LAWRENCE: Red light camera is under review

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Township officials are pleased with the decline in the number of accidents at the intersection of Route 1 and Franklin Corner Road and Bakers Basin Road, but not so pleased about the increase in rear-end collisions at the intersection.
   Route 1 and Franklin Corner Road and Bakers Basin Road is the site of the lone red-light camera in Lawrence Township, and township officials plan to set up a meeting with vendor American Traffic Solutions to review the data, according to Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun.
   Depending on the results of the discussion and the review of the data, “it will provide us with options that are available and we will proceed from there,” Mr. Krawczun said last week.
   Chief of Police Daniel Posluszny reported that 54 accidents — the majority of them rear-end accidents — occurred at the intersection in 2012. The red light camera system went into operation in December 2011. There were 76 accidents at the intersection in 2011, but the concern is the increase in rear-end collisions.
   There were 39 rear-end accidents between December 2011 and November 2012 at the intersection, compared to 30 rear-end collisions between November 2010 and October 2011, according to Police Department statistics. The red light camera was in “test mode” in November 2011.
   ”The numbers have gone up (on rear-end accidents), and it is concerning,” Chief Posluszny told Township Council last month. He said the Police Department is looking into the circumstances of each accident.
   ”(The red light camera) is there to improve safety, and in the first year (rear-end) accidents have increased. There’s no way around it,” Chief Posluszny said.
   The police chief also told Township Council that there were 8,848 traffic tickets issued to motorists who did not come to a complete stop before making a right turn on red at the intersection. The camera takes photographs of vehicles that do not come to a complete stop or who stop beyond the white “stop” bar.
   Of those 8,848 tickets, 4,673 were issued to motorists who made right turns onto Route 1 from Franklin Corner Road and 1,938 to motorists who made right turns onto Route 1 from Bakers Basin Road.
   When Councilman Michael Powers asked about the impact of banning right turns on red at that intersection, Chief Posluszny replied that there has been some discussion about it in the state Legislature.
   State Sen. Shirley K. Turner (D-15th Legislative District) proposed legislation in October 2012 that would prohibit making a right turn on red at intersections where a red light camera is in place. It also calls for installing signage indicating fines are doubled if one of the streets is in a “safe corridor” area.
   Banning right turns on red at the intersection of Route 1 and Franklin Corner Road and Bakers Basin Road “might make it a lot easier for all of us,” Chief Posluszny said, adding that “it has been a nightmare for the public.”
   ”I can see why for a whole host of reasons,” he said. “I have had discussions with several residents. Let’s face it. People don’t understand it and they think it is unfair (to receive a ticket for failing to stop before making a right turn).”
   Because the intersection is included in a state-designated “safe corridor,” the fine for a red light violation is doubled. There are no points assigned to a driver’s motor vehicle record, but the fine is $140. Lawrence Township receives $55 of the fine plus $18.50 for court costs, and the rest is spread among Mercer County and several mandatory funds.