20 Red Light Cameras To Go Up In The Next Year
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- They're coming to a city red light near you: cameras that take pictures of a person's license plate after running a red light.
The concept for Pittsburgh Mayor-Elect Bill Peduto is a straight forward one.
"We're gonna use those people and the funds that they have to pay that $100 to make the improvements so that everyone is safer," Peduto said.
In as little as a year, 20 cameras will be put up at proven dangerous intersections throughout Pittsburgh.
Half the money goes to the state, the other half goes into a trust fund that would improve the deadliest intersections in the city.
A police officer will look at the film captured on the cameras and then mail the owner of the car a $100 ticket.
No points would go on that person's license and the ticket can be fought in court.
That's something council member Theresa Kail-Smith has concerns about.
"There's actually websites where they tell you how to fight a red light camera ticket or violation," she said, "and what they're saying is that an officer doesn't see you physically commit that crime that you have the right to face your accuser and so therefore their getting off on the violations."
She also worries about an increase in rear-end collisions as people slam on the brakes when the light turns yellow -- something documented in other cities where cameras are installed.
Peduto says only facts gathered at the end of the pilot will determine the effectiveness.
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