New red light cameras are slated to be installed by the end of July at two intersections along Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights, following a police recommendation and 4-1 approval by the city council earlier this month.
The new cameras will be installed on eastbound Greenback Lane at Parkoaks Drive and northbound Auburn Boulevard at Greenback Lane — both of which are among the top 10 most dangerous intersections in Citrus Heights, according to police. Although the intersection of Auburn and Greenback has had red light cameras since 2012, they currently only capture violations on southbound lanes of traffic.
Following activation, drivers will have a 30-day grace period where those in violation will receive a warning notice instead of a fine, as required by state law.
Although not making a statement during the vote, Councilman Bret Daniels, the lone vote against the additional cameras, later told The Sentinel the city “could do better and make things safer than slapping people with $500 fines.” His four other colleagues on the council sided with the recommendation of a police staff report that indicated collisions have decreased at the seven intersections they are currently installed at.
The staff report also cited data from a video survey conducted at Greenback Lane and Park Oaks Drive that recorded one left-turn violation, 30 straight-through violations, and 26 right-turn violations during a 12-hour period captured on video. A similar 12-hour survey of northbound Auburn Boulevard at Greenback Lane showed 20 left-turn violations, two straight-through violations, and 20 right-turn violations.
Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins, who voted in support for the additional cameras, said she received a red light ticket in the city for rolling through a right turn on red during the first year cameras were activated in 2008.
“I’m a much better driver now,” she said, sharing her personal experience after getting a red light ticket. “I paid my fine, went to traffic school, and have been stopping at red lights ever since.”
Bruins said she supports the cameras because “statistically, they work.”
Daniels, who has a law enforcement background as a former Sacramento County Sheriff’s Deputy, disagrees and said he’s “not convinced red light cameras make things safer.” He told The Sentinel, “statistics say anything you want them to say.”
So what does the collision data actually show?
Collision data indicates mixed results. A growing number of California cities have discontinued using red light cameras, citing a variety of reasons including cost and a lack of conclusive evidence that collisions were reduced. In nearby Roseville, the city dropped its red light contract in 2009 after traffic surveys couldn’t find enough potential red light violators to make the system pay for itself, according to the Roseville Press-Tribune.
The City of Gardena in Southern California dropped its red light camera program in 2011, with its mayor citing cost and “the lack of evidence that the program is in fact being effective,” according to area news reports. The cities of Davis and Rocklin also discontinued using red light cameras over cost concerns, although Rocklin officials said its program had been effective in reducing collisions.
In Citrus Heights, collision data presented by police for the council’s July 13 meeting showed a drop in total collisions at all intersections with red light cameras, ranging from a five percent drop at Auburn Boulevard and Greenback Lane to a 65 percent drop at Sunrise Boulevard and Oak Avenue. The data compared three and five year periods before and after the installation of cameras.
However, despite the drop in overall collisions, police statistics show the number of injury collisions actually increased by 12 to 25 percent at the majority of intersections in Citrus heights where red light cameras are currently installed.
See collision data: July 13 Meeting Agenda Packet
Asked about the reason for the injury increase, Citrus Heights Police Lt. David Gutierrez said it’s “too hard to pinpoint why there would be more injuries at an intersection.” He said a possible reason could be that a single collision where multiple occupants were injured would be categorized as multiple injuries. But the injury increase has also been a trend noted in other cities.
A red light camera study commissioned by the Chicago Tribune found a similar rise in injury collisions after the cameras were implemented in the city of Chicago, along with an overall drop in the total number of collisions. The 2015 study found a 22 percent increase of injury rear-end collisions occurred after red light cameras were installed, apparently caused by drivers hitting the brakes to avoid getting a red light ticket.
Asked whether rear-ending could be the cause of the injury increase in Citrus Heights, Lt. Gutierrez said “we have never noticed that trend here.”
Collision data from Citrus Heights also came under question in a 2015 Sacramento County Grand Jury report that found “the actual reduction in accidents cannot be verified,” due to what it called inaccurate and inconsistent collision data provided by the police department. The report also said the city “chronically and systematically ignores its own policies for oversight, testing, monitoring, maintenance and record keeping.”
In official responses to the grand jury’s report, the police department disputed the grand jury finding on collision data and other items, but said the city had internally corrected several aspects regarding maintenance, testing and regular data analysis.
Document: read the Grand Jury report
Citrus Heights’ red light camera contract with Redflex Traffic Systems is up for renewal in December, 2018. Daniels said he supports dropping the contract entirely and criticized the program as a profit-driven system.
“If the goal is to make things safer, and all we’re doing is pumping out thousands of red light tickets, then we’re not making things safer,” said the councilman. “We’re just costing citizens a lot of money and allowing a private company to make a lot of money.”
Bruins, on the other hand, says the argument that red light cameras are about money “is bogus.”
Council member claims about revenue generated by the red light program will be addressed in part two of this article, scheduled to be published in The Sentinel’s July 30 Weekend Edition. Click here to sign up free.
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