Duncan Announces Initials Success Of Red Light Enforcement Cameras

Header--Montgomery County, Maryland. Press Releases

eb/cameras.pr 99-436

Contact: Esther Bowring, 240-777-6530
Ann Evans, 240-773-5030

For Immediate Release: December 15, 1999

DUNCAN ANNOUNCES INITIAL SUCCESS OF RED
LIGHT ENFORCEMENT CAMERAS

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan today announced that in the first month of operation, 1,900 civil citations have been issued with the help of only six red light enforcement cameras at key intersections. Vehicles caught running red lights by the cameras receive a $75 civil citation. Part of a comprehensive effort to target red light runners, the County will eventually install ten cameras that will rotate amongst problem areas. The locations of the cameras will not be revealed to the public.

"The failure of drivers to stop at right lights has caused too many unnecessary and preventable injuries and deaths," said Duncan. "It is our hope that through more aggressive enforcement and stricter punishments for convicted red-light runners, we will reduce the number of accidents."

"This law is working to catch red light runners, just as I hoped it would," said State Senator Leonard H. Teitelbaum, author of the state legislation establishing the red light camera program.

Cameras automatically take photos of only those vehicles that do not stop when the traffic light is red. Not every photo results in a citation. When analyzing the photos, the vehicle's tag number may not be identifiable due to weather conditions, lighting or other factors. Compared with the total number of photos taken during the first month, about 50 percent resulted in citations. A Police Department spokesperson stated that their goal is to eventually achieve a 70 percent issuance rate, once all the technical issues have been worked out.

Issuing citations is a three-step process. First, the cameras take two photos of a vehicle - as it approaches an intersection and when it is in an intersection. Next, the two images are put together and analyzed to ensure that the vehicle did not obey the traffic light signal. If the tag number can be read from the images, the owner of the vehicle is identified and the owner is mailed a citation.

Fines are not collected immediately from every vehicle owner who receives a citation. Owners may request a court hearing. Or, the owner's location may not be easily identifiable. In these cases, the Police Department maintains a record of these vehicles for future reference.

For additional information, contact the Montgomery County Police Department at 240-773-5030.

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