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N.J. Drivers Claim Red Light Cameras Do More Harm Than Good

PALISADES PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - Drivers say the red light cameras at Bergen and Edsall boulevards in Palisades Park, New Jersey, do more harm than good.

"You slam on the brake if you get a yellow light because you're afraid it's going to take a picture of you and worry about getting rear ended in the process," one driver, Mike, said.

Mike said it seems the cameras would randomly snap photos; some say even when it was still green, WCBS 880's Jim Smith reported.

N.J. Drivers Claim Red Light Cameras Do More Harm Than Good

Danny said he's among those falsely accused.

"I'd be stuck at the middle of an intersection to make a turn and it'll look like I just ran the light but I really didn't," he said.

Unless lawmakers act by December 16, the cameras are set to fade into history and Danny's wallet will be relieved,

"As a student, I'm happy because I'm broke as a student," he said.

The most ardent critic of New Jersey's red light camera program is scheduled to meet with one of the program's biggest supporters.

Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon is to travel to Linden on Monday afternoon for a tour of the facility where red light violations are processed.

O'Scanlon has been critical of the five-year pilot program that has spread to more than 20 cities and towns in New Jersey. He says the cameras don't make intersections demonstrably safer but instead are avehicle for towns to raise revenue.

Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka is a supporter of the cameras and says they have improved safety.

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