For the Sake of Safety: Red Light Cameras Are on the Job 24/7
By Teresa Ambord
Most people who drive regularly have watched as a car near them sailed right through a traffic light that was red before they even arrived at the intersection. It’s no wonder that 900 people die and 200,000 are injured every year in crashes that involve running red lights. About half of those people killed are either pedestrians, or occupants of the other vehicle. Of all the causes of car crashes in urban areas, running red lights is number one.
Who Gets Photographed?
In an effort to discourage people from this dangerous practice, many cities are installing red-light cameras at intersections. Contrary to popular belief, the cameras do not photograph every vehicle that passes through the intersection. Instead, they photograph only vehicles that enter the intersection on a red light. Those cars that are already in the intersection when the light changes are not caught on camera.
Once a photograph of an offending vehicle has been taken, trained law officers or other authorities examine and verify that the car actually did violate the law. After it’s determined that the law has been violated, the offender should receive a traffic ticket in the mail a month or two later.
This technology may seem new, but it has been around for some 40 years. Only in the last decade has it become widely popular. The cost of the camera, combined with the sensors and the installation is about $60,000 per intersection. But they work seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and they make it possible for police to keep track of chronic offenders. Plus it frees up officers to attend to more serious law enforcement.
Does This Violate Privacy?
Some feel that red light cameras violate their privacy, but the fact is, driving on public roads is a regulated activity that is monitored in many ways. When a driver seeks a license, they are agreeing in writing to follow the rules of the road. When they fail to do so, they are delivering themselves up for censure. Plus, most red light cameras only photograph the rear license plate of offending vehicles. This is true in states where the owner of the vehicle is responsible for tickets, regardless of who was driving. In states where the driver is the responsible party, there is usually a photograph of the driver as well.
There has been some outcry against the use of the cameras, as there is with any method of law enforcement. But statistics show that in general 75 percent of people surveyed approve of the use of the cameras. In high-traffic urban centers, 83 percent approve.
British Columbia reports that, on one busy highway, the first week after the cameras were installed, 28 violations per day were caught . By the third week, the number had fallen to 16. And after week six, the violations were reduced to a steady average of five per day. That’s called success.
Where Are the Cameras?
In a typical set-up the cameras are on poles several yards high, and point in all four directions so as to capture all violators. The sensors are triggered only when they feel the weight of a vehicle enter an intersection after the light has turned red. On the photograph is superimposed the following information:
- The date and time.
- The location of the intersection.
- The speed the car was traveling through the intersection.
- The elapsed time between the light turning red and the car entering the intersection
