Dominican Star: Red Light Cameras

http://www.dominicanstar.com/joomla1/index.php/news/161-red-light-cameras-quick-cash-or-protecting-drivers

Red Light Cameras: Quick Cash or Protecting Drivers?
By Angela Romano
romaange@my.dom.edu
Copy Editor

March 24, 2010

The red light cameras installed at various intersections in Chicago and surrounding suburbs have been busy snapping license shots of people who make the slightest mistakes while driving and making turns. Critics say devices cause crashes while making major revenue.

Jessica Whipkey, a junior at Dominican University, has had her fair share of run-ins with red light cameras. Her first encounter happened in the pouring rain on Irving Park Road. Whipkey was headed to the city for an interview. When she came to the intersection, the light turned yellow and she had no other choice but to continue through unless she wanted to get rear-ended. However, it did cost her $100.

Months later on a snowy day, Whipkey attempted to brake at a different intersection on North Avenue, but because of low traction caused by ice, she slid a few inches over the white line. That added another $100 to her expenses.

Red light cameras are becoming increasingly controversial, and suburbs across Illinois are making attempts to lower ticket cost or eliminate them completely.

When the first red-light camera was installed in the suburbs at 25th Avenue and Harrison Street in Bellwood, it instantly became a money generating mechanism.

According to Roy McCambell, a Bellwood traffi c controller, the installation of red light cameras in the suburb of Bellwood generated $60,000 to $70,000 a month from traffic fines in the first year.

Now several area communities have installed red light cameras since they were legalized in the suburbs in 2006. Safety is on the forefront, with high revenue as an added bonus.

Federal safety experts say red-light cameras can improve safety if carefully placed where potentially deadly side-impact accidents occur at busy intersections. But data has found that red light cameras in Chicago suburbs are often at intersections rarely troubled by such crashes.

The vast majority of red light camera tickets are issued for failure to make a complete stop before making a turn on a red light. It is estimated that 90 percent of violations caught on camera are for making rolling right turns on red.

Camia Redovan, a senior at Dominican, experienced this first hand. “I was making a right onto North Avenue,” Redovan said. “The light was red, but there were no cars coming. I slowly stopped and then continued to turn. I saw the camera go off thinking someone blew through the light. When I realized it was me, I was outraged. It’s simply ridiculous that they claim these lights are for safety when I always hear of people getting tickets for not making a complete stop on a right turn.”

In the summer of 2009, the Village of River Forest proposed a plan to red light camera operator, Redspeed-Illinois. River Forest asked to lower fines to $50 for drivers not making a complete stop while turning right on a red light instead of the $100. It was, however, rejected. Redspeed officials claimed that not fully stopping at red light is dangerous in any situation.

Red light running is an indisputably serious problem, blamed for more than 95,000 crashes and 1,000 deaths in the U.S. annually. A way to address the danger is red light camera systems, which combine under-pavement equipment with above-the-ground video and camera technology to document violations.

But River Forest resident Pam Todd contends that the devices actually make things worse by scaring drivers into slamming the brakes when traffic lights transition from yellow to red. “My husband was rear-ended last month when he stopped at a red light,” Todd said. “He would have continued on through, but saw the red light camera sign and didn’t want a ticket. I understand the concept of these cameras, but to me it seems equally as dangerous.”

The future for red light cameras is unclear, but there is a definite decline in red light installation. Several states, including Mississippi, Wisconsin, Maine, Montana, Nevada, West Virginia, and New Hampshire have already banned red light cameras, while cases continue to rise in Congress.