EDITORIALS

Cameras will catch

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

BY JAMES TUTON

When Gov. Jon Corzine signed the Wisniewski/Stack legislation into law authorizing the use of photo traffic enforcement, New Jersey became part of a national public-safety trend. In the past 18 months, more than 100 cities around the U.S. have adopted photo traffic enforcement programs, installing cameras to decrease the number of red-light runners, speeders and injury-causing crashes.

The dangers intersections pose to drivers and pedestrians cannot be overstated. According to the Federal Highway Administration, 40 percent of all crashes are intersection-related; red-light running causes more than 180,000 crashes a year, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths and 90,000 injuries, and a person is 150 percent more likely to be injured or killed at an intersection due to a red-light violation than due to any other driving situation.

Nationally, more than 300 communities in more than 25 states have implemented photo safety enforcement programs. Some, such as the New York City program, have operated for more than a decade.

The goal of photo traffic enforcement is public safety. Data from user cities across the country and multiple research studies have proven that red-light cameras decrease accidents -- in particular, the number of side or T-bone crashes, which cause the most fatalities and serious injuries. Photo traffic enforcement has also been used in construction work zones to improve safety for transportation workers, in school zones to protect children, and along stretches of city streets where speeding and drag racing have become habitual problems.

The results across the country have been impressive. As part of a 2007 study completed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, researchers tallied signal violations at intersections in Philadelphia before and after red-light camera enforcement. They concluded that cameras reduced violations by 96 percent. In New York City, red-light running violations dropped 73 percent between 1994 and 2005.

In Albuquerque, a recent political flap between the mayor and New Mexico's governor caused the city's speed and red-light cameras to stop issuing tickets. Albuquerque quickly changed its mind after the camera data indicated that red-light running went up 20 percent in only 24 hours and speeding and traffic violations went up 100 percent in a week.

The New Jersey public seems eager to adopt the program. A recent AAA poll found that 70 percent of New Jersey drivers support using photo traffic enforcement to catch red-light violators.

As with most states, citations issued in New Jersey through photo enforcement programs will be issued to the registered owners of the vehicles. Pictures are taken of the vehicles' rear license plates. No pictures are taken of the drivers' faces. The pictures used for the citation will be expunged to ensure the pictures are not used for any other purpose. No points are assessed to the drivers' licenses or reported to insurance companies.

In addition, an extensive public notice campaign will be initiated before any photo traffic-enforcement program is implemented. This campaign includes significant signage and a test period wherein violators will be informed of any transgression without being issued a citation.

The program is first and foremost about safety, not penalizing drivers unreasonably.

The New Jersey communities that are considering or have adopted photo safety programs should be commended and will very likely see their crash, injury and fatality numbers decrease. The communities are part of a national trend in which towns and cities are utilizing technology to assist in public-safety efforts, thus freeing officers to devote more time to critical neighborhood policing efforts.

James Tuton is president of American Traffic Solutions, a provider of safety programs that serves more than 120 communities in the U.S and Canada, including New York City; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Washington, D.C.; Houston and St. Louis.