3 On Your Side: Video Provides Grim Warning For 'Red Light Runners'
By Todd Quinones
DEPTFORD, NJ (CBS) -- The video can be a little tough to watch and that's exactly the point.
We can see one red light runner after another in various towns in New Jersey causing serious crashes, including this intersection at Route 41 and Deptford Center Road in Deptford.
Jamie Starkey often has her 5-year-old daughter with her in the car.
We showed them the video of the red light runners.
"I have noticed people flying through the intersections, turning when they are not supposed to, and they almost hit me," Starkey said.
The video is being released by American Traffic Solutions, which is the company that owns and maintains the cameras in parts of South Jersey as well as Philadelphia.
The video is being released to make a point.
"Two thirds of the people injured or killed in red light running related collisions are people other than the red light runner themselves," said Charles Territo of American Traffic Solutions.
AAA contends that red light cameras can be effective in reducing fatalities if used correctly.
Among the standards AAA recommends are posted warning signs that the cameras are in use, camera vendors being paid a flat amount (not by the number of tickets), camera locations based solely on crash data (not traffic volume) and yellow light timing that meets federal standards.
There are critics who remain unconvinced about the motive behind the cameras.
"I am all for people not running red lights, but it seems like it's just trying to take advantage of normal people who trying to go to work and make a living," driver Brian Gahm said.
However, ATS contends that the camera and video are meant only to try and get people to stop running red lights.
