Red Light Cameras Stir Controversy

It's a decision many motorists face while driving: when a traffic light turns yellow, do we apply the brake or the gas?

Today, if the wrong choice is made at some intersections, the likely result is a ticket given not by a police officer, but a camera. It happened to The Early Show correspondent Susan McGinnis and it's also happening in 100 cities across the United States.

It seems like red light cameras are going to become a standard. At the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, Cobra, which makes radar detectors, unveiled a new system to alert drivers where traffic cameras are in use. Those devices should be available in the spring.

Philadelphia's Roosevelt Boulevard has been known for some of the most dangerous intersections in the nation. To slow speeders and prevent accidents, the city installed cameras that catch drivers who run red lights.

"We've seen people tear up here like it's a drag way. Running red lights is a big problem," Sgt. Christopher Bee, who supervises the automated ticketing system.

Bee said the cameras are intended to reduce accidents, increase safety and re-educate drivers about being careful on the roads.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, red light cameras work. They have reduced side impact accidents by an average of 24 percent and accident injuries by 16 percent.

Here's how it works: once a traffic signal has turned red, cars entering an intersection illegally are photographed several times and from several angles. The pictures, and a ticket are automatically mailed to the vehicle's owner.

But not everyone is willing to pay. That' s because cameras like those at a Chicago intersection, are focused on the car and not the driver. Irv Binder is an electrical contractor who owns several vehicles. And although it was one of his employees who ran the light, Binder got the ticket.

"It's not fair the hold me responsible for someone else's actions," he said. "We hired a lawyer and started a class-action lawsuit."

That suit, now in a federal court, argues the $90 tickets don't name or identify the driver of the vehicle, and deny the owner a request for a jury trial. So far, the arguments against red light cameras have only been won on a state level. In both Minnesota and Iowa, judges have ruled the cameras violate state motor vehicle law, which considers running a red light a criminal offense as opposed to a civil one.

"I expect everybody should be reimbursed," Binder said.

Binder argues that money, not safety that has motivated cities to use traffic cameras. After all, several of the nation's mayors have successfully relied on the revenue of red light cameras to help balance their budgets.

Chicago expects to earn $14 million from red light violators this year, while New York City hopes to pull in $13 million. Both cities have more cameras on the way.

But Bee says, first and foremost, this is a public safety issue.

"Is there revenue generated? Sure there is," he said. "But this is strictly a re-education for drivers and safety."

For motorists along Roosevelt Boulevard, more re-education is on the way as Pennsylvania legislators debate another camera system — one designed to photograph and ticket speeders.