olice claim  red light cameras keep roads safe, but those same cameras have become the center of controversy and are the subject of a federal lawsuit and lots of complaints from drivers.

Now, the City of St. Louis is adding even more of the cameras that have cost violators more than $2-million in less than a year and the city sees no reason to stop adding them.

Despite all the warnings across the metro, motorists continue to run red lights and violate traffic rules in general.

The City of St. Louis’ first 13 red light cameras issued almost 38,000 tickets in less than ten months, which added up to $3.8-million in fines.

St. Louis’ first 13 cameras are now issuing at least 43-percent fewer tickets than when they first went on line, but St. Louis’ for profit partner called American Traffic Solutions continues to put up more cameras.

New cameras on Hampton and Gravois will be the 41st and 42nd to go on line next month.
From http://www.kmov.com/localnews/stories/kmov_localnews_080403_redlightupdate.2c5d7c36.html

Two cities, two streets, different rules for tickets, and one confusing set of red light cameras. As of today, running a red light at Clayton and Hanley will cost you, but you might be confused as to who will be collecting.

Watch the video at http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=8267C961BB721CB66D454EB51C07E0FD?contentId=7191518&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1

On the video, the violation is obvious: A silver Lexus plows through a red light at Olive Boulevard and Interstate 270.

Creve Coeur police Lt. William Funkhouser, nursing a cup of coffee, watches the images on his computer, then re-examines two photos snapped by red light cameras. He then hits the “reject” button, throwing out the violation.

One of the cameras failed to capture the Lexus before it crossed the stop line. Instead, it snapped the photo the moment after it crossed. “I insist that the vehicle be at or before the line,” Funkhouser said. “I’m going to reject this, although it’s a good violation.”

Every day, police officers in dozens of area cities sort through hundreds of red light violations and weed out many of them. A Post-Dispatch reporter spent time at three departments — Arnold, Creve Coeur and Florissant — to see how the system works. The amount of slack that officers give drivers varies by department. But bad weather, funeral processions, mismatched vehicle information, dirty camera lenses — all are common reasons for rejection.

“What would an officer on the scene do?” Funkhouser said, watching video of a silver BMW running a red light at Ladue and Emerson roads. He hit “accept.”

If an emergency vehicle needs to get through the intersection, prompting a driver to run a red light, the ticket should be thrown out, say area officers who vet the violations. When vehicles come to a rolling stop to turn right on red, those typically also get rejected, even though the driver is violating the law. (By law, drivers must come to a complete stop before turning right on red.)

Red light cameras snap photos automatically when they sense a vehicle might run a light. The cameras must photograph the vehicle in front of the stop line after the light turns, and then in the middle of the intersection.

Even with photo proof, getting a ticket isn’t automatic.

… Read more at http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/6BE3E8DAF8E5834A8625745500111186?OpenDocument

A former state trooper has filed a civil suit against the city of Springfield, asking a judge to void a red-light camera ordinance that took effect last year.

The suit, filed Wednesday by Adolph Belt Jr., is the first challenge of its kind to the city’s use of the cameras, which monitor traffic at four busy intersections.

It claims “the automated traffic control scheme operated by the City of Springfield is in conflict with the Constitution of the United States of America, the Constitution of the State of Missouri, the statutes and laws of the State of Missouri, and traditional notions of a free society.”

The case stems from a Sept. 16 hearing in which Belt, a Missouri Highway Patrol trooper for 30 years, was found liable for running a red light at Campbell Avenue and Battlefield Road.
Read more at http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810160364

On Sept. 12, 2007, the City of Creve Coeur installed its first red light enforcement camera. News 4’s Lisa Manzo takes a look at what some call a safety tool and others a cash cow that puts drivers at risk.

http://www.kmov.com/video/topvideo-index.html?nvid=282153

Somebody’s watching you at the stop light that is. But for how long? Red light cameras are just about everywhere!! But now, there’s an effort underway to ban them….

http://www.rootv.com/?channel=Fox+News+Local+-+St+Louis&clipid=2092_102708_redlight1&bitrate=300&format=flash

Three faculty members from the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health recently published a study claiming red light cameras can be dangerous. They did no original research, rather, the authors evaluated several existing studies, some pro camera, some con, and concluded the studies they thought were the most scientifically done showed crashed increase as a result of red light cameras.

The authors claim the reason red light cameras create a dangerous situation is because drivers who are aware of the camera may react differently at the light than drivers who are not aware of them.

But is that the case in St. Louis? To find out, we looked at Arnold, the first city in the area to install red light cameras. Arnold has had four red light camera intersections since October 2005.And the Chief of Police says the impact on traffic safety has been positive.

Read more at http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6585886&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

In public discussions, revenue aspects of red light camera installation is always downplayed or ignored. In Homestead, Florida, two companies — Australia’s Redflex and Arizona’s American Traffic Solutions (ATS) fought for the right to issue tickets on behalf of the city. The winning vendor, ATS, made an hour-long presentation at an August 7 meeting with Homestead officials. The following transcript is excerpted from that presentation.
Read more at http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/25/2549.asp

Violations at St. Louis’ first 13 red light cameras have plunged by at least 43 percent and by up to 98 percent, according to figures the city provided to News 4.

Red light cameras violations cost motorists $100. The city keeps $69 for each violation and its for-profit partner, American Traffic solutions, collects $31.

The camera with the largest drop in tickets issued was on westbound Chippewa at the Hampton intersection. It went on line in May 2007 and in its first full month issued 737 tickets; in February it issued just 15 tickets.

Read more at http://www.kmov.com/topstories/stories/kmov_localnews_080404_redlightresults.2ffeeec0.html