By Allison Taylor
Motorists who run red lights through two Centretown intersections could now find their dangerous driving habits captured on film.
The red-light cameras are part of a two-year pilot project by the provincial and regional governments aimed at reducing injuries and deaths caused by traffic collisions.
“This project is about breaking bad habits,” says Doug Brousseau, the region’s deputy commissioner of transportation. “People who run red lights are not evil people. They are normal people with bad habits that need to stop.”
The pilot project involves six Ontario municipalities, including Ottawa-Carleton. The project officially started Nov. 20.
Two cameras will rotate unannounced among eight intersections in Ottawa-Carleton, which were chosen because of high accident statistics. Albert and Kent is one intersection that will be equipped with the cameras; the other is Bronson and Carling.
Each 24-hour still camera is contained in a bulletproof grey box, about the size of a computer monitor. And each sits atop a grey pole some 20 metres from the intersection and three metres above the ground.
When a motorist drives through a red light, sensors in the road send a message to the camera which then takes two pictures.
The first picture shows the vehicle as it enters the intersection; the second shows the car as it drives through the intersection. In both pictures, the camera captures the rear licence plate and the red traffic light.
The region has publicly announced which intersections have been selected for the project, but the Ottawa-Carleton Safety Council says signs should be posted to warn motorists.
“The problem today is that drivers are on autopilot and they need a wake-up call to start training themselves to think before entering intersections,” says Art Starkey, manager of driver education for the safety council.
“If more signs are posted along the street, then motorists are forced to think about stopping at red lights and they will be forced to break their bad habits.”
The pilot project will cost $1.5 million for two years, which will pay for the equipment and the administration required for processing the film, issuing tickets and advertising.
“Even if one life is saved, then the money has paid off,” says Sgt. Rick Lavine, regional traffic-enforcement officer.
Taxpayers won’t have to foot the bill.
“The project doesn’t cost taxpayers a cent,” Brousseau says. “It costs the violators.”
The fine for going through a red light and being caught on film is $190. Tickets are mailed to the car owners and the money goes back into the program.
The region has also called for increased police enforcement at other intersections throughout Ottawa-Carleton.
“You obviously cannot have a police officer 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year patrolling the intersections,” Lavine says. “The cameras will help stop more violators.”
Running red lights has become an epidemic in Ottawa, says Burt Titcomb, national office manager at Transport 2000, a municipal advocacy group.
“I prefer to be 10 minutes too late in this world rather than 20 minutes too early in the next world,” Titcomb says.