Red Light Cameras — Protect Drivers or Generate Revenue?

Since the March 11 installation of the surveillance cameras at the intersection of Lakeview Avenue and Peninsula Boulevard, many disgruntled RVC residents have been socked with costly traffic tickets.

Run a red light or fail to make a full stop (yes, a full stop) before turning on red and the camera will click a photo of your car exterior, capture video with your license plate in full view, and a ticket will be mailed. 

“The whole point of the program is to change behavior so people would be more conscious of their behavior at the red light,” said Chris Mistron, traffic safety educator for Nassau County. 

But some RVC drivers who have been hit with half a dozen or more tickets for failing to make a full stop before making a right turn onto Peninsula Boulevard — and due to the lag time in mailing out the tickets didn’t know they’d be fined — feel the cameras are more out to get residents than protect them.

The lack of signage about making a right on red after a full stop at the site is a peeve of some. Others feel like there’s a glitch in the system.

“I believe these tickets are occurring after the initial stop, then once you merge forward the camera is snapping pictures,” said Fran Klier. “This is a new camera placement and I think it needs to be checked.” 

Once a violation has occurred and been captured, a notice including a link to the video of the infraction is sent. Recipients will have a tough time arguing the offense with video proof of the action.

“We are very diligent in how these violations were reviewed,” Mistron said. “If there is a doubt, then the violation is not issued.”

With 152 cameras at 50 intersections across Nassau County, some say the lights themselves might even increase erratic driving behavior. A flash of light from the camera can be a distraction to drivers, said Mary Moran, who adds that she understands that such surveillance cameras are am easy way to get money for the county. 

As much as Nassau County could use additions to its coffers in these cash-strapped times, revenue is not the motivator for this program, Mistron said.  

“We are not looking for punitive enforcement. What we're looking for is for people simply to obey the law,” he said. “This is not set up as a gotcha law, it is set up to get people to obey the law. The program was not designed for revenue as the center of it.”

To prove his point, Mistron added that it’s likely that such camera systems will help change driving behavior, and there should eventually be a decrease in infractions, resulting in a decrease or flattening in revenues from it. If revenue generation were the main point of the cameras, other intersections would have been chosen for installation.

Whether you view red light cameras as Big Brother watching or a much-needed safety tool, proponents of surveillance systems say it helps drivers to remember the rules of the road and respect the red light. You’ll end up keeping your own green while you’re at it.