| "Hit the brakes--red light cameras could be coming to an intersection near you "
Red light runners in Virginia could be captured on camera as soon as this summer.
Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly have passed a bill allowing local governments to install the cameras, if their population is more than 10,000.
Gov. Tim Kaine is likely to sign the bill into law. "We'll review the bill but he intends to support the measure, primarily because it is a local option, as opposed to a mandate," said Kevin Hall, Kaine spokesman.
Fredericksburg-area officials contacted yesterday expressed interest in the camera concept.
Fredericksburg Mayor Tom Tomzak said he will raise the subject with other council members, city police and public works.
"I think there's a place for that in Fredericksburg," Tomzak said. "There's a particularly dangerous intersection on Jefferson Davis Highway and Mary Washington Boulevard where I think a lot of people run a red light with a lot of potential for disaster."
Chris Yakabouski, chairman of the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors, said he's open to discussing red light cameras as a short-term safety measure.
"Other places have done it so we need to learn from their experiences," he said.
In Stafford, Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Gibbons said red light cameras will be part of the overall conversation about the county's transportation plans. Gibbons said he's waiting to see what the Assembly approves for transportation funding.
Dale Sisson, King George Board of Supervisors chairman, does not think the enforcement would be useful in his county, where signals are widely spaced.
Pilot programs in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Vienna and Virginia Beach used red light cameras in 2005. Several of these localities lobbied to make the cameras permanent, especially Virginia Beach, where red light running soared after the pilot program expired.
AAA Mid-Atlantic also supported the bill's passage.
Red-light crashes are "not fender benders. They're T-bone crashes where you have fatalities," said Martha Mitchell Meade of AAA in Richmond. "We want people to think in that split second, when they might push it, to think twice."
Red light running is a frequent and dangerous traffic infraction.
Sixty-three percent of Americans witness a red light running more than once a week, according to a 2004 survey by the U.S. Department of Transportation. And crashes involving red light running are more likely to cause injury.
The District of Columbia and Maryland allow red light camera use.
All Fredericksburg-area members of the General Assembly voted to support the bill with the exception of Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Mechanicsville.
The bill contains several caveats.
Red light cameras can be installed only at intersections where red light running is a legitimate danger. "They cannot be placed there to make money," said Mitchell Meade.
Also, a police officer must review every image of a motorist running a light.
During the pilot, officers issued tickets to vehicle owners in about half of captured images, Mitchell Meade said. "If there's any uncertainty, they will throw it out," she said.
Local governments will decide if they want to spend the time and money installing cameras and chasing down offenders.
The cameras already perched on traffic signals in the Fredericksburg area can't be used for red light enforcement, said Tina Bundy, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Those cameras are used to help move traffic through an intersection.
Article Published in the Free Lance Star, 2/22/07
Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436 |
