National Motorists Association Foundation
NMA Foundation Goals
Groundbreaking Research
Most current studies are funded or conducted by those with ties to the safety lobby and government officials who believe that harsher enforcement is the solution to all traffic problems. The NMA Foundation will be a voice of reason.
There is no better way to seek accountability from groups using dubious research claims than by producing our own sound findings.
Our research programs will demonstrate how rational traffic laws based on proven engineering principles can improve the safety of the motoring public. Heavy-handed enforcement methods, such as photo radar or red light cameras, cannot compete with the efficacy of sound engineering.
Invaluable Educational Materials
There is a substantial lack of quality educational materials geared towards motorists. The NMAF will fill this void.
The foundation is already leading the way in providing useful information for all motorists who need to defend themselves against an unjust traffic ticket. The foundation's Legal Defense Kit is the preeminent resource for anyone faced with the prospect of his or her "day in court."
The foundation's educational materials also seek to promote driver-to-driver courtesy and cooperation.
Fighting for All Motorists
For over 20 years the NMA has been advocating for motorists' rights. The National Motorists Association Foundation takes the next step in this fight.
Through litigation we are challenging unfair traffic laws and state limitations on a motorist's right to an adequate defense. We are fighting for you!
A citizen's right to due process, as laid out in the United States Constitution, is under constant threat from governing bodies. Due process guarantees a person's right to a fair trial, an impartial jury, and to testify in one's own defense. Too often, motorists are denied these rights when governments seek to enforce traffic laws.
Many jurisdictions throughout the United States fail to afford motorists the most basic of protections, such as trial by jury or the ability to request discovery (a method to gather information critical to a person's defense).
$10,000 Ticket Camera Challenge
The NMA is able to offer the following challenge through funding from the NMA Foundation:
$10,000 TICKET CAMERA CHALLENGE
The NMA knows that engineering solutions are the real way to prevent red-light violations and accidents at problematic intersections. In fact, we are willing to wager $10,000 to prove that engineering will work better than ticket cameras.
The revenue from ticket cameras serves as a reward to cities that fail to make motorists safer through proper signal timing, better signal design, and improved intersections. The apparent increase in red-light violations is largely the result of a 20-year pattern of deliberately changing the standards for the timing of yellow lights. This is an engineering problem, not an enforcement issue. Today we say to the communities that employ ticket cameras, "Let's put traffic engineering solutions to the test."
Here's our challenge:
Show us any camera-equipped intersection that still has high numbers of straight-through red-light violations and we will guarantee a minimum 50-percent reduction in those red-light violations through the application of engineering solutions.
If our recommendations fail to meet our minimum goal, we will pay the community $10,000 to be used on any traffic safety program or project it chooses. However, if we succeed, the community must employ our engineering-based recommendations at other troublesome intersections and scrap its ticket-camera program.
What do you have to lose, other than your ticket-camera revenue? If you have any questions about this challenge or you believe your community would be interested in participating, please contact the NMA at (608) 849-6000 or via email at nma@motorists.org.
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