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Arizona Turning Off the Lights on Photo Enforcement Cameras
In September of 2008, photo enforcement cameras went up across highways throughout Arizona. Less than two years later, they are being taken down.
July 29, 2010 /Government PR News/ -- In September of 2008, photo enforcement cameras went up across highways throughout Arizona. At the time, then Governor Janet Napolitano predicted the cameras would make the highways safer and generate $90 million in revenue for the state. Nearly two years later, the cameras are being shut down.
According to a report by The Arizona Republic, in their two year lifespan, the cameras took over 2.7 million pictures. Only 16 percent of those pictures resulted in a fine being paid, providing the state with $78 million in revenue. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) recently voted against renewing the contract with the camera's vendor Redflex.
Advocates of photo enforcement cameras point out the reduction in crashes, property damage and man hours that police take investigating accidents. Joanna Peters, Executive Director of the Arizona Safer Roads Alliance, notes that speed is a factor in nearly one-third of all fatal traffic accidents, trailing only drunk driving as a major contributing factor. She also points to the Department of Public Safety's own report that showed a significant decrease in property damage and fatal accidents on the roads after only nine months of camera operation.
Critics, meanwhile, not only view public cameras as an invasion of personal liberties but also say that cameras make the roads less safe. Shawn Dow, Chairman of Arizona's Citizens Against Photo Radar cites the city of Peoria and Pinal County as examples of the dangerousness of photo enforcement cameras. Peoria experienced a 300 percent increase in accidents after the cameras were installed and Pinal County accidents doubled in camera locations.
Both critics and supporters agree that brunt of enforcement duties will now rest with the state patrol and local police officers. The report in The Arizona Republic further notes that there are no plans to increase the number of patrols by state patrol officers after the cameras are removed. This despite the director of DPS's contention that more marked patrol cars would keep the roads safer.
Article provided by Knapp & Roberts
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