By: centraljersey.com
BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP – The practice of running red lights would come to a screeching halt in the township if American Traffic Solutions (ATS) has its way.
Charles Callari, ATS business development director, on Monday made a presentation to the Township Committee about his company’s intersection program that catches and documents violators at stop lights.
Fred Turik, township alternate engineer, went through the process of the pilot program in Cinnaminson where he is also the engineer and recommended that the committee hear the presentation and consider the program. Mr. Turik went through a study done by Rutgers to pinpoint the most hazardous intersections.
"We evaluated them basically on the T-bone type accidents as well as the deaths that occurred," he said. "We chose four intersections and went through the process and believe that the Department of Transportation (DOT) will approve all of the funding."
Mr. Callari said ATS is a small program right now but is constantly growing. Currently, 16 municipalities in New Jersey have selected ATS as their vendor for the red light camera systems.
ATS installs a camera at intersections and a sensor that goes in the road lanes to sense when a car is completely stopped. The sensors do not interfere with the traffic signals and there are usually two to three sensors placed in one lane.
Two images are captured of the vehicles. The first would show a vehicle with all four wheels completely behind the stop line when the light is red. The second image is used to capture the vehicle in the middle of the road, going through the red light.
"The cameras are all in sealed cases and are temperature controlled," Mr. Callari said. "It’s in that case so when it is exposed to the elements it still works the way it is expected too. If something goes wrong with a camera, we are usually notified long before the DOT or police department realizes it and are out there fixing it that day."
The images are then sent to a web-enabled violation processing system which is used by municipalities, police departments and courts. The system is used for full image review.
"What’s very unique about a single camera solution is that all the elements of proof are embedded in the actual image," Mr. Callari said. "There will be a high standard of evidence to confirm that a violation was made."
After cameras are installed there must be a 30-day warning period to let the public know the cameras are in position. No violations are issued during that time. ATS is operational in 22 states. The company is well known for the installation of red light cameras throughout five boroughs in New York City. Currently, no Burlington County municipality has cameras from ATS installed, though Cinnaminson is on the waiting list.
"Statistically we are now the leading company in the business," Mr. Callari said. "In New Jersey we are dominating the market. We are the vendor of choice by all the larger municipalities. We are well positioned in all of the metropolitan areas across the country."
Mr. Callari said these cameras have helped with reductions in violations and accidents in New York City.
Committee members asked for statistics for reductions in New Jersey but dramatic reductions have not yet been seen although there has been a leveling off, according to Mr. Callari.
"Instead of your police department going by ‘he said, she said,’ they can use the images to recreate accident scenes," Mr. Callari said. "Also, police violations supercede an ATS one. It is not a violation until it is approved by your police department."
Mr. Turik said the major reason for the presentation was for the township to get in line. He said the process for Cinnaminson to get all of the required approvals took up to six months.
"I wanted to let you know what’s out there because if you’re interested there is a process and it took us (Cinnaminson) well over six months," he said. "You want to get in line very quick."
The committee did not take action regarding the presentation because there is no time limit on when the program needs to be implemented.
If the township decided to get involved with the program, it would most likely install the cameras at Route 130, both northbound and southbound, at Farnsworth Avenue, the committee agreed.
