New About Photo-enforcement Sites in the United States

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Arizona

Chandler

Flagstaff

Glendale

Mesa

Paradise Valley

Phoenix

Scottsdale

Tempe

California

Beverly Hills

Click - how cameras fight red-light renegades

Toronto looks at U.S. efforts to reduce crashes

By Nita Lelyveld
Special to The Star

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - No police car pulls anyone over. No sirens wail. Most drivers don't even know they've been nabbed - until the snapshots arrive in their mailboxes, attached to a $270 (U.S.) ticket.

It isn't photo radar, it's the red-light camera.

Across the U.S. - where signal-running is the leading cause of accidents - and in parts of Europe, red-light cameras are the latest tool for police departments light on staff.

And they may be coming to Toronto.

``They're hard to beat - they're like silent policemen who work 24 hours a day, seven days a week,'' says Robert Leonard of the New York City Department of Transportation, which operates 30 cameras at an ever-changing list of intersections.

Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman wants to install red-light cameras on city street corners in the wake of three accidents in the last week in which one person was killed and three seriously injured.

Lastman plans to ask Premier Mike Harris next Wednesday for permission to use the cameras here. The province would first have to amend the Highway Traffic Act.

At $70,000 or more each, the cameras don't come cheap. But Lastman believes they're worth every penny to combat drivers who run red lights.

`It's become a way of life in Toronto. People go through red lights and somebody gets hurt or somebody gets killed.'

- Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman

``It's become a way of life in Toronto,'' Lastman told The Star's Lorraine O'Grady yesterday. ``People go through red lights and somebody gets hurt or somebody gets killed.''

In the United States, the pole-mounted cameras are turned on by sensors in the road that are activated when the traffic lights turn from yellow to red.

And they don't just surprise, they deter.

Since New York began its program in 1993, the number of tickets issued each day has fallen from an average 30 to about 21 per camera.

States and cities regulate camera use differently. For instance, only California and Arizona allow frontal photos of the cars, capturing not just license plate numbers but drivers' faces.

Lastman says privacy shouldn't be the deciding factor - catching offenders should be.

Then there's the psychological aspect. Before launching its program, Alexandria, Va., sent out 70,000 information postcards, put up signs at every major entry to the city and made sure the camera-ready intersections were well publicized.

Call to get that information in New York and transportation officials will laugh.

``We even have decoy (cameras) if we need them,'' Leonard says.

In New York, tickets for running red are down by half

In San Francisco, surprise is a key element of the growing pilot program. ``We like to make it kind of like a shell game,'' says program manager Bridget Smith.

The city, long plagued by accidents involving cars hitting pedestrians, issued 6,500 photo citations it the first year.

Even in famously protest-prone 'Frisco, most people seem to support the cameras and no major civil-liberties group has stepped into the fray.

On its Web page, a Wisconsin-based drivers' advocacy group called the National Motorists Association proclaims ``Red-Light Cameras: Just Say No'' and warns of government surveillance and invasion of privacy.

Law enforcement officials say privacy arguments simply don't wash because driving is a regulated activity and a privilege, not a right.

Still, many people would rather see the officers. In Beverly Hills, there are occasional complaints about the pilot program launched at the intersection of La Cienega and Wilshire boulevards last spring.

``I think people object to the fact that it's so impersonal. I mean, you're dealing with a computer-generated ticket in the mail,'' said program manager Munoz Flores.

Most states print the photos on the tickets. Doing so cuts down the number of people contesting them. Still, even with crisp, detailed images, some red-light runners don't admit their guilt easily. They claim the light was yellow or the car behind them wouldn't stop.

Such ploys rarely work. The tickets don't just capture license plates; they record the driver's speed and the time that elapsed between when the light turned and when the driver entered the intersection. No pictures are taken of cars unless they enter the intersections after the red light.

All the states with cameras in place have one provision or another to exonerate a vehicle owner who wasn't driving when the violation occurred. In California, it's up to the owner to say who was at the wheel.

But even in California, which captures not just license plates but faces, some people will insist they've been framed. In Beverly Hills, one clean-shaven fellow assured police that the bearded man shown on his ticket wasn't him.

Some drivers even confess without being ticketed

``Unfortunately, in the end, he couldn't pull it off. He had a distinctive mark, a mole or something, on his forehead,'' said Flores, laughing. ``The camera caught that, along with his license plate.''

In Oxnard, Calif., a red-light camera managed to catch a thief, who didn't know anyone was watching as he zipped through a red light while joyriding in a newly stolen Oldsmobile Cutlass. The ticket went to the car's owner, who came barreling into the police station, insisting he wasn't responsible.

When he showed his ticket to officers, they didn't just absolve him - they went hunting, having recognized the face behind the wheel as one of the city's most persistent car thieves. Faced with the photo, he promptly confessed.

``Here was this crystal clear photograph. And anyone could tell, it was this same 17-year-old we knew,'' said Detective Chris Orsini. ``He held his head in the same certain crook. He had the same dumb look he always had, the kind of kid-with-an-attitude type pose. Last I heard, he'd been sentenced to six months.''

In Fairfax, Va., Lieutenant Jim Gilbertson, who runs the red-light program, said the police now routinely get confessions from people who haven't even been ticketed. They drive through red lights, panic about cameras that aren't there and then call police to ask about fines.

In Toronto, the number of tickets issued since 1995 to red-light runners has increased 30 per cent.

But the recent tragedies have given the issue new urgency.

Two little girls, aged 2 and 18 months, remained in critical condition yesterday in the Hospital for Sick Children. They were thrown from a double-stroller at Spadina Rd. and Lowther Ave. on March 11 by a car sent spinning after it allegedly ran a red light.

Julius Krusinsky, 58, is in critical condition in hospital after he was run over at Simcoe and Adelaide streets last Thursday. Krusinsky was curled up in a sleeping bag over a sidewalk grate when a car ran a red light and hit a second vehicle.

On Tuesday, Irma Barberio was hit and killed at Eglinton Ave. E. and Jane St. Did Barberio, 59, or the driver cross against the red light?

Harris government objects to `photo enforcement'

``We really don't know. . . . It would be easier if we had access to red-light camera technology,'' acting traffic Sergeant Robb Knapper told The Star yesterday.

The cameras would be useful because police have been stymied by an absence of witnesses in the three mishaps.

``We eventually will determine who did what, but in cases like these it takes a great deal more time,'' Knapper said. ``The camera technology would reduce this sort of problem.''

But Ontario's Conservative government, which abolished photo radar traps when it gained power in 1995, appears reluctant to clear the way for red-light cameras.

``This government is not supportive of the use of automated photo enforcement technologies,'' Transportation Minister Tony Clement said recently.

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Photo Ops

Beverly Hills police are using high-tech cameras to nab drivers who run red lights -- and some citizens are irate

By David Potorti

R. Scott Rusch

Few sinking feelings compare with the sight of a police cruiser in your rear-view mirror: the flashing lights, the barked command to pull over, the excruciating wait while the cop runs your plates.

But the City of Beverly Hills wants your law-enforcement interface to be a wee bit more pleasant. The next ticket you get for running a red light may be delivered not by a cop, but by your mail carrier. And it may be written not by a human being, but by a computer.

Welcome to the fast, efficient world of the red-light camera.

After a year of spitting out 2,000 tickets a month to red-light runners at the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega -- and reportedly reducing accidents there by 69 percent -- this photographic RoboCop is getting a sequel at the corner of Olympic and Spalding near Century City. It will begin issuing citations at the latter intersection next month.

But at $270 per ticket -- potentially generating more than $500,000 a month at one corner alone -- the growing use of these traffic cameras raises questions about prevention versus punishment, and about whether technology is reducing the stress level on our streets or taking advantage of it. And motorists stung by the automated citations are already arguing that the system is both illegal and unconstitutional.

The red-light camera is a high-tech system, used around the world since the 1970s, which came to California in 1996. The cameras are encased in boxes mounted atop poles on either side of the street, with flash units for taking photos both day and night. Working in conjunction with the traffic light, and a pair of magnetic-induction loops buried in the pavement, the cameras take two pictures in the instant of time after the light turns red.

Tickets issued by the red-light camera produce twice as many challenges in Beverly Hills as the old-fashioned kind.

If your car enters the intersection later than two-tenths of a second after the light changes (an interval set by the City of Beverly Hills), both you and your license plate are captured on film, and a ticket is cut. Your first tip-off is a flash of light.

"It was literally a blinding, distracting white flash, as if someone had taken a flash photo in my face," recalls local resident Sarah Flack. "I forgot about it until a week later -- when this thing came in the mail."

"This thing" was a ticket with four photos attached: two wide shots of Flack's car in the intersection; a close-up of her behind the wheel; and a close-up of her license plate. The photos were "computer-stamped" with the time of day, date, length of yellow-light time (a factor determining her ability to stop), length of red-light time preceding her entry, and various codes to identify the intersection and photographs. The ticket carried a fine of $270; an additional court clerk's charge, and a certificate allowing her to attend traffic school brought Flack's total to $330.

"It was amusing more than anything else," she says. "I thought, 'Is this what we've come to?' I didn't have a problem with the photo, but I thought the fee was way too steep."

So how accurate are these machines? And, more important for alleged scofflaws, can they be challenged in court?

"My estimation can never match the accuracy of a computer," says Brad Cornelius, the Beverly Hills police officer in charge of the project. "But if you made a judgment to run the light because it was unsafe to stop, it could mitigate the case."

He cites the case of a driver who saw a man running toward his vehicle as it approached the intersection. The driver thought he was in danger of bodily harm from this mysterious figure, and ran the light. As luck would have it, the running man appeared in the red-light photo, and the driver had his ticket thrown out.

But what if the man hadn't shown up on film?

"He wouldn't have had a case," Cornelius concedes. "In this instance, if an officer was there, he could have corroborated. [The camera] is impersonal in that respect, in that you don't have an opportunity to speak your case at the time of violation."

Perhaps as a result, tickets issued by the red-light camera produce twice as many challenges (about 35 a week) in Beverly Hills as the old-fashioned kind, according to Hugh Bobys, the city's municipal court commissioner. "A lot of people just don't understand how it works," he says.

Poor-quality photos tend to get thrown out. If the person at the wheel isn't the car's registered owner, the citation is reissued to the lucky friend, spouse, or sibling who might have been driving. Many distracted recipients don't even realize they've been photographed. "You should see all the pictures we get of people on their car phones," Cornelius says.

One decidedly undistracted recipient was Mark Share, a Beverly Hills attorney who challenged his ticket in court. He contends that the red-light cameras are a speed trap (illegal in California since 1923), and that the system is being operated by US Public Technologies, its San Diego-based manufacturer, not by a government entity, as required by law.

"The question is, when you crossed the line, what color was the light?" Share says. "To determine this, the machine measures the interval of time it took you to cross over those two sensors in the pavement, and computes your velocity...it determines that the light had been red for a certain amount of time, based on when you touched the second sensor. That's a speed trap, and that evidence is inadmissible in court for any purpose."

Martin Siegel, a retired USC engineering professor and accident reconstruction engineer, agrees, and is arguing his ticket, too. He complains in addition that the computer-generated "yellow duration" listed on the tickets is just three seconds, two seconds less than at other intersections, making it virtually impossible for drivers to stop in time.

Both men also have an axe to grind with who's vouching for the system's accuracy -- US Public Technologies, which receives $25 for each conviction. They say the Beverly Hills Police Department merely rubber-stamps the citations, since it has no independent technical expert checking whether the cameras are working properly at all times.

"I think people would be upset if they realized that a police officer was receiving $25 a pop for each ticket he wrote," says Share. "It's like being a bounty hunter. (a vendor) owns the equipment, services it, says it's working properly, and sends out all the citations. Technically, when they decide to issue a ticket, it's sent to Beverly Hills and is initialed by a police officer. But in February not a single one of 2,030 tickets that were issued was rejected."

Steven Cron, a criminal-defense attorney in Santa Monica, also has problems with the system. "It's the same kind of built-in conflict-of-interest you find with intoxometers," he says. "It's not any stranger than getting arrested for DUI and having another employee of the police department check the [breathalyzer] to see if it's working properly. It's definitely a problem, but unfortunately the courts don't seem to be too troubled by it."

Bobys, the court commissioner, acknowledges that some of those ticketed are quite irate at being collared by a machine. "Often, a person receiving a traffic ticket will say, 'Don't you have anything better to do?' " he says. "If that's how they really feel, then this is one way to have officers doing 'other things.' But they don't like the idea of getting a ticket from a machine. I think it reminds them of Big Brother."

Dana King, marketing director for US Public Technologies, which bills itself as "the market leader in automated photo enforcement," is quick to point out that, unlike surveillance cameras we take for granted at ATMs and 7-Elevens, red-light cameras are turned on "only when someone breaks the law."

King adds, "We have no constitutional expectation of privacy in our cars on a public street" -- a legal observation shared by ACLU attorney Peter Eliasberg.

"Technology like this can raise some serious Fourth Amendment issues," Eliasberg says. "But there is no question that the city could post a police presence at these corners 24 hours a day if they wanted to. However, I agree that this has a very different feeling. There's something about getting a judge to weigh the difference between a cop's story and your story, versus getting an expert in to judge a machine."

Cornelius, the Beverly Hills cop, notes the importance of making sure the photo equipment stays in good working order. "Quality checks have to be maintained," he says. "If you lose the public trust, or the trust of the court, the whole thing could get thrown out of California."

Court commissioner Bobys predicts the technology will spread to other cities, assuming it's upheld in the courts and "there's not such an outrage among the general populace that they talk their legislators into revoking or discontinuing it."

But lawyer Share, who lost his court challenge April 7, hopes to make sure the cameras don't proliferate.

He plans an appeal. If he can persuade a higher court to invalidate red-light cameras, Beverly Hills could cancel its contract with US Public Technologies. If you had a ticket pending, it would go away; if you'd already been found guilty, you'd be out of luck.

In the meantime, Share recommends "a little bit of civil disobedience."

"People should appeal their tickets," he says. "It doesn't put any burden on the individual, but it's a lot of work for the court system."

Bobys doesn't mind what Share is doing.

"I hope he does appeal, because these issues need to be clarified," the court commissioner says. "If changes need to be made, they should be made as soon as possible so we can move ahead one way or the other." Meanwhile, he says, another attorney is challenging the constitutionality of the red-light cameras this week.

Sarah Flack, however, is making the best of her encounter with Beverly Hills's finest, ah, lenses.

"Everyone tells me I should use the pictures for a party invitation," she says.

www.newtimesla.com/archives/1998/041698/faultlines1.html

Los Angeles

Orange County, CA

News Release: METROLINK, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ORANGE COUNTY, INSTALLS CAMERAS AT RAILROAD CROSSING TO CATCH MOTORISTS ZIPPING AROUND GATES Contact: Peter Hidalgo (213) 452-0233 Drivers Risking Death Will Receive $104 Moving-Violation Ticket LOS ANGELES, CA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 1999: Some motorists who risk death by gunning their vehicles across railroad tracks before the train arrives will get a reward for making it across alive – a $104 moving-violation ticket in the mail. In an effort to reduce railroad track deaths, Metrolink has introduced, for the first time in Orange County, its photo enforcement system that automatically snaps pictures of motorists zipping under or around crossing gates. The Santa Ana project, at Chestnut Ave. near Grand Ave., will move into the penalty phase on April 1, after a one-month warning phase. "So far in this calendar year, four pedestrians or motorists have been killed on Metrolink tracks because they weren’t supposed to be there," said Sarah L. Catz, Metrolink Board Member and OCTA representative. "We’re trying to convince people that they run a serious risk of dying when they cross railroad tracks after the bells are activated and the crossing gates start to drop. We hope that a $104 ticket will help deliver that message." The Metrolink demonstration project began with the installation of equipment at Chestnut Ave. in early-February. Once installed, the equipment was used to collect data for three weeks (Feb. 12-Mar. 5). Beginning March 1 warning notices were issued. After just 21 days Metrolink officials were shocked by the numbers. "We counted 145 violations at Chestnut St. The numbers blew us away," said David Solow, Metrolink’s Executive Director. "Most were blatant violations, with drivers dodging the gates to get through the crossing just seconds before a train blasted through." Signs are posted at the intersection that say, "photo enforcement in use." For the past month, registered owners of vehicles photographed violating the state’s grade crossing law have been receiving mailed warnings. On April 1, those warnings become tickets. Metrolink began a demonstration program at two Los Angeles County railroad crossings in June of 1998 - one at Van Nuys Blvd. in Pacoima and the other at Goodwin Ave. in Glendale - to test the effectiveness of photo enforcement in reducing the number of people who risk their lives zipping around crossing gates. Four months after the project began, violations were down 54 percent at Goodwin Ave. and 36 percent at Van Nuys Blvd. The TRAXGUARDTM system in use at these crossings includes an enforcement unit - containing a computer, high-speed camera, flash and digital loop signal processor - mounted on a pole at the crossing. Detection loops and wiring are installed in the street pavement. The system is triggered when a vehicle is detected entering the railroad crossing after the flashing lights and ringing bells have activated and the crossing arms have begun to descend. An Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy reviews violation photos to ensure they show the vehicle’s license plate and driver’s face. A citation is issued when the photo shows the gate had dropped at least a quarter of the way when the vehicle crossed the tracks. The $150,000, six-month demonstration project in Orange County will examine whether violation rates drop as a result of citations. The Metrolink Board of Directors will evaluate the photo enforcement project and its effectiveness at the project’s conclusion this fall. # # #

 

Oxnard

Can Cameras Make Drivers See Red?

By Jane Ciabattari

Parade's Special Intelligence Report

Violations for running red lights have dropped 42% in Oxnard, Calif. Why? Cameras were placed on the lights, and violators are ticketed. Other towns should follow Oxnards lead. Drivers who run lights kill 850 people a year in the U.S. and cause 260,000 accidends, says the insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (Phoenix and Mesa, Ariz., had the worst rates.) The total of fatal accidents rose 15% from 1992 to 1996, with the drivers likely to be under 30, drunk and unlicensed.

Parage Magazine,  July 5, 1998

Poway

Sacramento

San Diego

San Francisco

Department of Parking and Traffic

 Red Light Photo Enforcement Program  April 7, 1998 Press Release | Program Fact Sheet

---

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 1998
Contact:
Bridget Smith, DPT - 415/554-2346
Abbie Yant, DPH - 415/554-9970
Richard Retting, IIHS - 703/247-1582

 

  Fewer Collisions, Injuries and Deaths Result from City Crack Down on Red Light Running

(San Francisco) -- After only six months of red light camera-enforcement the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) found that the number of red light runners dropped by 42 percent at camera-enforced intersections. Last month the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported virtually identical results in Oxnard, California where the country's leading researchers on red light running evaluated the influence of red light photo enforcement on red light violation rates. The Insurance Institute study included locations not equipped with cameras and found that there was a "spill over" effect at these locations as well.

At the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Gavin Newsom, while working with various Departments in maintaining the momentum against red light running, said, "It is always heartening for policy makers to see measurable, positive results from our programs, such as that shown by our red light camera study and duplicated by the Oxnard Study. I congratulate the collective efforts of the Department of Parking and Traffic, the Police Department, and the Department of Health, in working together within the political process to produce a model program"

DPT announced today that collisions caused by red light running have decreased by about 10 percent citywide since San Francisco increased efforts to stop red light running through the use of camera-enforcement and a public awareness campaign. An estimated 125 injuries have been prevented according to information provided by the State Wide Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS) which shows a significant decrease in the number of injuries and fatalities resulting from these collisions.

"This is very exciting!" said Bridget Smith, DPT's Red Light Photo Enforcement Program Manager. "This is the first such decrease we've seen in over five years. Ten percent is a significant reduction and a great start." San Francisco plans to continue the campaign against red light runners by expanding the Red Light Photo Enforcement Program to cover an additional twenty-nine intersections and expanding public outreach and police enforcement efforts. Supervisor Newsom adds "When measuring the cost-effectiveness of camera enforcement, we can give ourselves a bonus in the number of lives saved."

The "spill over" effect, combined with the Department of Public Health's STOP Red Light Running Campaign and targeted police enforcement, accounts for this citywide decrease in the number of collisions caused by red light running. "The news is quite encouraging. It substantiates the Police Department's belief that an active traffic enforcement plan coupled with public education will produce positive results," said Captain Roy Sullivan of the San Francisco Police Department's Traffic Company. Dr. Mitchell Katz, Director of Public Health said "The Department of Public Health is pleased to see this reduction in vehicle crashes and numbers of persons injured. Our efforts in conducting the STOP Red Light Running Campaign will continue in collaboration with other City Departments.

  

---

For more information, please contact:
Bridget Smith, DPT- 415/554-2346
 
 
 

  RED LIGHT PHOTO ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM FACT SHEET
July 30, 1999

Background

Red light violators cause an average of 786 reported collisions and 1,324 injuries annually in San Francisco according to the Department of California Highway Patrol. These collisions cost the local economy an estimated $40 million annually not including property damage. Considering also the high incidence of unreported collisions, the actual cost is much higher.

In 1996, the State Legislature amended the California Vehicle Code to allow automated enforcement of red light violations for a trial period of three years. In early 1998, as this law reached its sunset, the Legislature debated its value and voted to make it permanent. This bill was signed into law on June 1, 1998.

San Francisco has more than 1,000 signalized intersections. Using a conservative estimate of ten violations occurring at each signal per day, an estimated 3.5 million red light violations occur annually in San Francisco. In 1997, the San Francisco Police Department issued more than 21,000 citations to red light violators. The Red Light Photo Enforcement Program issued more than 5,000 additional citations during that same period.

Thanks to Assembly Bill 1191, authored by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley, red light violation fines increased in 1998 from $104 to $271. This increased fine results in increased revenue to local agencies, essential for funding automated enforcement efforts throughout California. The cities of Beverly Hills, El Cajon, Oxnard, Poway, Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Rosa now have red light photo enforcement programs, and many other jurisdictions are pursuing programs.

Pilot Project

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority authorized $250,000 from sales taxes to begin a pilot Red Light Photo Enforcement Program. In October 1996 San Francisco contracted with two vendors to initiate the pilot project and became the first city in California to automated enforcement for red light violations.

Since the program began in October 1996, more than 12,000 citations have been issued through the Red Light Photo Enforcement Program. Within the first six months of the pilot project the number of red light runners at camera-enforced intersections dropped more than 40 percent. Since San Francisco increased efforts to stop red light running, there has been a decrease in the number of collisions and injuries caused by red light violators citywide.

Program Expansion

The City has selected a vendor to expand the Red Light Photo Enforcement Program from the five pilot locations to twenty-six locations throughout the City. This first phase of expansion is currently underway. Future expansion will include five additional locations funded by Caltrans, four locations to be funded by the Moscone Center Expansion Project and a location funded by the Chronicle Publishing Company, bringing the total number of camera-enforced intersections to thirty-six.

©1999 City & County of San Francisco

12/28/1999 11:38:32

 

San Jose

Lights, camera . . . and export action!

D.M. WALKER
D.M. WALKER

A company helping to cut Victoria's road toll yesterday launched the world's first high-resolution, high-speed digital speeding and red-light cameras.

The manufacturer, Redflex Traffic Systems, said yesterday it had received expressions of interest in the system from traffic authorities worldwide, which it said could lead to millions of export dollars for Australia.

The company's managing director, Mr Rob Ciolli, said the Melbourne-based operation - which helped install Victoria's traffic surveillance cameras - had spent about two-and-a-half years working with Kodak Australia to develop the camera system, which recorded images digitally instead of on film, and used electronic aperture instead of mechanical shutters.

He said the new system gave better resolution than traditional film-cameras, and could record up to seven images every second instead of the two pictures per second film-cameras recorded. Electronic shutters also enabled better synchronisation with flashes, which had to be kept short to avoid distracting drivers.

Mr Ciolli, who helped seal the first contract with the United States for the new speed-camera system in California's San Jose, added that the red-light cameras had to perform extra functions to conform with US requirements.

"In America they have to take an image of the vehicle before it enters the intersection," he said. The digital camera records images of cars continuously and holds them on memory for a split-second.

"When it detects an offence it goes back two or three frames to see the vehicle before it entered the intersection," Mr Ciolli said. The camera then matched the "before-and-after-images" and sent them down telephone lines or fibre optic cables to the police.

The red-light systems cost between $80,000 and $90,000 each.

The company has set up an office in San Francisco.

Published by The Age Online Pty Ltd ACN 069 962 885
©1998 David Syme & Co Ltd

In a follow-up note to PhotoCop regarding this article, RedFlex states, "(The Age Online) have INCORRECTLY STATED that the system was developed after two and one half years with Kodak Australia.  In fact, while we have applied Kodak cameras in the past, this new system applies the latest Sony WfineCCD advanced image sensor technology.

Santa Rosa

SR-51 (Toll road)

Colorado

Bolder

Commerce City

Denver

Ft. Collins

Hawaii

Photo cops:
Snap, click, you’re
busted

A proposal would set up a
three-year traffic photo enforcement
experiment

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Oahu motorists may soon pay a stiff price for running a red light or speeding if lawmakers approve the use of photo enforcement.

Automated photo red light and photo radar systems have been used with great success in other countries and states, including New York and California, police traffic Maj. Barbara Wong said.

A bill expected to be introduced this legislative session calls for a three-year demonstration project and sets higher fines for such violations, starting at $100 for the first offense. The current fine for running a red light is $42.

Advocating the systems is a task force composed of police, public transportation, the judiciary and Legislature, neighborhood boards, the city Traffic Violations Bureau and prosecutors and defense attorneys.

The red-light system provides front and rear photos of a car that enters an intersection against the light, showing the license plate.

Imprinted on the photographs are the time, date, location of the violation, the number of seconds the light had been red before the violation occurred and the speed of the vehicle.

Sensors buried under crosswalks leading to a camera mounted on a nearby pole trigger the system.

If approved, the project will start with three photo red light camera systems, worth $50,000 apiece, Wong said.

"Poles with camera boxes will be set up at various intersections, but the working system will be rotated so drivers won't know which intersection is being monitored," Wong said.

The photo-radar system is mounted on a sport utility vehicle or van parked along the roadside.

Speeds of passing motorists are monitored and when a violation occurs, a high-resolution camera photographs the front of the vehicle, driver's face and license plate. A second camera photographs the back of the vehicle.

The system uses low-power radar with a narrow beam so detectors are ineffective.

Private companies will provide all equipment, process the citations and keep status reports in exchange for a percentage of fines assessed per ticket, police say. The fine increase being proposed in the bill takes into account the vendor fee.

"It's a turnkey program that costs nothing," Wong said. "And it'll serve as a huge deterrent.

Citations will be mailed and fines must be paid to the Traffic Violations Bureau within 14 days upon receipt - similar to a parking ticket. Otherwise, a court summons will follow.

"The potential is unlimited," Wong said. "Cities using the systems have seen their collision rates reduced dramatically and that's the bottom line."

Signs will be posted, alerting drivers that the system is in place.

© 1997 Honolulu Star-Bulletin
http://starbulletin.com

 

 

Illinois

Du Page, Co.

Maryland

Howard County

January 12,1998

    The First digital red-light camera in The United States was placed in operation Friday January 9, 1998 in Howard County, Maryland.  Under a FHWA study grant, Driver Safety Systems (DSS) of Israel activated the first of two cameras at a busy multi-lane intersection in Columbia MD.  The second camera is expected to be activated Monday January 12, 1998.

    The red-light digital cameras send images over an ISDN telephone line to a PC computer in Police Headquarters.  The cameras and software are undergoing adjustment by DSS personnel before County evaluation and use.  During evaluation, red-light violators will be issued warning notices

January 29

    Peek Traffic headquarted in England has installed a digital camera at a Columbia intersection in Howard County and another in Rockville in Montgomery County.  Both red-light cameras are connected to a computer at Howard County Police Headquarters.  Warning notices (different for each county) will be automatically printed in color.

    Redflex Traffic Systems Ltd. of Australia will begin a multi-month demonstration of their color digital red-light camera system in mid-February at a Columbia , Md. intersection.  Like the other two digital systems, a PC computer at Police Headquarters will gather images from the remote camera using telephone lines and produce color warning notices to violators.

Montgomery County

Minnesota

Bloomington

Minneapolis

Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT)

St. Paul

New York

New York City

According to an article in CIO:

The benefits of information technology aren't always measured in increased revenues. In 1982, after a car ran a red-light and hit an 18-month-old girl in a stroller, the New York Department of Transportation (DOT) started to research automated law enforcement systems to monitor and ticket drivers who don't know when to stop. New York City's red-light Vehicular Monitoring System, which hit the streets in 1993 after a series of delays, features 18 cameras that photograph vehicles that run red-lights at high-traffic and accident-prone intersections

New York recently began plans to expand its hugely successful red-light program from the eighteen existing cameras to an estimated 68. As the first large red-light program in the U.S., the NYC red-light program has been a model to many cities.

North Carolina

Charlotte

Oregon

Oregon's Photo-radar law.

Beaverton

Portland

Utah

Leighton

Tennessee

Chattanooga

According to the The Chattanooga Times:

The Tennessee Department of Transportation recently approved his request for a high-tech camera to photograph those who ignore traffic signals or fail in trying to beat the light.

 

Texas

 

Virginia

Alexandria

Fairfax

Vienna

Vienna will soon install 1-2 red-light cameras.

Washington

Clark County

Clark County has 1 photo-radar unit.

Spokane

Spokane's new systems are on hold waiting for computer access and the resolution of legal issues.Read the reports by Kristina Johnson in the The Spokesman-Review and  Tracy Ellig also in the The Spokesman-Review.

Spokane has decided against the use of photo-enforcement.

Washington, D.C.

GW Parkway to Get Cameras

By Eric L. Wee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 26, 1999; Page B07

Motorists on the George Washington Parkway who hit the gas when no police cars are in sight may soon discover they're still being watched.

National Park Service officials said yesterday they are experimenting with automatic radar-equipped cameras on the parkway that will snap pictures of speeders in the act and allow police to send a summons through the mail.

Under the project, which officials believe would be among the first of its kind in the nation, the Park Service--which oversees the federal road--and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have installed cameras at Gravelly Point near Reagan National Airport and at Turkey Run, just north of the CIA exit.

Audrey Calhoun, superintendent of the parkway, said the park service will test the cameras, which cost $100,000 each, for six months. If the test is successful, she said, owners of cars that speed will begin finding tickets in their mailboxes.

"The speed on the parkway and all the aggressive driving . . . it's been a problem for years," Calhoun said. She said the search for ways to expand enforcement got a push from a notorious 1996 incident on the road, when three people died after two motorists carried on a high-speed driving duel.

In one recent effort to discourage speeding, Park Police placed portable radars with message boards along the highway to remind drivers how fast they were traveling. That seemed to slow many people down, but they sped up again after the signs were taken away, Calhoun said.

The Park Police force isn't large enough to constantly patrol the entire 27.5-mile highway, she said. "We don't have enough officers," Calhoun said.

The cameras operate much like those that are used to catch red-light runners at intersections, designed to photograph the license plate of the offending car so the registered owner can be identified and sent a traffic citation.

The cameras, long used in Europe, have the capacity to photograph license plates 180 feet away and can track traffic in both directions. The two experimental parkway cameras will target only northbound vehicles to start.

Calhoun said the idea for the cameras came from the federal traffic agency, which is funding the project. The six-month trial will help officials determine whether the technology can produce accurate data and clear pictures, Calhoun said. If so, more cameras will go up, she said.

James Tuton, president of American Traffic Systems Inc. of Arizona, which is supplying the equipment, said yesterday there was no question about the accuracy of the system. He said jurisdictions in many western states have used similar systems on mobile units for more than a decade, but that the George Washington Parkway project involves the first fixed cameras that will operate automatically.

When the system is up and running, "we're going to see fewer crashes and speed will decrease dramatically closer to the speed limit," Tuton said.

In a recent survey conducted by the American Automobile Association, 65 percent of those polled in the Washington area supported using cameras to catch speeders, contrary to polls of a few years ago when such systems were strongly opposed. But a significant 22 percent remain strongly against cameras, worrying that they are an invasion of privacy, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman Lon Anderson said.

It is significant that a federal agency is undertaking the radar-camera program, because it remains questionable whether local jurisdictions could do so without special state legislation. Virginia, for example, had to pass a law in 1995 to ensure that tickets issued automatically to red-light runners couldn't be challenged in court.

Calhoun said the Park Service felt it could go forward with the project because the parkway falls under federal rules. But she said officials also will use the six-month testing process to ensure that the tickets would hold up in court.

"We have looked at our regulations," she said, "and initially our view is that we think we can do it."

 

© 1999 The Washington Post Company

Automatic cameras effective for reducing red-light runners

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2000 - Automatic cameras that take pictures at traffic intersections are an effective tool for reducing the number of drivers running red lights, the government says.

“AN AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT program for red-light running should translate into at least 20 and as much as a 60 percent reduction in violations,” the Federal Highway Administration said in a report presented at a conference Tuesday.
    There wasn’t enough data on the relatively new technology to show whether the cameras also reduced the number of crashes in intersections, the report said.
    The report presents the preliminary results of red-light camera programs in three areas: Los Angeles County, Polk County, Fla., and Howard Country, Md. All three received federal grants to test the technology.
    Each year, red-light running accounts for about 260,000 crashes, 121,000 injuries and more than 800 deaths nationwide, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Fatal crashes at intersections with traffic signals have risen 24 percent, from 1,888 in 1992 to 2,344 in 1997.
 “You see more violations in rush hours when people are in a hurry,” said David M. Smith, a transportation specialist with the highway administration.
    In California, the cameras were used at crossings for a light rail line running between Los Angeles and Long Beach. Between 1990 and 1997, there were 353 crashes between trains and cars, resulting in 33 deaths.
    At the initial three crossings using cameras the number of drivers running red lights dropped 92 percent, 78 percent and 34 percent, respectively, the report said. Warning signs alerted drivers to the presence of the cameras.
    Based on the positive results, the county transit authority decided to install the cameras at 17 rail crossings.
    Cameras in most states take photos from the rear of the intersection, so the driver can’t be seen, but the California program also used a picture of the driver’s face for identification.
    Maryland’s highly reflective license plates often hindered the camera’s effectiveness by creating too much glare for clear photos, but the test program did reduce the overall number of red light violations at selected intersections by 23 percent.
    While not receiving federal funds, a New York City program started in 1993 resulted in a 38 percent decrease in violations at 18 monitored intersections, the report said.
    When a car speeds through a red light, a magnetic relay beneath the pavement sends a signal and the camera’s shutter opens. A computer notes the time, date, vehicle speed and amount of time the light was red.
    While the ticketing process varies between programs, usually a technician retrieves the film from each camera daily and has it developed or scanned into a computer. After license plate information is processed, the police print and verify a ticket which is then mailed to the registered car owner.
    In most states, drivers can go to court and testify they weren’t behind the wheel, but in New York, the registered owner is liable.
    Most of the programs used traditional film equipment, but some have experimented with digital cameras.
    About 250 cameras are trained on intersections across the country and that number is expected to double annually, suppliers say.
    The cameras, long used in Europe and other countries, have been slow to catch on in the United States. But since the first cameras went up in New York, they have spread to nearly 50 cities and 10 states.

© 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. 

District Motorists Advised to Heed Photo Enforcement Cameras or Face Driving Penalty
Program Expected to Cut Intersection Violations

 

June 30, 1999

In the District, the beginning of the summer will also mean the beginning of a comprehensive traffic safety program, designed to reduce injuries and deaths at intersections, just in time for the 4th of July holiday weekend.

Starting June 30, 1999, one of the nation’s largest automated photo enforcement projects will begin in the District, as the city joins the growing list of communities nationwide that are cracking down on aggressive driving.

Under a contract with Washington, D. C., [a vendor] IMS is installing 40 cameras at various District intersections designed to deter violation of the District’s traffic laws. The first cameras, which will monitor red-light running, will start capturing violations on June 30, 1999.

Metropolitan Police Chief Charles Ramsey said, "Traffic in the District is a major concern to us all. The fatalities, injuries and property damage that our officers see on a first hand basis speaks to the need for the added enforcement these cameras will provide. Red-light running and speeding pose a serious threat to the people of Washington, D.C., because they threaten our families and our children." He added "This new traffic safety program is an important part of our effort to prevent needless injuries and deaths by aggressive drivers."

Last year, U. S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater announced a nationwide campaign to target aggressive driving and install more red light cameras at intersections. The Department of Transportation reports some 8,000 people die and a million are hurt annually in such crashes. Slater said red light running is the leading cause of urban crashes.

---

 

And Coming Soon to:

Chicago, IL.; Newark, DL; and Philadelphia, PA

 

Last revised: April 30, 2006

Tools Of The Trade
You Oughta Be in Pictures...Red Light Photo Enforcement

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), drivers who run red lights are responsible for 260,000 crashes each year, of which approximately 750 are fatal. A study conducted at a busy Arlington County, Virginia, intersection showed that motorists ran a red light every 12 minutes during nonpeak hours. Between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., the frequency jumped to every five minutes.1 Estimates place the annual cost to Americans for red light running at more than $7 billion.2

Several states and local communities currently use or are considering installation of photographic enforcement technology as a tool to reduce red light running. Mesa, Arizona, for example, has initiated a one-year pilot program, during which mobile speed camera units are located in zones where chronic speeding and red light running cause frequent and serious accidents. Speed cameras are mounted in plainly marked police vans and operated by police service officers. The red light cameras are fixed installations mounted at intersections where accidents are frequent. In Mesa, traffic tickets are issued to the vehicle's registered owner via mail.3

Special Considerations

The adoption of a photo enforcement system is not an overnight decision. Many considerations-financial, political, legal, and logistical-must be weighed carefully before any commitments are made.

What Does the Law Say? Myriad state and local laws regulate the use of photo enforcement equipment. In California, current legislation holds drivers liable and assesses points. In other states, car owners are held liable and points are not assessed. In Illinois, the law allows a citation to be given only when a crash occurs. At least three states require front and rear photos of violators. Some states consider red light running a civil offense. Others label it a criminal offense. Even fine amounts run the gamut. In Alexandria, Virginia, drivers are assessed $50 per infraction. (And, in order to prosecute those who don't pay the $50 fine, officers must personally serve court summons.) In Beverly Hills, California, the fee is $271.4

Where to Put Cameras? According to Mark Canoyer, technical services division chief, Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department, traffic volume is not a good indicator of the number of intersection violations that may occur. "Each intersection has its own characteristics. You've got to be prepared to monitor the system and move equipment if the volume of infractions is lower than expected."5

How Much Does Equipment Cost? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety quotes equipment costs of about $50,000 per camera and $5,000 per installation and sensors. A single red light camera can be used at several locations once the sites are equipped to work with the camera. This way, communities can move cameras between sites without drivers knowing exact locations.1

Costs are, to a large degree, determined by the needs of the community to be served. Will pictures of both front and rear license plates be needed? Will shots of drivers' faces be taken? Will cameras be placed on single-lane roads or two-lane highways? Simpler uses can translate into the need for less sophisticated-and less expensive-equipment.

How Much Publicity? Agencies must examine their goals for using photo enforcement equipment when deciding how to promote the program. Is the primary objective to catch as many violators as possible or to prevent intersection violations from occurring in the first place? "We've gone from trying to make the cameras as unobtrusive as possible to erecting signs that let motorists know they are in use," says Chief Canoyer. Last year, Howard County, Maryland, the first jurisdiction in the state to use photo enforcement equipment, issued a press release (which also appeared on its Web site), to announce the use of cameras, explain ticketing procedures, and inform citizens about the problems red light running causes the community.

Agencies should remember to allot funds for publicity/advertising costs, including signage and media/community inquiries, if the program is to be publicized.

Support for photo enforcement is high. According to an American Trauma Society survey, 84 percent of Americans believe that red light running has either stayed the same or gotten worse over the past few years.6 An IIHS poll revealed that 66 percent of those responding favor the use of red light cameras. Although polls show that most Americans support the use of photo enforcement technology, agencies should be prepared to handle negative responses from the public, the media, privacy advocate groups, and government officials. In California, for example, some legislators have voiced strong opposition to photo enforcement technology, calling it an intrusion into people's private lives, and are fighting to abolish it.7

Who Will Do What? Generally, contracts with photo enforcement equipment and maintenance suppliers can be written two ways: 1) the contractor is paid a percentage for each ticket issued, or 2) the contractor is paid a flat fee. When considering implementation of a photo enforcement system, it is important to take into account who will be responsible for the daily administration of the program. Will new staff be brought on board or will current staff be assigned new duties, such as reviewing photographs? In some jurisdictions, laws require violations to be processed, verified, and notarized by law enforcement staff. In others, equipment contractors are permitted to fulfill this function. "Although our contractor performs all equipment maintenance and film developing, the enforcement aspect has expanded our workload," explains Sergeant Paul Story, Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department. "The cameras have produced a high volume of pictures, which means our staff spends time contacting area departments of motor vehicles to identify violators."

How Effective Is Photo Enforcement?

According to the National Organization for Traffic Intersection Safety, preliminary crash data from localities using photo red light enforcement indicates that the number of intersection crashes has decreased. Victoria, Australia, experienced a 32 percent reduction in such crashes six months after cameras were installed. IIHS data from Oxnard, California, shows that red light violations have decreased throughout the community, not only at intersections with cameras.

Most traffic safety professionals and contractors agree that photo enforcement programs will never become major profit centers. "Red light cameras never make money," says Jim Tuton, president of American Traffic Systems. "Cost savings are realized through insurance savings because traffic violations drop considerably. Photo enforcement is such an effective concept that it can run itself out of business."

The Manufacturers

There are over two dozen companies that manufacture photo enforcement supplies and equipment. Two of the largest companies include American Traffic Systems (which services Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, and Florida) and [a vendor] IMS (which services Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia, and Charlotte, North Carolina).4

Photo enforcement equipment usually is highly customized to meet individual jurisdictions' needs, although all systems have the same basic components. "All photo detection equipment consists of a detector, the logic or software control system, and an imaging component, says Jim Tuton, president of American Traffic Systems. "The detector can use infrared, radar, loops, video detection, piezo-electric sensors, or some combination of these elements. The imaging component can be video, digital, or film.

Rhode Island-based manufacturer Nestor, Inc., for example, has developed a video system that detects and records vehicles with a video clip. The clip is stored as a digital file and transmitted electronically to public safety department computers. It can be uploaded in real time, so officers can view images of violations one minute after they occur. Some systems also reportedly may help prevent accidents. "The system we recently developed can predict when a vehicle is going to run a red light. The camera sends a signal to the traffic controller to extend the red light so cross traffic won't enter the roadway," says Douglas Reilly, senior vice president of Nestor, Inc.

Photo red light enforcement technology is a new concept for many jurisdictions, so it is wise to contact several of the agencies nationwide that have implemented such programs. It is also advisable to consult with engineers or other individuals with the technical education and experience necessory to assess your community's needs. This may help your agency avoid pitfalls and possibly reap benefit from other agencies' successes.

References

1. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety fact sheet. December 1998.

2. USDOT-NHTSA Traffic Injury Control Program, August 1998.

3. Information obtained from the Mesa, Arizona, Web site.

4. National Organization for Traffic Intersection Safety (NOTIS) fact sheet. November 1998.

5. Interview. Alexandria, Virginia, Police Department. January 21, 1998.

6. American Trauma Society fact sheet. "1998 Stop Red Light Running Program."

7. Nando Times, "Red Light Cameras Get the Brake in California." Los Angeles, May 4, 1998

-- February 1999 issue of Sheriff magazine: