Red light cameras .. they are a joke. Anyone who actually uses the line that red light cameras are being put in place for safety purposes is feeding you a light of Bravo Sierra. The only reason that cities will implement red light cameras is to generate revenue. Period. End of story.

Just take a look at the statistics from West Palm Beach's little experiment with red light cameras. During the first 90 days that red light cameras were in place, rear-end collisions doubled and the number of accidents increased from the same time last year. But that matters not, because all city officials see are dollar signs - 2,675 camera fines were issued, generating a third of a million dollars .. and that was just in the month of March.

Examining three different intersections for about three months after the cameras were put in place, The Palm Beach Post found the following:

--Rear-end collisions increased to five from two. Rear-end accidents sometimes go up with cameras because anxious drivers are more likely to stop abruptly.

--Overall accidents increased to seven from six.

--The only injury in either period came under cameras, in a rear-end crash in March 2010. The injury was "non-incapacitating," according to records supplied by cities and compiled in Palm Beach County's accident database.