Road Safety Ink, Vol. 3, Issue 43

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Red-Light Running Citations Decrease in Florida
Sun Sentinel, Sept. 26, 2013

Are we getting used to red light cameras? A recent report says fewer vehicles are being cited for multiple violations. See related coverage from Digital Journal.

Top Cop Supports Photo Radar in School Zones
HQPrinceGeorge.com (Canada), Sept. 23, 2013

Photo radar in school zones has the support of Staff Sergeant Pat McTiernan of North District Traffic Services. “I think anything that will improve safety in our school zones for the youngsters is something we have to look at we have to support.”

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Red-Light Running Crash Involves School Bus

Yakima Herald (Washington), Sept. 20, 2013

A 21-year-old Moxee man ran a red light and crashed into a school bus Thursday morning at State Route 24 and Riverside Road, causing minor injuries to seven students and the bus driver. (Yakima Herald-Republic photo by Gordon King)

City to Post Names of Outstanding Warrant/Ticket Holders
Renton Reporter (Washington), Sept. 20, 2013

Beginning later this month, the city of Renton will try a new tactic to collect on outstanding warrants: shame. During the week of Sept. 30, the city will be posting on its website the names of about 2,500 people with outstanding warrants and a second list of those with outstanding tickets from red-light camera violations. The hope is that people will contact the city to pay their debts to avoid the public embarrassment.

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Lawmaker Crafts Bill to Improve School Bus Safety

York Dispatch (Pennsylvania), Sept. 25, 2013

Rep. Seth Grove, R-Dover Township, has proposed a bill to add video cameras to the extending arms on school buses to capture photos of the license plates of those who disobey the law. About 1,000 motorists per year violate the School Bus Stopping Law, which carries a 60-day driver’s license suspension, five points on the offender’s driving record, and a $250 fine. (The Evening Sun photo by Shane Dunlap)

Clayton County Schools Deploys Stop-Arm Cameras
School Bus Fleet, Sept. 25, 2013

Clayton County Schools will partner with American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to deploy CrossingGuard on its school buses. ATS’ technology helps school districts address the growing problem of motorists illegally passing school buses that are stopped while children are boarding or disembarking.

Cameras Will Fight Illegal Passing of School Buses
Dallas-Hiram Patch (Georgia), Sept. 24, 2013

Paulding County Schools will partner with American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to deploy CrossingGuard, ATS’ new technology to help school districts address the growing problem of illegal passing of school buses that are stopped and boarding or disembarking children, according to a news release from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.

Watchdog Report: Drivers Be Aware of School Buses
Democrat and Chronicle (New York), Sept. 22, 2013

A Democrat and Chronicle review of three years’ worth of state Education Department data concerning school bus crashes and injury accidents shows that the greatest danger posed to students on school buses comes from other motorists on the roadways. … Estimates by the state Association for Pupil Transportation are that motorists pass stopped school buses at least 64,000 times every day in New York alone, with buses being passed on the right side — where children get on and off — about 2 percent of the time.

Drivers Ignore School Buses’ Lights, Stop Sign
The Herald (Washington), Sept. 23, 2013

In Everett, 67 drivers blew through the blinking lights and stop signs that flip out from the side of school buses — in just one day. In Mukilteo, it happened 24 times. And in Marysville, 18.  … Although the survey was just a one-day snapshot, “it happens all the time,” said Andy Muntz, Mukilteo School District spokesman. “People go on around the bus anyway.”

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Orange Park Police Say Cameras Check Traffic, Help Solve Crime

WTEV-TV CBS 47/WAWS-TV FOX 30 (Florida), Sept. 23, 2013

Orange Park Police Chief Gary Goble says his city’s red-light safety cameras help improve traffic safety, provide his officers with more time to investigate crimes and provide important video evidence to help officers solve other crimes such as robberies.

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@ATS_RoadSafety Since Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act, avg # of citations issued perCam/perMonth decreased 40% atsol.com/American-traffic-solutions   pic.twitter.com/WEvTWFDT1S

@ATS_RoadSafety #StopOnRed RT @SunSentinel: Red light camera citations down sunsent.nl/1foga0g

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Commentary: Red-Light Indignities No Cause for Panic
NorthJersey.com (New Jersey), Sept. 22, 2013

This year, on the 90th anniversary of its patent, here’s my nomination for an electronic device that everybody recognizes as essential, yet it remains universally disliked: The traffic light. … As all drivers know, occasional electrical malfunctions aren’t the only danger they face at traffic lights. The chances of getting broad-sided by a red-light runner, for example, are much more likely than a crash caused by an outage, a flood or worn-out wiring.

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Editorial: Cameras Can Stop Drivers Who Endanger Students
York Dispatch (Pennsylvania), Sept. 25, 2013

Most people know what it means when a school bus comes to a halt, red lights flash, and a stop sign swings out from the driver’s side. … It’s about children’s safety; most everyone understands this and obeys Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law. Yet about 1,000 people a year are in too much of a hurry and ignore the stop signs.

Editorial: Keep Red-Light Cameras, but Fix Law
Sun Sentinel (Florida), Sept. 23, 2013

Like motorists who blow through red lights, the ill-advised effort to unplug Florida’s red-light camera law simply doesn’t stop. Last week, state Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Brandes filed a measure to repeal the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act of 2010. The St. Petersburg Republican’s bill likely won’t be the last one filed to kill the law that allows communities to use red-light cameras. It should be.

Editorial: Cameras Worth the Cost because They Work
Star News Online (North Carolina), Sept. 23, 2013

The Wilmington City Council voted again last week to extend the red-light camera program, in which electronic watchdogs click photos of drivers who blow through stoplights. The cameras cost the city about $300,000 a year; New Hanover County kicks in about $180,000. Nevertheless, Wilmington officials remained committed because of the evidence that the cameras’ presence helps reduce accidents.

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Letter to the Editor: Red-Light Cameras Make Crossings Safer

The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), Sept. 23, 2013

To do away with red-light cameras would be stupid. Everyone who is caught by this device is entitled to go to court and protest the fine. So some drivers got their egos slapped. So what? Look at all the good the cameras do, as well as the accompanying signs that urge caution at these intersections.

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“I don’t really see how that becomes any kind of issue with privacy. You have someone breaking the law and putting the lives of children at risk.”
Lloyd Smucker, Pennsylvania State Senator
York Dispatch, Sept. 25, 2013

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“One of the scariest times I ever had as a bus driver was when I had one girl at Latta Road who was going to cross in front of me to go to an apartment complex, and I kept telling her that she had to look at me, look at me so I could give her the signal to cross. Anyway, she started to cross while not looking at me and I saw this car that was coming, with a guy driving and a girl talking and I knew it just wasn’t going to stop. I blew my horn and the girl looked up at me and stopped just as the car went right by.”
Michelle Sears, Interim Director of Transportation, Greece Central School District
Democrat and Chronicle (New York), Sept. 22, 2013