Pitt County Schools Could Partner with Police on Camera Program
WCTI-TV ABC 12 (North Carolina), April 27, 2016
The Pitt County School Board next week will consider a resolution to support a red-light safety camera program. Greenville Police Chief Mark Holtzman hopes to install cameras at the city’s five worst intersections for red-light runners. Ticket revenue would go to the school system. (WCTI-TV ABC 12 image)
Alarming Video Catches Driver Striking Student Leaving Bus
WRGB-TV CBS 6 (New York), April 21, 2016
Disturbing footage demonstrates why it’s illegal to pass a stopped school bus. A video shows a student walking off the bus and crossing the street. Moments later a speeding car strikes the youth. The entire time, the bus is stopped, with its lights on and sign out. Luckily the victim survived. A group of state lawmakers are trying to stop these collisions. (WRGB-TV CBS 6 image)
Without Cameras, Crashes Rise in Columbus
The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), April 27, 2016
When state legislators passed a de facto ban on red-light cameras last year, municipalities across Ohio cried foul. Officials feared that crashes would increase. So far, they’ve been right — at least in Columbus, according to a Dispatch analysis of crash data from the Ohio Department of Public Safety. (The Columbus Dispatch image by Barbara J. Perenic)
Plainfield Sees Cameras Driving Change in Motorists’ Behavior
The Times Weekly (Illinois), April 26, 2016
Since it switched on its three red-light cameras in the village in 2010, Plainfield police have seen a change in driver behavior and reduction in crashes. Plainfield traffic Sgt. Eric Munson cited a reduction in total crashes, especially at busy Route 59 intersections, a reduction in injuries and a low number of repeat offenders as examples of the changes.
Angle Crashes Decrease at Delaware Intersections with Cameras
The News Journal/delawareonline, April 26, 2016
Dangerous T-bone crashes became less frequent after red-light cameras were installed at intersections throughout the state, transportation officials said in a report Monday, even as the number of rear-end collisions at those crossings increased. Angle crashes, which are the most likely to result in catastrophic injuries or even deaths, decreased 47 percent on the 30 DelDOT monitored red-light camera intersections during the years after cameras were installed.
Mercer Island School Board OKs School Bus Cameras
Mercer Island Reporter (Washington), April 27, 2016
With a unanimous 5-0 vote on April 21, the Mercer Island School Board authorized Superintendent Dr. Gary Plano to sign a contract with American Traffic Solutions to allow cameras to be installed on school bus stop arms. Cameras may be installed once the Mercer Island City Council passes an ordinance authorizing the system’s implementation. (Mercer Island School District image)
Drivers Reminded to Pass School Buses Legally
WTOC-TV Channel 11 (Georgia), April 27, 2016
It’s a major concern for parents. We’ve already had two school bus crashes in South Georgia this week, and children were hurt. The bus drivers were not at fault. Both times, it was the drivers of the passing cars. … “This is a big problem the school systems face,” said Kenneth Williams, Dougherty Co. Schools Transportation Director. On a random day in April 2015, 86 cars were documented passing a Dougherty County school bus when the stop-arm was deployed. Williams called that day’s count “typical.”
ATS_RoadSafety @ATS_RoadSafety Is your state on the list? 2014 Top States for Red-Light Running Fatalities! #StopOnRed
Mesa Channel 11 @MesaChannel11 #ATS #grandopening @MesaDistrict1 @MayorGiles #mesaaz #welcometomesa
ATS Receives Prestigious Ethics Award
American Traffic Solutions and ATS Processing Services have both been honored and awarded with the Better Business Bureau’s prestigious Torch Award for Ethics. The BBB’s Torch Awards for Ethics recognize companies that display an outstanding level of ethics and integrity in all of their business dealings, and generate a high level of trust among their employees, customers and their communities. “This is a proud moment for all of us at ATS,” said David Roberts, President and Chief Operating Officer. See ATS press release here. View BBB announcement here.
Cashless Tolls on Tappan Zee Bridge Start Smoothly
The Journal News (New York), April 25, 2016
The first weekday of cashless commuting started smoothly as drives cruised across the Tappan Zee Bridge this morning. The new cashless tolling system went into effect around 1 a.m. Sunday, according to the Thruway Authority. Drivers slowly rolled through the Tarrytown toll plaza without stopping, keeping traffic moving through the morning rush hour. (New York State Thruway Authority/Times Herald-Record image)
Border Bridge Looks to Connect to E-ZPass
Watertown Daily Times (New York), April 24, 2016
The Thousand Island Bridge Authority is working to connect to the E-ZPass system. When this project is completed, it will be a definite advantage for drivers who need to come to and from Canada and access the Thruway and other E-ZPass routes. … One of the biggest challenges, though, will be how to create a system that can make use of two different forms of currency.
Commentary: Poor Driver Behavior is Greatest Hazard
Adirondack Daily Enterprise (New York), April 25, 2016
In a recent analysis in the American Journal of Public Health, traffic safety expert Leonard Evans, Ph.D., says that driver behavior is the sole or partial cause of nearly 95 percent of all crashes. Thus, the key to cutting traffic deaths and injuries is to focus more on driver behavior. … Evans believes that sensible traffic laws should be enforced on the basis of proven methods: i.e. speed-detecting radar, red light cameras, and other technology.
Editorial: Red-Light Cameras Could Make City Safer
Herald-Mail (Maryland), April 26, 2016
In seriousness, though, the cameras do encourage drivers to follow the rules, which makes the city safer for everyone. As long as red-light cameras are routinely certified for accuracy, we see them as a sensible part of advancing technology and a program that the city is within its rights to pursue.
Letter to the Editor: Steps to Make Roads Safer
Newsday (New York), April 27, 2016
I have read with interest articles about crossing safety, red-light cameras and police targeting those who text while driving. … We need higher penalties, more education and many more traffic cameras. Our police patrols cannot be everywhere.
Letter: Red-Light Cameras Are a Safety Tool
The Gazette (Colorado), April 26, 2016
When I read the recent Gazette article regarding our state legislators voting to ban red-light cameras, it left me dumbfounded. … How is “personal privacy” violated by a camera in a very public venue? … Personally, I want to see law enforcement have every tool necessary to keep our roads and highways as safe as possible.
“Our program undoubtedly saved lives and reduced property damage.”
George Speaks, Columbus Safety Director, red-light camera program overseer
The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), April 27, 2016
“I’d say the program is successful. We have had a reduction in the total number of crashes this (red-light camera) program is targeting.”
Adam Weiser, Safety Programs Manager with Delaware DOT
The News Journal/delawareonline (Delaware), April 26, 2016
Delaware
T-bone angle crashes decreased 47% at red-light camera intersections in Delaware during the years after red-light safety cameras were installed, according to a new report by the Delaware Department of Transportation. Over the same time period, rear-end crashes rose 7%, possibly because of increased road congestion. Source: TheNews Journal/delawareonline (Delaware), April 26, 2016.
Illinois
In the village of Plainfield, red-light safety cameras have been in operation since 2010 at the intersection of Route 59 and 135th Street. Police say the program is helping to change driver behavior and that crashes are decreasing. The village has had only three crashes related to drivers running red lights at the Route 59 intersection compared with 11 before they were installed. The village has issued about 850 fewer traffic citations at the intersection in 2015 than in 2010. Source: The Times Weekly (Illinois), April 26, 2016.
Ohio
In the first year without red-light safety cameras at 38 intersections in Columbus, total crashes rose 8 percent, injury crashes spiked 38 percent and right-angle crashes jumped 29 percent (69 more) at former red-light camera intersections compared with the average number of crashes in the previous three years. Crashes at intersections throughout the city increased at an even faster clip: 10.5 percent. Source: The Columbus Dispatch (Ohio), April 27, 2016.