 |
|
|
Press Release -- May 23, 2005
Statewide Electronic Red Light Safety Program Fully Operational by June
Dover --
The Department of Transportation announces that all 20 red light cameras authorized by House Bill 600 (Article 92 of the FY 03 Bond Bill) are expected to be installed at locations throughout the state by June 1.
Currently, as part of the Electronic Red Light Safety Program (ERLSP), 11 red light cameras capable of video taping red light violators are operational, including two in the City of Dover, two in the City of Newark, one in Elsmere, one in Seaford, four in unincorporated areas in New Castle County and one in an unincorporated area of Sussex County.
The final nine are expected to be up and running soon, including four more in Dover, four in New Castle County and one in Sussex County, said Michael Svaby, the program's Operations Manager. These last nine will complete the list of intersections identified as part of a study of accident data from the five-year period 1999-2003.
"We know this program is saving lives and reducing the number of angle crashes and we'll be excited to see the day when all 20 red light cameras are operational," said Svaby. "We'll be watching closely as we evaluate the level of effectiveness - at each location - in preventing angle crashes."
Listed below are the 20 locations, with current status. All are expected to be operational by June:
Unincorporated areas (enforced by the Delaware State Police)
New Castle County
-Route 40 at Scotland Drive: Operational.
-Route 2 at Route 41: Pending construction/configuration.
-Route 40 at Route 72: Operational.
-Route 40 at Route 896: Pending construction/configuration.
-Route 4 at Marrows Road: Operational.
-Route 2 at Route 7: Pending construction/configuration
-U.S. 13 and Roosevelt Avenue: Pending construction/configuration.
-U.S. 202 at Route 92: Operational
Sussex County
-U.S. 113 at Route 20: Operational
-U.S. 13 at Road 40/Redden Road: Operational
City of Newark (enforced by Newark Police)
-Route 896 at Route 4: Operational.
-Elkton Road at Route 4: Operational.
City of Elsmere (enforced by Elsmere Police)
-Route 2 at Dupont Road: Operational
City of Dover (enforced by Dover Police)
-U.S. 13 at Kings Highway/White Oak Road: Pending construction/configuration.
-U.S. 13 at Webbs Lane: Operational.
-U.S. 13 at Roosevelt Avenue: Operational.
-U.S. 13 and Loockerman Street: Pending construction/configuration.
-Governor's Avenue and North Street: Pending construction/configuration.
-U.S. 13 at Division Street/Route 8: Pending construction/configuration.
City of Seaford (enforced by Seaford Police)
- U.S. 13 at Tharp Road: Operational.
Under the program, the fine for a violation is $75 and is assessed when a Notice of Civil Violation is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle involved in violating the traffic signal. Unlike traditional violations cited by a police officer, the camera violations are considered a civil offense not a criminal one. Because of this, the violation and fine will not impact a motorist?s insurance rate or accumulate points on their driving record.
The contractor for the ERLSP is Nestor Traffic Systems, Inc. Under agreement with DelDOT, Nestor maintains and operates General Electric video technology and Nestor's own Crossing Guard system.
DelDOT's costs of conducting the Electronic Red Light Safety Program are twofold. The first portion is a fixed fee - each approach costs $4,390/month. Included in this part of the fee are all of the equipment-related costs including leasing the GE Camera technology and 24/7 maintenance of the IT equipment both at the intersection and at the Nestor processing operation. The second part of the fee is a per-citation cost of $13.50. This fee pays for the costs of processing, preparation and administration associated with generating the hard copy citation.
Four municipalities were given the legal authority by the Fiscal Year 2003 Bond Bill to participate in a video red light enforcement program. Dover is authorized six locations, Newark two and Elsmere and Seaford one each. Each municipality has contributed in-kind, the time of their law enforcement personnel to perform a final review of red light running videos and prosecute cases in Justice of the Peace Court. After the fixed and per-citation fees are paid by the fines received within each jurisdiction's locations, the remainder of the fine money collected goes to the municipality, with the obligation to spend no less than 60 percent of the money on public and roadway safety improvements.
The FY 03 Bond Bill authority also extends to DelDOT and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security to utilize the State Police to conduct this same program at 10 intersections located in unincorporated areas. The Delaware State Police Traffic section conducts the video review and court prosecution. After the fixed and per-citation fees are paid by the fines received for these 10 intersection locations, The State Police are then reimbursed for the costs of this labor and for program supplies. The remainder of the fine money collected goes to the Transportation Trust Fund, with the obligation to spend no less than 60 percent of the money on public and roadway safety improvements.
Until all 20 intersections are installed and fully operational, DelDOT will not know if fine revenue will sustain the program or if additional funding will be needed to support it through the end of its pilot period in 2007.
For further information on the Electronic Red Light Safety Program, or to receive a brochure on the program, contact DelDOT Public Relations at 1-800-652-5600 (in DE) or 302-760-2080. The brochure may also be viewed on DelDOT's Web site at www.deldot.net/static/projects/RedLightRunning.FINAL.pdf. For those who have received a Notice of Civil violation, video footage can be viewed and fines paid online at www.deldot.net/static/projects/red_light.
|
|
|
