By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer
Philadelphia’s City Council late last month passed a bill allowing for the installation of automated cameras at selected intersections to catch motorists who run red lights. Mayor John F. Street signed it in short order.
The new law followed enabling legislation approved on the state level in 2002.
The cameras are expected to be in place at nine city intersections, including three along Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia, by the end of this year.
Until then, the commander of one local police district wants to do all he can to ensure that the cameras don’t cause more vehicle crashes than they prevent upon their installation.
Capt. Al Martin, who heads the 7th Police District, says that many overly cautious drivers will have a tendency to stop suddenly at affected intersections for fear of getting ticketed. And that could lead to a surge in rear-end collisions at those intersections.
Since it became apparent that lawmakers were going to approve the use of the cameras, Martin has made the rounds at local community meetings, warning area drivers not to stop suddenly at camera locations and to allow for plenty of stopping distance between themselves and vehicles in front of them.
“I just want to put it out there. It’s a public education thing,” said Martin, who is supportive of the stated purpose of the cameras, to deter red-light running and improve traffic safety.
“We don’t want people to pull up to an intersection, be afraid to enter it and slam on their brakes, causing an accident.”
In the 7th district, the cameras will be installed along Roosevelt Boulevard at Grant Avenue and at Red Lion Road. The intersection of the Boulevard and Cottman Avenue will also be affected. The other six locations are in Port Richmond, Kensington and South Philadelphia. Each will be well marked with signs warning of the cameras.
Philadelphia will join major cities like New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., that already have red light camera programs. The state-controlled Philadelphia Parking Authority will administer the program; police officers will review photos to confirm violations.
The cameras themselves are estimated to cost between $50,000 and $100,000 each, plus thousands in accessory equipment.
Proponents and opponents of the cameras seem to agree that Martin’s concerns are not unfounded, although they disagree on the consistency and severity of the phenomena in other cities.
“The increase in rear-end collisions has only been observed in certain studies, a few studies. There have been a few that have documented an increase in rear-end collisions,” said Leslie Blakey, executive director of the National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running, a self-described grass-roots organization funded by for-profit companies that distribute the high-tech red light cameras.
“But the increase that has been observed has been characterized by other researchers as slight and temporary.”
Blakey, a Washington, D.C., based public relations and communications professional, added that the tendency has been for rear-end collisions to decline over time after motorists become more familiar with camera intersections.
On the other hand, Berwyn, Chester County resident Tom McCarey believes that statistics show a much larger problem.
McCarey is a member of the National Motorists Association, which claims to “represent and protect the rights and interests of North American motorists.”
The NMA cites a long-term study authored by David Andreassen in 1995 for the Australian Road Research Board. The study tracked dozens of red light camera intersections in Australia, as well as non-camera “control” intersections for 10 years — five years before the introduction of cameras and five after their introduction.
“(Andreassen) found that rear-end collisions went up one hundred-twenty five percent,” said McCarey, who testified against the cameras during recent City Council hearings on the issue.
“People panic-stop to try to avoid a ticket. When you see a yellow light, you have a certain amount of time to decide to continue through the intersection or stop. There’s a critical time there.”
In Philadelphia, the penalty for getting caught by a camera while running a red light will be $100. The violation will not be reported to the driver’s insurance company and will not result in “points” on the driver’s license.
All ticketed drivers will have the option to appeal.
McCarey and Blakey disagree on the potential for crash-related injuries stemming from red light cameras. Even if there is a “slight and temporary” increase in rear-end crashes, those are preferable to other types of collisions, Blakey contends.
“Side-angle crashes, which red-light running crashes tend to be, are much more injurious,” she said. “A rear-end crash is typically a much less dangerous, injurious type of crash.”
Not according to McCarey, who claims that there are about 1,100 reported fatalities resulting from rear-end crashes per year in the United States compared to about 800 deaths stemming from red light running.
“That’s like comparing apples and oranges,” Blakey said.
McCarey’s rear-end figure includes all rear-end fatalities, regardless of any relationship to a red light violation.
Like Martin, the local police captain, state Rep. George Kenney (R-170th dist.) and City Councilman Frank Rizzo (R-at large) hope to prevent a spike in rear-end crashes though public education. Kenney and Rizzo each sponsored the red light camera bills in their respective lawmaking bodies.
Kenney also thinks better traffic engineering, including proper timing of traffic lights, could help.
“We’re going to have a one-hundred-twenty day grace period to announce, ‘Here comes this enforcement tool,’” Kenney said. “Historically, I think there’s enough data out there to prepare the streets department to make the changes needed to prevent fender-benders and rear-enders.”
According to Sam Mirarchi, director of legislation for Rizzo, City Council never really tackled the issue of rear-end crashes.
“There was testimony that in other cities there was a significant increase in rear-end accidents,” Mirarchi said. “We really didn’t resolve the issue. … Some of the advocates who testified said the numbers weren’t a significant increase.”
The state law enabling the cameras can be rescinded if the program doesn’t work.
“What we’ve done in the legislation is say, ‘Let’s look at it.’ It does have a sunset provision,” Kenney said. “It’s a two-year program until we reauthorize it.”
McCarey is skeptical that anyone will be able to remove the program once it is in place because of its income-generating potential.
“I don’t believe it for a second. At the end of this, they’re going to produce statistics that show this is a raving success and that they should implement it everywhere,” he said. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com