Issue date: 9/9/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Scott Johnsgard Thousands of citations have been issued from traffic cameras. The cameras were installed in February and there are plans for more. [Click to enlarge]

The traffic cameras that were placed at four intersections in College Station in February are still catching students running red lights.

The cameras were placed as part of the C.A.R.E.S. program, Cameras Advancing Red-light Enforcement Safety. Before the system was implemented, the intersections were monitored for two years, said city traffic engineer Troy Rother.

He said the system has not been in place long enough to fairly compare the current number of violations to the number that occurred before the cameras were installed. However, with 1,900 citations issued each month in the spring and 1,300 issued each month in the summer, drivers should be cautious when approaching these intersections.

Not long after the cameras were installed, Becky Bauer, a senior mechanical engineering major, received a citation for running a red light at Harvey Rd. and Munson Ave.

"My boyfriend was actually driving my car, I was in the passenger seat," she said. "It was one of those things where he just didn't see [that the light was red], and we just went straight through it."

Because the vehicle is in her dad's name, the ticket was sent to him, not Bauer or her boyfriend. They decided it would be less expensive to pay the $75 than risk losing an appeal and paying court fees. She was able to watch a video clip of the violation online. Bauer said she thinks the cameras target students because they are placed near many student off campus residences.

"The only reason [the cameras] are up, I think, is to bring in revenue for the city," Bauer said. "I don't feel any safer. I really think it's for the money, but I guess it makes people think more [before they run red lights]."

Rother said that of the profits from these citations, after the vendor payment and other expenses incurred, half is donated to trauma centers in the College Station area by the state and half is kept by the city to be used for transportation safety improvement projects.

The sensors in detection zones approaching the intersection calculate the speed of cars, said Rother. If the system determines a car is moving too fast to reasonably be able to stop at the line, the camera takes two pictures of the car and a video camera makes a 10-12 second film.

The camera takes the first picture at the stop bar and includes the vehicle, the stop bar and the signal. The second picture is taken of the middle of the intersection and includes the car and the signal. This picture is cropped and enlarged to make a shot of the vehicle's license plate for identification. Images are reviewed to ensure there was a violation, and then a notice of the citation is sent to the vehicle's registered owner.

"State law says you have to stop on red, even if you're turning right," Rother said. "To not stop is a violation."

He said if the driver makes a right hand turn, the video camera will record the turn and the first photo will prove that the vehicle stopped behind the line. If there is clearly not a violation, officials should see that and throw it out before issuing a notice to the driver. To avoid a citation, drivers should always stop behind the line at a red light.

This month, American Traffic Solutions, the system's vendor, is evaluating 40 intersections. These intersections were chosen based on the high number of crashes and red light violations occurring at the intersections from specific directions. From this data, the committee overseeing the project can make a list of locations to recommend placing more cameras, which Rother will present to the City Council later this year.

While it is too soon to judge the success of the program here, other cities that have implemented similar programs have seen a decline in red light violations and related crashes at intersections, according to American Traffic Solutions.

"I think it does make people more conscious, even if it's just because they don't want a ticket," Bauer said.

Photo enforced intersections include:
Harvey Rd. and Munson Ave.
Harvey Rd. and George Bush Dr. E
Texas Ave. and Walton Dr.
Welborn Dr. and George Bush Dr.

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