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Court Ruling Seen As Victory
for Safety WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 12, 2003) – In a resounding victory for traffic safety, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia today held the district’s automated enforcement program to be constitutional and not in violation of any due process rights. In doing so, Judge Melvin R. Wright also denied an attempt by plaintiffs to turn the lawsuit into a class action on behalf of automobile owners. In dismissing the case entitled Agomo, et.al. vs. District of Columbia, Judge Wright stated “the plaintiffs argue, without legal support, that the District of Columbia is using the camera system to achieve a financial windfall for the Government. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact that there are a high number of persons photographed running traffic signals or operating at excessive speeds is an example of the magnitude of the problem facing city officials trying to correct a growing situation.” Ironically, this decision comes on the same day as a CBS Evening News story tried to portray photo enforcement as a purely money making device for localities. While barely acknowledging the proven traffic safety benefits of this technology, CBS also mislead viewers when they honed in on signal light timing decisions and eluded to revenue generation as the justification for the deployment of this technology. The segment cited a Montgomery County photo-enforced traffic signal with a yellow-phase timed at three seconds that they claim tricks motorists into running the light. Unfortunately the story failed to report that according to the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) charts, the appropriate timing for a 25 m.p.h. approach with a zero grade slope is only 2.8 seconds. More than 70 communities across the nation have implemented photo enforcement programs. These communities should not be hamstrung by frivolous allegations such as those made by CBS. Responding to the judge’s conclusion that the Court found no support for the contention that the red light camera and photo enforcement programs are unconstitutional, Kevin Morison, director of corporate communications, Metropolitan Police Department said “this is a good day for all motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists who use the streets of our nation’s capital. Automated systems provide consistent enforcement that is extremely effective in deterring red light running and speeding.” From August 1999, when red light cameras were first introduced in Washington, D.C., through May 2003, red light running violations have decreased 64 percent at the 39 intersections where they are located. That translates into 24,000 fewer red light running violations every month. Nationally, red light running caused as many as 218,000 crashes last year resulting in more than 181,000 injuries and 880 deaths at a $14 billion cost to American taxpayers. “The risk of citation focuses motorists on staying within the limits, which translates into greater safety for everyone. Safety is both the justification for and the result of photo enforcement programs, said Leslie Blakey, Executive Director of the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running. The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running
is an industry-funded, independent advocacy initiative guided by
a national advisory board and focuses on both the national and grass
roots levels. The goal of the Campaign is to reduce the incidence
of red light running in the United States and the fatalities and
injuries it causes.
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