Fayetteville's red light cameras to go live on Wednesday

June 28--Red-light cameras return to Fayetteville this week, and this time they'll dig deep into drivers' pockets.

The cameras that snap photos and video of drivers running red lights at three accident-prone intersections in Fayetteville are scheduled to go live Wednesday.

And after a one-week grace period ends July 8, the registered owners of vehicles caught on camera as red-light scoffers will be mailed $100 tickets.

Five more intersections are scheduled to get the cameras by Sept. 1.

The prying lenses will mark the most significant change to traffic enforcement in Fayetteville in almost a decade. The city dismantled its red light camera system in 2007, following North Carolina court rulings that made such programs too costly to operate. The first time around, drivers were fined $50.

Around the country, the cameras have significantly reduced angle, or T-bone, crashes that are the most dangerous. But some studies show drivers concerned about being caught running a light have a greater tendency to slam on their brakes, leading to more rear-end collisions. These accidents, officials point out, are usually less severe.

Driving on Fayetteville streets can be dangerous, and police say any additional tool to help enforce traffic laws will help.

Fayetteville, which has a high concentration of military families and out-of-town drivers, ranks with Charlotte as the most expensive cities for car insurance.

In 2011, Fayetteville was ranked second worst for vehicle crashes among cities or towns with residential populations over 10,000, according to the statistical research arm of the N.C. Department of Transportation. The city's ranking improved to 10th in 2013, according to the most recently available data. That year there were 21,103 crashes in the city, and 80 of them involved fatalities, according to state figures used for the rankings.

Some residents, such as Evelyn Virgil, say the cameras' return is wonderful news. The 81-year-old lives off Ramsey Street near Reid Ross Classical High School.

"It would be sort of a protection for us," she said.

Near the mall, Steffon Knox, 47, pulled his black Camaro into a BP gas station on Skibo Road where another red-light camera has been installed and will soon be operational.

Knox said he got a red-light ticket once in Alabama. He was driving late at night, and the fine was $60.

"If you're guilty, you're guilty," Knox said, who now lives in Fayetteville.

The camera at Skibo and Morganton roads will catch drivers headed south toward Raeford Road.

"I'm good with it, because I do think the majority of the lights I go through -- they give you enough time when they pop up yellow," Knox said.

But critics say the cameras are a money-grab for local government and a nuisance for drivers who have to appeal a ticket for legitimate reasons, such as being in a funeral procession. And some say the devices needlessly give drivers something else to contend with when navigating in heavy traffic.

In 2012, Cary officials scrapped their red light program, citing rising costs, alternative methods to improving traffic safety and some complaints reported by local media that erroneous violations were being issued at certain intersections for vehicles making legal left turns.

Fayetteville's interim Engineering & Infrastructure director, Lee Jernigan, said the cameras here will monitor only straight-through movements, which have the best potential to reduce the most frequent and severe crashes.

In 2010, the town of Cary was subject to a class action lawsuit over its red light program. The plaintiffs, represented by state Rep. Paul Stam -- a lawyer and a Wake County Republican -- didn't have a beef with the cameras themselves but argued in court the yellow light interval was too short.

Stam said he lost the case, despite his claims that people didn't have enough time to stop when the light turns yellow.

According to a spokesman, the N.C. Department of Transportation determines the yellow light intervals used in every city based on a "proven method and sound principles."

Still, some people don't think the cameras will be a positive change.

"The only reason I'm not thrilled is because I don't see the benefit of them, especially with the congestion on Ramsey Street," said Leslie Tukes, 40, as she was stepping into the CVS Pharmacy where one of the red lights will go into operation this week at Ramsey Street and Law Road.

The city will install warning signs in all four directions of each intersection, even though in most cases only one camera will be used to record red-light runners going in one direction.

In recognition the cameras are ushering in important changes, city officials will hold a news conference Wednesday at City Hall. The camera operator, American Traffic Solutions will attend to answer questions.

City officials are promising ATS will provide good customer service, offering multiple payment options for the $100 civil fine and allowing the offender to see a 12-second video online of the car running the red light. Across the United States, ATS runs similar red light camera programs in nearly 300 cities, including Wilmington. There, the fine is $50.

Wilmington has operated the program since 2000 and today has 13 cameras at major intersections. The city said in a 2013 news release the cameras had significantly reduced serious crashes at its two busiest intersections, according to the findings of a three-year review of data before and after the cameras were installed.

There was a slight increase in rear-end collisions at both intersections. "However, in all cases at both intersections, the vehicle that was rear-ended had been completely stopped before being hit by another car, not because the car stopped suddenly," the Wilmington news release said.

Wilmington's traffic engineer, Don Bennett, said when the city budget was tight a few years ago, the red-light program was targeted for possible reduction. But people protested in letters to the editor and at public meetings.

"There were many more in favor than against," Bennett said.

According to ATS, 96 percent of the violations captured and reviewed in Wilmington are approved for fines. The rest have been rejected for various reasons.

In North Carolina, local governments are barred from making money from fines levied to enforce the law. The state Constitution says the "clear proceeds" from law enforcement fines must be turned over to the public schools.

After a driver in High Point sued in 2001 to get out of a red light ticket, the state Court of Appeals, citing the constitution, determined in 2006 that local schools are entitled to 90 percent of the money collected from the program.

The ruling caused many of the red light programs to go dark, including in Greensboro and Charlotte. The cost of maintaining the cameras, producing the film and mailing fines far exceeded the 10 percent of a ticket that cities were allowed to keep.

After a decade of use, Fayetteville, too, opted to discontinue its program in 2007 for the same financial reasons.

Last year, the General Assembly approved a local bill that allowed Fayetteville to restart the program with $100 fines. The legislation also carved a way around the constitutional issue: The city will send all of the revenue to Cumberland County schools, and the school board has agreed to return a portion to cover the program's expenses.

The City Council unanimously approved a five-year contract with ATS in February.

"Putting these cameras in place is one more example that this City Council is serious about the safety of our residents," Mayor Nat Robertson said in an email last week. "Our predictions are that it will decrease serious accidents by 50 to 70 percent, saving lives, personal property and eventually our insurance rates."

Charlotte officials are intrigued by Fayetteville's reboot of the cameras, and they will monitor their results, according to a January story by The Charlotte Observer.

A spokeswoman for the AAA Carolinas said the Charlotte-based auto club supports red-light cameras because they reduce the dangerous T-bone collisions.

Two years ago, an independent analysis done for Raleigh calculated that its red-light cameras would reduce T-bone crashes by 52 percent. However, those intersections would have a 32 percent increase in the less-serious rear-end collisions.

"But that is a safety tradeoff we would take any day," said Jed Niffenegger, the capital city's senior transportation engineer.

A 2011 study by the Texas Transportation Institute of 50 communities with red-light cameras had similar conclusions: angle crashes fell by nearly a fourth, while rear-end smash-ups rose by 37 percent.

Fayetteville officials reported different conclusions when the program was running in the early 2000s. Angle collisions fell by 41 percent, and rear-end accidents dropped by 15 percent in the affected intersections, the city said.

Lt. Todd Joyce, a Fayetteville police spokesman, said once the cameras are up, drivers will become acclimated to those intersections. They'll stop running those red lights, he said, and will learn to safely increase their stopping distances.

The cameras will have the added benefit of freeing officers to patrol neighborhoods and businesses, said Kevin Arata, the city's director of corporate communications.

"The city of Fayetteville is not doing this to make money," Arata said. "We are doing this to save lives."

Staff writer Andrew Barksdale can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3565.

___

(c)2015 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.)

Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.