Are more red light cameras about to arrive in Pennsylvania?
Lancaster Intelligencer Journal/New Era
If a recommendation by a state panel were to become law -- the light might beat you.
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Transportation Funding Advisory Commission, appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett, will issue a series of recommendations for modernizing the state's infrastructure and generating new money to pay for it.
Proposed changes, most of which would have to be passed by the Legislature before they become law, include increasing registration and driver's license fees and eliminating vehicle registration stickers.
But what might wind up as the most controversial suggestion, officials say, isn't designed to produce new revenues, though it might. But it will, they believe, make Pennsylvania intersections far safer.
Red-light cameras, which automatically snap a photo of motorists who run red lights and which generate citations, could be expanded throughout the state if the commission's recommendation is adopted.
Right now, only Philadelphia has red-light cameras, though they are proliferating throughout much of the country.
Proponents of red-light cameras say they reduce red-light running and save lives. Opponents say they may contribute to more rear-end crashes and are likely to be used as revenue tools.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the agency that would implement most of the proposed changes in the commission report, says neither the state nor local municipalities are likely to use red-light cameras simply to raise money.
"It's not a good revenue source [for the state] to build bridges and highways. It's a safety thing," said Dennis Buterbaugh, a PennDOT spokesman.
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, a Democrat, believes the cameras could make a considerable difference in the city, where red-light running has long been acknowledged as a big, and occasionally fatal, problem.
"Quite frankly, I would be in favor of it as a way to enforce the red-light law," Gray said.
Crash cutter
Appointed by Republican Gov. Corbett in April, the Transportation Funding Advisory Committee's main goal was to come up with $2.5 billion in annual, recurring revenue that can be used to upgrade the state's roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
The 41-member commission included two from Lancaster County: Dale High, chairman of High Industries, and Elam Herr, assistant executive director of the State Association of Township Supervisors.
"Basically," Herr said, "we were told to bring up anything and everything for discussion except raising the gas tax -- and we did."
Among the recommendations:
Vehicle registrations would be renewed every two years instead of every year. The cost would rise from the current $36 annually to $98 every two years within five years after the change is adopted.
Buterbaugh, the PennDOT spokesman, noted that registration fees haven't increased since the mid-1990s.
The commission believes the change could save PennDOT up to $5 million annually in terms of paperwork.
Driver's licenses would be valid for eight years instead of the current four. Fees also would likely increase. PennDOT could save $500,000 annually.
Annual inspections would no longer be required for vehicles less than 2 years old.
The number of driver's license centers across the state could be reduced from 71 to 60, saving $650,000.
Vehicle registration stickers affixed to license plates could be eliminated, saving $1 million annually.
Drivers caught without insurance would be able to pay a $500 fine and retain their licenses; currently, driving without insurance mandates a three-month suspension.
Other recommendations involve bureaucratic restructuring and technological updates.
The red-light cameras are touted as having proved effective in other states, with studies showing intersection crashes can be reduced by as much as 25 percent. The cameras could also save local municipalities money, as local police would not have to monitor intersections, do vehicle stops or write tickets.
"Study after study supports red-light cameras as an effective way to deter red-light running and subsequently cut down on crashes," said Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Rader noted that the institute, which has conducted surveys and analyzed the issue, is funded entirely by insurance companies, "which obviously have an interest in finding ways to reduce claims they pay out." And he noted that even if red-light cameras are posted only at certain intersections, they can cut down on crashes throughout a metropolitan area.
"Communities heavily promote the idea that the cameras are being used, and signs are posted where cameras are located," he said. "When drivers know there's a 100 percent likelihood of tickets, they're less likely to run lights."
But because drivers aren't always cognizant of which specific intersections have the cameras, he said, "they pay more attention at intersections throughout the city."
The cameras, he said, do generate revenue "because a lot of people run red lights. But they are a perfect way of enforcing the law, because the people who violate the law are the ones who fund the program."
About 540 communities nationwide now use red-light cameras, up from just a few dozen in 2000, he said.
Organizations such as the National Motorists Association argue that the cameras can make intersections less safe because more rear-end collisions can ensue as drivers try desperately to stop before a light turns red. "Believing the claims of companies that sell photo enforcement equipment or municipalities that use this equipment is like believing any commercial produced by a company that is trying to sell you something," the NMA asserts on its website.
The organization also believes municipalities are too often tempted to use red-light cameras as a revenue source. Gary Biller, NMA executive director, told the Harrisburg Patriot last week, "We're seeing more and more that conversations about adding red-light cameras all seem to be centered around finding reliable revenue, not about safety."
The cameras have made money for Philadelphia.
Operated by the Philadelphia Parking Authority, the program generated 127,514 tickets between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010, according to a report posted on the authority's website. Revenue from the violations totaled just under $11.5 million; the program's expenses were $5.97 million.
Philadelphia's camera revenue is divided equally between the city and the state. Much of the state money is dispensed to neighboring counties in the form of grants for local traffic projects.
PennDOT's Buterbaugh noted that none of the recommendations in the report will be implemented unless Corbett endorses them: "It's really up to the governor, what he sees as something he wants to pursue and what he doesn't want to pursue. And a lot of it would take legislation."
State Rep. Mike Sturla, a Democrat who represents Lancaster city, said that many of the recommendations represent an additional burden for consumers. "We have an infrastructure that's been neglected for years," and in the overall scheme of things, the recommendations "are just a fraction of what we need."
As to the red-light cameras, "ultimately, it'll be a case of safety and revenue," he said, "but it will cost [municipalities] less to police the issue."
For years, local police have cited red-light running as a major safety issue in the City of Lancaster and beyond. Manheim Township police have said that drivers who run red lights have been a major cause of accidents at the Lititz Pike-Route 30 interchange.
In late May, a 23-year-old Ephrata woman was killed in Lancaster city after police said she ran a red light at Queen and James streets and her vehicle was struck by a northbound tractor-trailer.
Nationwide in 2009, 676 people were killed and an estimated 130,000 were injured in crashes that involved red-light running, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
"When I talk to city policemen, anecdotally, they tell me that a very high percentage of accidents are people timing lights and running red lights -- flooring it instead of stepping on the brakes," Lancaster Mayor Gray said.
"And if a camera takes your picture, it's sort of hard to deny you did it."
Gray notes that cameras would require the approval of Lancaster City Council, but if the state authorizes the measure, "I'd certainly recommend we take advantage of it."
