Richmond May Put Brakes on Photo Red Light

The future of the photo red light system that has worked effectively at four intersections in the City of Falls Church since 2000 and in other Northern Virginia jurisdictions, faces a tough floor vote in the Virginia House of Delegates this week after failing in a reactionary committee last Friday.

With the legislature expected to adjourn before the weekend, the floor vote is imminent. A bill to extend the state's permission granted to local jurisdictions to run such traffic safety programs failed to pass the House Police and Militia Committee stacked with conservative Republicans from rural areas of the state last Friday.

But the measure was tacked onto another traffic-related bill in the Senate that passed by 29-9 vote earlier this week, sending it directly to the House floor.

Del. Jim Scott, whose 51st District includes the City of Falls Church, is currently spearheading the effort to win enough votes for passage of the measure. Del. Bob Hull, whose 38th District adjoins Falls Church, has voted against the measure in the past but did not return calls to the News-Press prior to press time about his intentions this week.

Currently, photo red light programs are operational in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Vienna and Virginia Beach, in addition to Falls Church. Unlike some of the others, the Falls Church program involves not a photo camera, but a video camera showing the unfolding of a potential violation.

The system also instantaneously freezes the red light when an infraction is detected, minimalizing the chances for a collision.

The only jurisdiction able to provide accurate data, Fairfax County, showed a 41% reduction in red light related crashes after the first year of its program. In other places with data, San Francisco experienced a drop in intersection collisions of 68% after the first year, Los Angeles 92% and Charlotte, N.C. 70%.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council indicated that roughly two-thirds of respondents to a public opinion survey support the programs.

Of 6.4 million crashes on the nation's roadways in 2000, 40% were intersection related, and running red lights caused about 5,000 crashes in Virginia in 2003, resulting in 18 deaths and 3,800 injuries.

Opponents to photo red lights cite privacy rights and equality issues, as well as a Virginia Department of Transportation study that shows, while cameras reduce red light running by 21%, they also result in an increase in rear-end accidents.

For example, in Fairfax County, total collisions actually increased slightly at 10 of the county's 13 photo red light intersections. But it is argued that rear end accidents are far less likely to involve injuries than the more dangerous so-called "T-Bone" collisions most commonly caused by red light violators.

In terms of privacy issues, the General Assembly has already approved legislation allowing for photo cameras at highway toll booths to deter cheating.

"I would think that deterring potentially deadly intersection accidents would be a higher priority than nabbing motorists avoiding toll payments," Falls Church City Manager Dan McKeever remarked to the News-Press.

"It would be a terrible disappointment to all in Northern Virginia to go to Richmond seeking highway and public safety tools and to have that fall on deaf ears," he said. He noted that privacy issues are rendered moot not only by the new toll gate cameras, but those at banks and convenience stores.

"It is galling that Richmond would act to prevent our ability to protect our own," added Falls Church City Councilman David Snyder, who is the Council's point man on transportation and safety issues.

While McKeever said that published data indicating revenues from the three photo red light locations operational in Falls Church have ballooned to over $500,000 a year, that is a gross number not including the cost of operating the system.

The system is operated by Nestor Systems of Providence, Rhode Island, and was approved for the City despite a $900,000 initial cost by Police Chief Robert Murray in November, 1999.

The photo red light systems are installed at the intersections of W. Broad and Annandale Road,, W. Broad at Birch Street, Hillwood Ave. at Annandale Rd. and S. Hillwood Ave. at Route 29.