Red-light cameras to come

Columbia plans to install 16 cameras at problematic intersections.

By Brad Fischer

Published Feb. 15, 2008

The plan to put a stop to red-light runners in Columbia is well underway, but it is still months from implementation.

The city has a contract with Georgia-based LaserCraft Inc. to install 16 red-light cameras in the area to catch drivers running red lights. Columbia Police Capt. Zim Schwartze said LaserCraft is studying a list of intersections the company received from the Columbia Police Department. The list is based on crash data, injuries and accident numbers as well as input from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Assistant City Manager Tony St. Romaine said it would take about six weeks for the company to determine which intersections are the worst.

The company is using monitoring equipment to observe how often violations occur. St. Romaine said after the company says where it thinks the cameras should go, MoDOT would need to approve the city’s plan to install cameras on intersections where state highways are involved.

John Dalinsky, LaserCraft’s vice president of new business, said a laser measures the speeds of oncoming vehicles as they approach an intersection. If the vehicle is statistically unable to stop before the light turns red, then the camera will take a photo of the vehicle.

Dalinsky said the red-light cameras are not working by themselves.

“People think that it is nothing more than technology sitting on the side of the road, that it is just a dumb camera,” Dalinsky said. “It is a camera, but a true automated enforcement system has a whole back office platform. Human beings review each evidence package.”

After the company’s employees review the image, then it is forwarded to police. The police then decide if it is a violation.

Violations would result in a $122.50 fine, with $28.50 of each fine paid to LaserCraft.

The city has a five-year, renewable contract with LaserCraft.

St. Romaine said safety is the main reason for the decision to use red-light cameras.

“The main reason is to make more drivers aware of the need to stop at red lights,” St. Romaine said. “We aren’t trying to issue hundreds of tickets. We will make sure that there is appropriate signage and a lot of media publicity. This is not a secret.”

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, more than 300 communities in the U.S. use red-light cameras, including 21 in Missouri.

“The point is not to make a whole lot of money, but to just slow people down and make the roads safer,” Schwartze said.

St. Romaine said signage would be posted at least 50 yards before the intersection to make drivers aware of the cameras.