Tired of seeing motorists race through red lights, a caller
wanted to know why Hollister doesn’t install cameras at street
signals to catch people breaking the rules of the road.
Tired of seeing motorists race through red lights, a caller wanted to know why Hollister doesn’t install cameras at street signals to catch people breaking the rules of the road.
“Everybody’s running stop lights,” our frustrated caller said. “I want to know why the city is not putting up cameras so it can make some money (from fines), because it’s very dangerous.”
The Crusader called Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller, who spoke on the issue for several minutes. While he said he is not closed to the idea of camera enforcement at traffic signals, Miller listed a number of cons, ranging from the expense of camera enforcement to philosophical notions of officer discretion in enforcing traffic laws.
First off, Miller said, purchasing and installing the cameras would be a tremendous expense for the cash-strapped city. And once the cameras are installed, the department would need additional personnel to administer the camera enforcement program. Fines collected through camera enforcement might not even cover the cost of running the program, he added.
Also, Miller said, “officer discretion” plays a large part of enforcing traffic laws. Sometimes a ticket is warranted. Other times – such as when a person may be fleeing some real and imminent danger – a warning is sufficient, Miller said. Camera enforcement removes officer discretion from the equation, he said.
“Right now I don’t know if (camera enforcement) is in the best interest of the community,” Miller said.
Cut Those Weeds
Our caller, who resides in Hollister, is concerned about some out-of-control weeds on his neighbor’s property posing a fire hazard.
“I want someone to knock those weeds down before they catch fire,” he said.
Take heart, caller.
The Crusader contacted Hollister Code Enforcement Officer Mike Chambless and told him of your plight. We also passed along the address of the offending property, though we won’t print that here.
Chambless said that by Wednesday at the latest he will head out to the property and issue a notice that the owner needs to cut the weeds.
