The temptation to run a red light on Baltimore Pike in Springfield may come at a little more a cost in a few months.
The Pennsylvania legislature approved House Bill 254 late Saturday night which extends the red light traffic camera laws in Philadelphia, but also allows for the red light cameras to be placed in other municipalities, which would include Springfield.
The stretch of road sometimes referred to as the Golden Mile is one of the busiest non-interstate roads in Delaware County. According to several traffic count studies done by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Committee in recent years, Baltimore Pike in Springfield carries approximately between 30,000 and 35,000 vehicles per day.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester,, was the sponsor of the bill, which he hopes will make the roads safer. The bill now only needs the signature of Gov. Tom Corbett, which he is expected to sign.
“Hundreds of people are killed in the United States every year because of drivers who run red lights,” Pileggi said in a statement Friday. “The data shows that red-light cameras work and this legislation will save lives by making dangerous intersections safer.”
Some of those dangerous intersections along Baltimore Pike in Springfield could include the lights at Bishop Avenue, Route 420 and also Sproul Road, which runs adjacent to the Springfield Mall.
Critics of the bill say the cameras are there simply to catch drivers running lights so fines can be collected for more revenue. Violations would be set at $100, but municipalities would be allowed to set lower fines. Also, the violation would not cause drivers to have points put on their licenses.
Of course, there is no debate in either case if motorists simply obey the law.
“If the red light cameras make people stop and think before running a red light and causing an accident, then by all means, GO FOR IT!” said Donna Matusik, of Morton, in a Facebook comment about the issue. “If you are following the laws and the rules of the road, then you have nothing to worry about. I’ve seen TOO MANY near misses by people trying to beat the light and even running the light. Are these people above the law? What’s your hurry?”
One of the key issues is the length of the yellow light. Whether it involves safety or revenue, the time it takes to switch from green to red is a key factor. A quick yellow light could result in more fines. Just last week, the state of New Jersey suspended the use of 63 of its 85 red light cameras in the state to check the length of the yellow lights.
That was an issue last year with a red light camera in Glassboro, N.J., when the yellow light was three seconds instead of the required four for that intersection. As a result there had been 12,000 tickets issued worth $1 million. The city ended up offering those who had received tickets issued between March 26, 2010 and Oct. 26, 2010 a chance to come to the local court and challenge the $85 fine.
If a vehicle enters an intersection while the light is yellow, then turns red, it would not be recorded as a violation. The cameras record a violation only if the light is red and a vehicle enters the intersection.
According to PennDOT, in Pennsylvania, the length of yellow lights averages between three and five seconds. The timing is determined by a formula that includes the average speed of vehicles, the grade of the road approaching the light and perception reaction time.
That reaction time is apparently the key to whether a driver runs a red light or not. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, the vast majority of red light violations occur when a driver misjudges the end of the yellow light by less than 0.25 seconds.
So just where those red light cameras are placed certainly should be a point of contention. If they are placed at intersections with shorter yellow lights that would appear to increase the chances of drivers running them and receiving a ticket.
That was the case in San Diego when documents uncovered in a court trial proved the city and its red light camera vendor agreed to install the cameras only at intersections with short yellow light times in an effort to maximize profits.
Pileggi’s proposal seems to have a safeguard against that kind of situation. It includes requiring municipalities to apply to PennDOT for approval of intersections eligible for the system and requires PennDOT approval prior to the installation of the system. It also states that 100 percent of the funds from fines would go to the Motor License Fund for the Transportation Enhancement Program.
The secretary also has a right to form a committee separate from the Philadelphia committee to award grants.
The Philadelphia part of the bill extends its program until Dec. 31, 2017 and became effective Sunday. Gov. Tom Corbett signed a six-month extension in December for the red light camera program to continue in Philadelphia.
The continued debate about danger or safety may be more of a case of which study a person chooses to believe.
The National Motorist Association cites reports of several cities where accidents increased at intersections with red light cameras. That included Philadelphia, which showed an increase of between 10 and 21 percent at its intersections.
However, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states that in 2011 the number of fatal crashes at intersections in the 14 large cities across the country with red light cameras fell by 24 percent, and that crashes fell by 17 percent. The institute also states that studies have shown a reduction in violations from 40 to 36 percent.
A recent survey of registered voters in New Jersey showed that 77 percent favor red light cameras and 43 percent say they strongly supported the cameras.
One thing that cannot be debated is the financial support the program can raise. Last year, the Philadelphia program raised $8.4 million, which was distributed around the state for transportation safety improvements.
There are already devices on some stop light supports on Baltimore Pike, but they are not red light cameras. They allow emergency
