Traffic Cameras

**The following article was written for my Newspaper Writing class at the University of Georgia during the Fall Semester of the year 2007. The article will include the date of submission to my professor (information found in the article will only be as current as this included date). The article was NOT published at any time.**

November 2, 2007
Traffic cameras
by Rene Lautenschlager

It is likely that the number of red light cameras and other citation technologies, such as automatic speed detectors, in Athens will increase, police said.
Capt. Mike Shockley said that the cameras at the intersection of Lexington, Gaines School and Cherokee roads may have reduced accidents by 25 percent and reduced serious injuries by 60 percent.
Along with red light cameras, police say they would also like to set up automatic speed detecting cameras in school zones.
"There are too many things going on to put patrol officers or motorcycle officers at every school zone, every day," Shockley said.
Although the original concept, adopted in 2002 by the county commission, called for 10 to 15 cameras, it is uncertain how many cameras Athens-Clarke County can expect to see in the future. The first camera, at the Lexington Road intersection, was not set up until 2005. There are only two camera locations in Athens to date, with the second at the Broad Street and Alps Road intersection.
Shockley said police are looking into the need for a third camera set at the intersection of Atlanta Highway and Huntington Road. "Once you get a few cameras, people think they're everywhere, and they drive more cautiously," he said. "It’s the halo effect."
The state-mandated fine for a citation from one of these cameras is $70. But a red light camera citation "does not go on your driving record, does not add points to your license, and your insurance won't find out about it," Shockley said.
Police consider the cameras effective for reducing the number of "large trucks (that) run the red lights," Shockley said. "Large trucks are a concern because they carry a lot of weight and travel at high speeds."
The record recorded by a camera at the Lexington Road intersection was a large truck traveling 72 mph through the 45 mph zone. If a truck is photographed repeatedly, "We send an officer out to watch the intersection and stop them," Shockley said.
"There's a myth that red light cameras increase different kinds of accidents, such as rear-end collisions, because of people slamming on their brakes," Shockley said.
Rear-end collisions at the Lexington Road intersection did increase from 23 to 25 in the first year the cameras were installed. But Shockley said the change may have been caused by an increase of 2,000 vehicles per day that passed through the intersection, and not by the cameras. Development in the area caused the increase in traffic.
Even the police are affected by the cameras. Lt. Patrick Whitmore said, "I stay at a slower speed at intersections so I can slow down if the light is turning red."
Only about three to five camera citations per month end up in front of a judge. That may be because Gina Stancil, a department employee, and an officer both review each photograph before the citation is mailed.
"I download the images from the company in Atlanta, run the tags, print the citations, and give them to an officer to review and approve," Stancil said. "When I get them back from the officer I mail them out." Once a month, Stancil and the officer who signed the citations must go to court in case anyone shows up to contest a citation.
Whitmore has been signing the citations since August. "There are probably no more than five citations per week, out of over 100 photos, that won't get sent out," Whitmore said. "It seems to be very accurate thus far."
Whitemore said people who do come to the courthouse ask for more time to pay the fee, or else try to prove that they own the vehicle but were not driving at the time of the incident.