Traffic-camera video can start to improve PR
In the public-relations battle over photo-enforcement cameras, Scottsdale-based American Traffic Solutions released a video on social media to describe how photos and video are used to issue tickets.
One of many complaints about photo radar is that the “automated ticketing machines” are indiscriminate, and don’t offer the personal discretion that a police officer can use when ticketing bad drivers or deciding to let them off. The video shows how photos are sent first to ATS staff, who review the photographs and videos to ensure there is in fact a violation captured on film, before sending the ticket along to the local police, who will do the same. The video is online at http://tinyurl.com/ah7vnu5.
ATS invited me to watch this process in person two years ago at the company’s Tempe operations center. It was straightforward. The company gets a picture of a car in the intersection after the light is red (usually with the driver either oblivious or with a terrified look as he/she notices cross-traffic starting to enter the intersection).
They review a video of the event, allowing them to determine when the vehicle entered the intersection and whether the violation is clear. If it’s clear, they send it to police, who also review all the evidence and decide whether to issue a citation.
If by chance you were driving recently, noticed one of the cameras flash but haven’t gotten a ticket in the mail yet, don’t worry. More than half the photos are dumped because they don’t present clear evidence of a violation.
Camera critics can point to myriad problems the cameras have had around the globe. For instance, a Baltimore television station reported two years ago that 2,000 tickets issued in that city were signed by an officer who had died. The department blamed the issue on a computer glitch that didn’t update to reflect the actual officer who reviewed the tickets before issuing them.
It’s doubtful the new ATS video will do much to pacify the industry’s critics. But giving the public an inside look at how the camera companies operate is probably a good idea.