Redmond red light traffic cams catch 1,900 violations
BY CHRIS SULLIVAN
KIRO Radio
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| Redmond police says they're frightened by the the number of infractions their new red light cameras have turned up. |
Redmond installed red light cameras at three intersections, and speed cameras in one school zone, in December. They went active last month for testing, and the police are amazed at what they've found. They found 1,900 drivers blew through the red lights at those intersections in just three weeks.
"I'm actually a little frightened by how many there are," said Redmond Police Commander Shari Shovlin. "We are actually surprised at the speeds at which people are just going through red lights without even hesitating." Despite two months of warnings to drivers that the cameras were being installed, Shovlin said they aren't getting the message.
"We're going to have to continue to do some public education on these dangerous driving behaviors. Slowing down is not the same as stopping at a red light."
The $124 tickets will start going out in the mail on Thursday.
By Chris Sullivan
KIRO Radio
Posted on MyNorthwest
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Do you know if they were just testing the lights? We drive Union Hill daily and 2 times that the light has flashe don my husband there was green light that turned yellow as he was in the intersection and was out of it when it turned red.. but he got flashed for that. Also I have seen cars go through on a green light and it flashes.. I am not sure they have it set up right.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the flash go off many times at the Union Hill/Avondale intersection when no one had done anything wrong. I'm wondering how many of these "infractions" are real.
ReplyDeleteI pass through the Union Hill/Avondale intersection three times a day/five days a week, and have nearly always seen the flash while I'm passing through. As with the previous two commenters, I have rarely seen any activity there that would have caught the attention of a police officer. It appears that 1,900 number is largely bloated by activity for which no police officer would have handed out a citation.
ReplyDeleteI'm deeply concerned by how this is going to play out starting Thursday.
Douglas Burchard
Rose Hill neighborhood
We too have witnessed many times where the camera appears to have gone off when no apparent infraction was taking place. It appears that a frequent occurrence is for the camera to flash when people make a free right turn after a complete stop.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to near from the city or the police department on what they consider infractions and what they consider ' warnings'. I passed through the 40th intersection this morning and saw the flash as I went through a yellow light. I assume that I actually did have a part of my vehicle in the intersection when the light turned red but I have no idea if I were going to be ticketed or not. It was not blatent like I have seen at the intersection. When you start across the intersection with the light already red, its pretty obvious. But I am sure with a funding source like these cameras the leniency won't be liberal. Unless the city court is flooded with drivers that contest the ticket. Should be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI go through this intersection every day. I have recently been paying close attention to when the camera flashes. I have seen it flash on numerous occasions when there is no red light running. This article in the Redmond Reporter on Friday backs the dysfunction of the red light traffic cams at Union Hill:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/red/opinion/letters/116866488.html
I'm assuming that this can program has been implemented b/c there have been an extraordinary number of collisions at these intersections. I didn't realize that. Can someone direct me to where I can find that data.
ReplyDeleteJust about every time that I have sat at the light waiting to get on to 520 I have seen the light flash for no reason at all, including when people make legal right turns. Why have they only placed the cameras on the two sides of the intersection with designated right turn lanes? They say it is because those are the two sides that have been observed for the most violations, but I have seen just as many red light runners from the other directions.
ReplyDeleteI got my friendly warning in the mail yesterday. I was stunned to find out that my "crime" was that I had made a right hand turn on red even though it supposedly is legal to do so. I certainly would like to know just how long I am supposed to sit there at a complete stop before I am allowed to continue on with my right hand turn?
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be totally a scam in Redmond. I got mail ticket for turning right on 156th av. (coming from 40th street), when there was no other car in the picture.
ReplyDeletesince when did turning right become illegal?