A typical red light camera intersection has cameras positioned at a corner of an intersection, on poles a few yards high. The video and photo cameras point towards oncoming traffic so the cameras can photograph or video cars driving through the intersection. Red light systems do not necessarily have cameras at all four corners of an intersection.  Some intersections also have cameras to capture traffic photos from the rear as well.  

There are a number of road sensor trigger techniques, but they all serve the same purpose: They detect when a car has moved past a particular point in the road.  These sensors work with the computer behind the operation that is connected to the cameras.   The computer constantly monitors the traffic signal and the cars moving over the triggers. If a car sets off a trigger when the light is red, the computer takes two pictures and often video to document the violation. The first picture usually shows the car just on the edge of the intersection and the second picture shows the car in the middle of the intersection with the red light illuminated above.

False positives are typically prevented during traffic congestion by having minimum speed limits for a violation to occur.  In some states, a ticket is issued to the car's registered owner, no matter who's actually driving.  However, a police office typically has to compare traits of the license plate with the registered owner like.  You are a male or a female or a certain age group or even race.

In some states red light camera tickets only needs to photograph the car from behind, since the authorities only need a clear view of the rear license plate. In other states, the actual driver is responsible for paying the ticket and must be verified.  If you were not the driver of the car often times you will be threatened to turning in the driver which is referred to as a snitch ticket.  In this case, the photo enforced system needs a second camera in front of the car, in order to get a shot of the driver's face. The ticket is still sent to the car's owner after verification.

Best Buy & Amazon Radar Detectors on Sale

While shopping today we discovered the following devices on display at Best Buy.  The store was located in California so its not surprising that the aisle was empty since its virtually impossible to get a speeding ticket on the congested roads.  However, we were wondering if any of these devices had GPS inside and were able to warn you if you were getting close to any red light cameras?

The Passport 9500ix is the only device that uses satellites for GPS navigation to pinpoint your exact location and compares it to the detector's on-board database of red light and speed camera locations.  An alert goes off as you approach a intersection with an audible and visual alert.  There is no information on how the company has acquired its database of locations and no information on how to update it.  If they truely want to have industry incredibility about the number of locations I would recommend they disclose the number of red light cameras in their database.  I can guarantee you they don't have all 7,000 location that we have in our red light camera database.  

The devices that were on the wall are also on sale at Amazon and here are their links:Search Amazon.com for radar detectorSearch Amazon.com for radar detector Solo S2, Passport 9500ix, Passport 8500 X50, Beltronics V8, Beltronics V6

  

Aggressive Mobile Speed Cameras Now Running In CR

Speeding 1 MPH over the posted speed limit will cost your $25 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa according to CBS KGAN (Video).  This policy sounds extremely aggressive and difficult to manage considering that if you are traveling 26 MPH in a 25 MPH school zone you will receive a ticket in the mail for $25.  Also, it was reported that speeding in a construction zone the fines are doubled.

Red light cameras are in place around Cedar Rapids and catching people red handed, but the eyes of Cedar Rapids Police aren't fixed in one place for speeders. Now police are tracking your speed all over the place. Police say schools and construction zones will be strictly enforced. The process for issuing citations will be similar to the red light camera. Police will place the mobile speed vehicle at various places throughout the city to catch speeders.  Police say the camera will be out for a few hours a day or maybe at night?  If you're caught speeding this way, it won't go on your driving record because it's considered a civil matter.

I happened to grow up in Cedar Rapids about 20 years ago and disappointed to see that city officials have to stoop this low to generate revenue for a city that is still suffered from the floods a few years ago.  This is not likely the end of the story so follow us and we will keep you posted.

You may have heard in the news and in the blogosphere that Arizona was going to give their red light cameras and speed cameras the boot - putting a referendum on an upcoming election to end their photo enforcement program. There is a contingency of loud people lobbying and trying to build interest for the removal of speed and red light cameras in Arizona. Often they resort to graffiti and destructive means to get their points across.

However, A recent poll puts the camera issue dead last in the list of issues that Arizona citizens want tackled by their government. A survey of 800 Arizonans on what issues lawmakers and Gov. Jan Brewer should tackle ranked job creation and improved public education as the top two issues, with 62 percent and 32 percent, respectively. Less than 1% of the people want it addressed right now.

So, it looks like these cameras are here to stay for a while. If your looking for a GPS detector to warn you when you're near them, check out our PhotoEnforced.com guide. If you want something that's really easy to use and the "least expensive", buy the GPS Angel. It's only $99 - less than the cost of one speeding ticket.

A lawsuit filed by a rival accuses a leading speed enforcement company of competing illegally by using radar units that lacked required government certification, an issue the rival first raised during bidding for a major Arizona contract. The lawsuit alleged that Redflex competed for photo enforcement contracts and delivered radar units to service those contracts while knowingly lacking Federal Communications Commission certifications for several imported radar types. ATS said it was damaged by misrepresentations and unfair competition by Redflex through its use of uncertified radar that ATS said made Redflex ineligible for contracts in Arizona and other states.

The two companies were rivals for an Arizona contract awarded to Redflex for a speed enforcement program now being launched initially in the Phoenix area with mobile and fixed cameras. The mobile units use radar to trigger cameras. The fixed cameras use pavement-embedded senors.The lawsuit is the latest legal spat over the lucrative state contract which gives Redflex Traffic Systems up to $28.75 out of every $165 paid to the state for motorists caught speeding by any of the 100 fixed and mobile cameras being set up. The contract is believed worth about $20 million a year to Redflex.

Two related news articles . . .

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/130372

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_az_photo_radar.html

Speeding fines are the same whether motorists are stopped by a deputy or get a citation in the mail through the photo radar program. Fines are $135 for exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph; $183 for 11-15 mph; $202 for 16-20 mph; $222 for 21-25; $235 for 26-30 mph; and $356 for 31-45 mph. Drivers could be arrested for going more than 46 mph over the posted limit. Photo enforced locations are set to trigger a picture flash for 11 MPH over the speeding limit.

Arizona leads all U.S. States with a total of 51 active photo enforced speed camera locations that are currently in our database. From this we can reasonably assume that Arizona has nearly 1/3 of all speed cameras that currently exist in the U.S. Here is a summary of our current totals that are in our database.

State	#	%
Arizona	51	30.00%
Maryland	21	12.35%
Ohio	16	9.41%
Washington	16	9.41%
California	15	8.82%
New Mexico	10	5.88%
District of Columbia	9	5.29%
Tennessee	8	4.71%
Iowa	7	4.12%
New York	3	1.76%
Missouri	2	1.18%
North Carolina	2	1.18%
Colorado	2	1.18%
Florida	1	0.59%
Georgia	1	0.59%
Idaho	1	0.59%
Pennsylvania	1	0.59%
Texas	1	0.59%
Utah	1	0.59%
Virginia	1	0.59%
Delaware	1	0.59%
	170

Here is a great video that describes the operation of a mobile speed photo enforced van in Chicago. There are five photo enforcement vans across the state of Illinois. The speed enforcement vans proved more effective than placing electronic radar signs on the highway shoulder to show drivers their real-time speed, or even deploying police cars to sit on the side of the road, the research found.

The Illinois State Police photo vans are capable of identifying scores of speeding scofflaws across multiple lanes of traffic in only a few minutes, ringing up minimum $375 speeding tickets that are sent in the mail for the work-zone violations. It's a process law-enforcement officials say is much more efficient—and safer for police officers—than pulling over individual speeders as traffic rushes past.

In addition, it's a mystery to drivers how much leeway is given above the 45 m.p.h. construction zone speed limit. Does going 50 m.p.h. trigger a ticket, or do you have to be speeding at 10 m.p.h. above the work zone speed limit? The answer changes from one jurisdiction to another.

Sean Tierney hates photo radar. So he decided to think up a creative way to challenge the system and avoid a future ticket. Tierney is not covering up or altering his license plate in any way. And he’s not selling anything. Tempe high-tech businessman ordered a customized Arizona license plate of zeroes, O’s and D’s that blend together in a way that could make it confusing for a photo-enforcement citation reviewer to confirm the license plate. See the link for a picture of the license plate.

Red light camera photos taken by road-rule enforcement cameras must be viewed by a person before any infringement notice or ticket is issued to the driver, and judged to be satisfactory or not. Verifiers typically must check some or all of the following:

1) no sign of interference with the vehicle detector by objects other than the vehicle
2) license plate readable according to a legal standard
3) make and model of vehicle matches the recorded license plate nunber
4) appearance of the driver in the images is adequate or that it matches the picture on the drivers license of the vehicle's registered owner.

 

NHTSA minimum guidlines for unmanned speed enforcement systems says that the sensor system needs to provide a secondary method to prove a vehicle is speeding. The first can be using RADAR or LIDAR and some method to determine which lane the violating vehicle is traveling in. What are these companies using as a secondary methods? Loop 101 in Arizona talks about using a dopplar RADAR system to identify the vehicle and its speed. Another company advertises a scanning LIDAR that scans the highway 100 times per second to identify a vehicle and record its speed. If the lidar system is to be considered for unattended operation, the manufacturer of the system shall provide a secondary method for verifying that the evidential recorded image properly identifies the target vehicle and reflects this vehicle’s true speed, as described in §5.16.2.

Although it may seem like the Dan Ryan is backed up all day, there are times when traffic volumes are low - and - motorists are driving too fast. Speeders on the Dan Ryan Expressway who are nabbed by photo-enforcement vans that rolled out this weekend will start receiving $375 tickets in the mail in the next two weeks. The white van, parked on the shoulder in the Dan Ryan construction zone, has a message board that tells you your speed as you pass by...but if you're speeding, it's too late, because inside, the photo radar enforcement is giving you a ticket.

Illinois is about to go high tech to nab speeders on expressways and in construction zones -- and thanks to clear photographs of drivers behind the wheel -- it's a ticket you can't talk your way out of. Say "cheese" and open your wallet. Illinois police are getting ready to unleash their latest weapon to catch speeders in dangerous construction zones. It's a new photo enforcement van that snaps pictures of drivers behind the wheel, their license plates, and their speed. Here's how it works: within 50 yards of the enforcement van, a radar gun locks onto a vehicle and captures its speed. The driver sees his or her speed displayed on a board above the van -- then flash, police have what they need. Drivers don't know they've been had until they receive a $375 ticket in the mail. That's the minimum fine for a first-time offense of speeding in a construction zone. The second offense will cost you $1,000. And if you hit a worker, the penalty is up to a $10,000 fine and 14 years in prison.