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| Safety (Red Light) Camera |
Redmond, WA – The City of Redmond’s new Safety Camera Pilot Program begins on FEBRUARY 1 with three red-light cameras and one school-zone camera. Redmond Police will issue warning tickets through January. Citations with fines will begin on February 1. The fine for a safety camera violation is $124. (Read more....)
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The program will run for one year after which the City will evaluate its effectiveness and determine whether to make it permanent.
The locations of the three intersection cameras are eastbound at 148th Avenue NE and Redmond Way, eastbound and westbound at 156th Avenue NE and NE 40th Street and westbound and northbound at Union Hill Road and Avondale Road. A study performed in 2009 showed these intersections averaged over 600 vehicles running a red-light per month.
The school zone safety camera is installed eastbound and westbound in front of Einstein Elementary on NE 116th Street in north Redmond. Here the speeding violations (at least 26 mph in a 20 mph school zone) averaged almost 1000 per month.
“The City of Redmond is committed to the safety of the community and these violations are a clear threat to public safety,” stated Mayor John Marchione. “The goal of this safety camera program is to change dangerous driver behavior, reduce preventable collisions at signalized intersections and prevent car-pedestrian collisions in school zones.”
A national study indicates over 65 percent of all vehicles travel at least 10 mph over the posted school zone speed. While a pedestrian has an almost 90 percent survival rate at 20 mph; hit at 30 mph, a pedestrian has less than a 30 percent chance of surviving.
The violation is a civil infraction; it is not reported to insurance companies or the Washington State Department of Motor Vehicles.
“The revenue generated by fees will be used to support the program itself,” stated Police Commander Shari Shovlin. “Should the revenue collected exceed the cost of the program, the money will be used only for public safety and traffic safety programs.”
The City has developed an informational brochure including an insert with frequently asked questions. Information is available on the City’s website at www.redmond.gov/PublicSafety/TrafficSafetyCameras. For additional information, contact Commander Shari Shovlin at sshovlin@redmond.gov or 425-556-2564.
By Commander Shari Shovlin
Redmond Police Department
Photo - Huffington Post - Google Images
So how does this work? If I enter the intersection when the light is green, but the light turns red when I am still in the intersection, do I get a ticket?
ReplyDeleteThe law which governs lighted traffic signals is RCW 46.61.055 which states that you may not "enter" the intersection if the light is red. If you are already in the intersection when the light turns red, this provision is not applicable under the conditions you described. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.055
ReplyDeleteI work in Seattle and the cameras have been a great success there. The biggest difference I notice is as a pedestrian. People are now stopping instead of almost knocking you down when you cross the street. I'm sure it will make drivers more courteous here too - even if it just because they have to!
ReplyDeleteRNB COMMENT: On Tuesday, December 21 the city notified the Redmond Reporter and KIRO about their last minute holiday change in red-light start times from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1. RNB was not notified or receive a press release. I called the Mayor's Secretary to verify the date change. I found out about the date change by reading the announcement from three other media outlets. Failure to notice all media re safety alerts is not good practice. I advised her to correct the eFocus announcement to Feb 1. RNB is on the list for press releases, but not this one....for some reason.
ReplyDelete