy to have cameras take pictures of cars so authorities can issue more tickets for running red lights. Some Iowa cities are considering “red-light cameras” that snap a photo of your license plate if you run a red. Dena Gray-Fisher of the Iowa D-O-T says it’s all about safety. She says 22 percent of urban crashes are caused by people who fail to obey traffic signals.Gray-Fisher says the camera is able to tell the difference between drivers who intentionally run the red light, and drivers who simply can’t stop.Gray-Fisher says it’s up to cities to determine whether they want to install the “red-light camera” technology.Dubuque is the only city in Iowa installing the technology. Davenport and Bettendorf are looking into it. A hearing today in Washington, D-C is aimed at developing a bill that would ban such cameras.