A dozen New Jersey towns are about to enter a brave new world of traffic enforcement.
We don’t yet know the identity of the 12 Garden State communities chosen by the state Department of Transportation to enter this world. But we do know that they’ll be using cameras at selected intersections to nab motorists who run red lights.
The 12 towns will participate in the Red Light Running Automated Enforcement Program, a five-year pilot project authorized under a law signed by Gov. Jon Corzine back in January. Each of the towns will install something called a “traffic control signal monitoring system,” defined by the DOT as “an integrated system or device utilizing a camera, or a multiple camera system, and vehicle sensors which work in conjunction with a traffic control signal to produce images of vehicles disregarding a red signal or ‘running a red light.’”
Under the pilot project, the drivers of vehicles that have the misfortune of falling into this category will be subject to fines ranging from $80 to $140, just as they would be if their transgression were spotted by a police officer. But because this is still considered a trial run, they will not earn the same two points on their license (nor pay the corresponding surcharge on their auto insurance) suffered by motorists whose offense is detected by more traditional methods.
When the camera systems start operating later this fall, the 12 New Jersey towns will join more than 300 communities in 25 states that use cameras to enforce motor-vehicle laws. Successful programs have been launched in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and several other major cities across the country.
Of course, this doesn’t prevent the New Jersey project from having its detractors. Using cameras to catch miscreant motorists has been denounced in some quarters as a clandestine method of surveillance that infringes on civil liberties. Criticism also centers on the inability of the accused driver to contest a traffic summons issued by an unseen accuser. Others worry that towns strapped for cash in these difficult economic times will resort to using the camera as a money-maker charging unsuspecting motorists with violations they didn’t commit in order to enrich municipal coffers.
”Our point of view is that red light cameras are a scam, not just a money-making venture,” said Steve Carrellas, coordinator of the New Jersey chapter of the National Motorists Association. “If there’s a real red light-running problem at an intersection, putting a red light camera there doesn’t fix the underlying problems of an intersection.”
We beg to differ. In our experience, people run red lights for the same reason they routinely violate other motor-vehicle laws: because they expect to get away with it. Put a monitoring device at an intersection where there’s a “red light-running problem,” and watch how quickly the problem goes away.
That’s what happened in the United Kingdom. All around London, motorists have been deterred by strategically placed boxes some of which contain cameras, some of which don’t along roadways experiencing speeding problems. Once word got around that large numbers of motorists were paying hefty fines after cameras recorded them exceeding the speed limit, all those heavy feet retreated from the gas pedal and the roadways became a lot safer.
Employing similar technology at dangerous intersections can help make New Jersey’s roadways safer. That is reason enough to get this pilot project up and running, and let motorists know, in no uncertain terms, that the law against running a red light in this state will be vigorously enforced.
