Smile! You're on Camera

Day and night, they’re working, watching the roads, keeping people safe, doing the job of several police officers. They’ve been around so long that motorists don’t even notice them. At least, not until one captures an image of a car running a red light.

And then, drivers remember that purchased two red-light camera systems a few years ago and installed them at busy intersections. Red light, as in photographing people who proceed through a red light.

“The camera doesn’t know who you are,” said Major Mike Shockley of the ACC Police Department. “It doesn’t care who you are.”

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, red light cameras can and do save lives. The institute studied crashes in 14 cities of more than 200,000 people which had cameras in place.  It determined that, during 2004-2008, the rate of fatal crashes involving someone running a red light fell 35 percent. In 48 cities without cameras, the rate fell by only 14 percent.

In Athens, the cameras are “doing the job,” said Steve Decker, an engineer who works with the county’s . He keeps data on traffic accidents, among other duties.

The cameras have reduced the number of crashes, Decker said, and have also reduced the number of people running red lights.

In 2005, there was only one camera system in the county, according to Major Shockley. It was at the intersection of Lexington Highway and Gaines School/Cherokee Road. According to public record, that year there were 1,791 citations issued and $100, 740 collected in civil penalties.

Georgia law mandates the penalty can’t exceed $70 for each offense. Georgia House Bill 77, which took effect in 2008, mandates this and other matters relating to the cameras and their use. 

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department uses the money it receives from the fines to pay the salary of a clerk who checks the camera photos for accuracy (a police officer checks after her); to print and mail tickets to offenders; to pay the vendor; and to maintain the cameras.

Any money left over is used to further enhance public safety. The purchase of laptops for each squad car, as well as paying the bills for mobile Internet access, are covered with this money.

In 2006, a second camera system was added at the intersection of Alps Road and Atlanta Highway. Records indicate that 14,299 citations were issued for violations at the two locations and $817,069 was collected in civil penalties. The next year, that number had fallen to almost half  -- 7,779 citations and $462,135 in penalties.

In 2008, there were 4,710 tickets issued to those who ran red lights at Alps and Atlanta Highway and at Lexington and Gaines School roads. And in 2009, there were 3,608 citations and $214,530 in penalties.

The cameras have been so successful that local government officials would like to buy and install more of them, adhering to rules issued by the Georgia Department of Transportation. But before the county invests the $200,000 in another camera system, Shockley said, everyone wants to be sure the state isn’t going to prohibit the cameras altogether.

Municipalities are anxious to learn if Duluth, which applied to the DOT for a red light camera permit, will receive a permit, since none have been issued in some time. If the Gwinnett city does get a permit, other cities will likely apply.