Red Light Cameras will be going away in Virginia reports the Washington Post. The law authorizing their use is set to expire this Summer and has not been renewed.

A House committee on Friday rejected legislation that would have allowed Virginia communities to continue using surveillance cameras to ticket red-light runners, signaling the impending end of the state's 10-year experiment with the technology.

The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee defeated five Senate bills to extend permission to use the cameras beyond July 1. [...]

"We have a responsibility to balance public safety against liberty," said Del. William R. Janis (R-Goochland). "Our job is to figure out where the lines cross for reasonableness between the compelling need and the absolute requirement to defend individual liberty."

While there was some grumbling coming from the pro-camera crowd, missing was the "blood in the streets" inflammatory rhetoric. Of course if the goal were really safety, increasing the yellow light is the easiest and most effective method. Instead, some localities across the nation have been caught shortening the yellow to maximize revenue.

The good news for the rest of the nation is that the anti-camera trend is increasing, and the victory in Virginia should help nationwide efforts.