Dayton is one of just a few cities around the US that is beginning to use speed cameras. In Europe there are upwards of 40,000 cameras throughout the region. However, the United States has been slow to adopt the automated speed enforcement method.  We have all of Dayton locations and others around the US listed in our speed camera database. 

Dayton Ohio city officials are moving forward with plans to add photo speed enforcement cameras near 10 of the city’s most dangerous accident areas for automobile travelers. The automated cameras likely will be installed by late April or early May, and speeding drivers will be given a 30-day grace period. After the grace period ends an $85 fine will be issued.

Dayton will keep $55 of that fine and the rest will go to the camera company Redflex which is based in Scottsdale Arizona. Redflex is paying to install the equipment and will do the initial processing of the tickets before Dayton police will give final approval before the tickets are mailed.

Technically yes according to the law!  Did you know speed traps are illegal in California?

California Vehicle Code defines a speed trap (in section 40802) as a section of a highway “measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance”.

So, automated red light camera system systems are technically illegal speed traps as defined in California law because of the sensors placed in the ground used to measure speed. Could this be a contributing factor to why class action lawsuits are finally being launched against major camera companies or why cities such as El Monte, Fresno, Moreno Valley, Union City and earlier this year, Costa Mesa, have shut down their camera systems? 

Automated enforcement systems were designed to record an incident that occurs during the red phase of the light.  However, do wonder how do red light cameras work?   A vehicle triggers the system by passing over a measured distance in the roadway (two sets of inductive loops are cut into the pavement). These sensors record the time it takes for the vehicle to cross the distance between the sensors and calculates the speed of the vehicle based upon the distance and the elapsed time for the vehicle to cross it. If the vehicle is over the set threshold then the system activates. Thus the calculated speed of the vehicle is used to trigger the camera (which records and stores information for use in later issuing a ticket for the prosecution of a red light violation).

Article contributed by Ticketbust.com, helping drivers contest and dismiss their traffic tickets.  If you get cited for a red light photo ticket, contact us at TicketBust.com or call us at (800) 850-8038. For Spanish, please visit Combatesuticket.com or call (818) 584-3689. For more information on how TicketBust can help to beat your cell phone ticket, visit www.fightcellphonetickets.com or call (800) 850-8038.

The latest weapon in speed camera technology can verify speed, insurance and seat belt all in one swoop from up to 150ft away. It is the first to detect multiple offenses at the same time and is connected to police computers via satellite, so that prosecutions can be started within seconds of any offense. The camera is being tested in Finland and is expected to be deployed across Europe from 2013, with each unit costing £50,000. How long will it take these cameras to come to the US since insurance is such a huge part of our driving economy.

Map of the US National Highway System

Does a state, city or municipality have a the legal right to use a Federal highway for speed or red light cameras? If yes does the federal government share in the revenue generated from the cameras? What permits or permissions from what federal agencies are required?

Despite the Interstate or US highway label it is probably owned by the state or city and not the Federal government. In order to use the cameras the State legislature would have to enact legislation describing how and where photo enforcement could be used. Only rarely do these roads typically belong to the federal government and these roads are on military sites, national parks and perhaps Indian reservations.

Google Maps users deserve red light cameras and speed cameras as a layer for navigation. We have a database of 7,000 cameras we have been accumulating for the last 10 years. We have tried numerous times to reach out to Google and provide this data to them for use on Google Maps without any success.When we first started collecting the data 10 years ago there were only a few hundred cameras in use across the US. Now there are about 7,000 intersections and locations that are under photo enforcement surveillance.  Contrast that to Europe that has 50,000 cameras and most of them are speed cameras. The majority of the cameras in the US are red light cameras and not speed cameras like the Europe.

Every time we talk to large companies who want to use the data  in the US they seem worried about the legality of using the data. They ask questions like:  Is it legal to use this information? What happens if a driver gets into an accident after using the information while driving?   I am not sure I understand their concerns considering people are not trying to evade the law by using the data.  Drivers simply want to know where these locations are to avoid fender bender collisions.  People drive erratically around photo enforced locations and the residual effect are typically small accidents instead of t-bones.

Anyhow, a new user interface for Google Maps layers is being tested. The new UI enlarges the buttons that let you switch views between content layers. Now you can quickly switch between custom maps, driving directions, local search results and Google Maps layers. Google Maps also shows the weather for the current location. Its very useful and its about time they start putting some content on the map that helps people drive safely.

Cameras Turned Off this Summer on July 15, 2010

The photo enforcement cameras on Arizona freeways that have caused much consternation for many Valley drivers will be turned off. The Department of Public Safety sent a letter to Redflex Traffic Systems, the company that operates the cameras, ending their contract. According to the letter sent to Redflex, "DPS wishes to be clear that its decision to not renew the contract is not a reflection of your company's services or performance of the contract, but a change in the agency's focus." While the 78 fixed and mobile cameras placed strategically along the freeways will be shut down, speed-enforcement and red-light cameras located on city streets will continue to snap offenders. 

While the camera system was expected to bring in money for the state, former Gov. Janet Napolitano, who implemented the program, said that was never the primary objective. In any case, the projected $90 million never materialized. During an 18-month time span -- September 2008 through the end of March 2010 -- only about 30 percent of the 1.2 million issued citations were ever paid. Read more.

ABC KCRG TV News in CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa Mark Geary, Reporter – Just about everyone occasionally speeds or even accidentally runs a red light. Now, a series of cameras keep the streets of Cedar Rapids under surveillance twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. As a result, more people will get caught breaking the law.

"It's kind of scary because you don't want to get a ticket, but it's great for safety,” driver Marie Lampe said, “I think if you break the law, you should get punished for that.”

Red light cameras monitor busy intersections with a history of traffic problems. The goal is to make people drive more cautiously and cut down on the number of accidents and injuries. Violations caught by the cameras come with a fine, but do not appear on your driving record.

"There are a lot of cars that do a lot of illegal things,” driver Fredie Hill said.

Despite their benefits, plenty of people remain skeptical. Others have privacy concerns.

"I think big brother's watching us,” driver Ed Mulligan said, “I think they’re good if they’re for safety reasons, but if it’s for financial gain for the city and the government to make more money, I think it’s wrong.”

Cedar Rapids Police insist the cameras are not simply money-making devices. Instead, they argue the equipment is just another way to keep people safe. "All we're monitoring is criminal behavior. If you're not a criminal and you're not doing anything illegal, you don't have anything to worry about,” Sergeant Cristy Hamblin said.

A company called PhantomPlate claims its product will make your license plate invisible to the camera's eye. The company says all you need to do is coat your license plate with its PhotoBlocker spray and the cameras can't catch you.

"Everybody's looking for a shortcut to get away with something," Hamblin said, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is.”

We tested the spray with help of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. Instructions say to remove the plate from the vehicle and coat it four times. Just to be safe, we sprayed it five times. Then, we re-attached the plate and triggered the cameras.

Turns out the product did not shield the plate from the camera. Police could still read the letters and numbers. PhantomPlate also sells a plate cover that claims to block the cameras as well. It didn't work, either.

"It's not the ticket or the money that we're looking for. What we're really trying to do is save people from being injured," Hamblin said.

"I feel bad if people get taken for that money," Hamblin said.

Looks like these gimmicks really are too good to be true.

"I have a hard time figuring out why people are so worried. I don't have anything to hide," driver Vivek Sharma said, “I don’t think I’ll be spraying my truck.”

Therefore, it seems the best way to avoid a ticket just might be to stop speeding and running red lights.

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.

We have noticed a growing trend of law firms and attorneys advertising their legal services on Google to help you fight traffic tickets in court.  Below is a list of traffic lawyers that advertise on Google Ad words.  We started this list to get your feedback on their performance and services in our comments section below.  As we receive feedback users both positive and negative they will be posted on a separate page and link provided.  Please send us any attorneys that we may be missing and we will add them to this list. Thanks in advance for your help!

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The Arizona Republic, David Madrid - Feb. 10, 2010

To save money, the city is terminating its contract with Scottsdale-based American Traffic Solutions, which operates traffic-enforcement cameras. The two intersections with red-light cameras are at Dysart Road and Van Buren Street and at Dysart and McDowell roads. The city uses a photo-speed-enforcement van throughout the city.

The cameras began snapping red-light runners in February 2006. In June 2007, the city began a speed-enforcement-van trial, which led to the van contract.In February 2009, the council approved expanding the program to include two more photo-red-light intersections. All four intersections were to be modified to enforce both red-light and speed violations. The project was to be completed in March.  That isn't happening.

The camera program was popular with the council, but it costs $425,000. That includes contractor fees, officer overtime, a traffic program coordinator and court staff. By ending the program, the net savings to the city is $106,390. The council has always maintained that the cameras weren't there to raise revenue but for safety.

Police Chief Kevin Kotsur said there has been a drop in traffic accidents, but he believes the bad economy means fewer people driving. And the costs of the program are rising every year.  "Looking at the stats, there's no significant correlation between the number of accidents and the impact photo enforcement has been having on those wrecks," he said. "It's down all over the city. It's down all over the state."

Dayton Business Journal, Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The city of Dayton, Ohio took the first step to levying fines against speeders by using red-light cameras spread across the city. Dayton City Commission on Wednesday heard a first reading of an ordinance that would add speed enforcement capabilities to cameras currently used to catch those running red lights at 10 high-traffic intersections. If approved, violators would face civil penalties and an $85 fine for each offense. Installation of speed monitoring software on some or all of Dayton’s traffic control cameras would be complete within 90 days. City officials say the move is intended to reduce speeding on city streets in order to make roadways safer for drivers and pedestrians.

A spokesperson said the city does not have an estimate of the revenue that would be generated by speeding tickets from the cameras. The city declined to release information about how much faster than the speed limit drivers could go before getting a ticket at the intersections.

The intersections affected include:

• Smithville Road at Patterson Road;

• Third Street at Edwin C. Moses Boulevard;

• Troy Street at Stanley Avenue;

• Third Street at James H. McGee Boulevard;

• Gettysburg Avenue at Cornell Drive.

• Main Street at Hillcrest Avenue;

• US 35 at Abbey Avenue;

• Salem Avenue at North Avenue; and

• Salem Avenue at Hillcrest Avenue.

Dayton’s first traffic control camera to detect vehicles running through red lights was installed in early 2003, and a total of 20 cameras at 10 intersections have been in use since mid-2005. Since the installation of the cameras, traffic accidents at camera-enforced intersections has declined by 44 percent, according to city officials. The cameras have generated nearly $1.4 million in fines. The traffic control cameras in Dayton are owned and operated by RedFlex Traffic Systems Inc., in cooperation with the Dayton Police Department.

E-mail jcogliano@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4424.

Los Angeles might expand red-light camera program and add speed cameras. The plan would boost revenue, but city officials say it's safety-driven.

Published by LA Times By Rich Connell, February 3, 2010

Los Angeles' red-light traffic camera program, which officials report netted more than $6 million last year after expenses, could be significantly expanded under a new contract to be negotiated over the next 14 months, records and interviews show.

While adding more cameras could offer a welcome boost to city revenue in the midst of a fiscal crisis, officials say any expansion will be based on safety considerations.

No goal has been set, but internal City Hall discussions have included the possibility of adding cameras to blocks of eight intersections at a time and eventually doubling the overall reach of the program to 64 intersections, Los Angeles Police Department officials told The Times.

Fresh details of the discussions emerged as the Police Commission on Tuesday sent the City Council a recommendation to issue bid requests from vendors to operate -- and presumably enlarge -- the program starting next year.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for traffic cameras to be modified to also catch speeders, part of an effort to raise $300 million in fines to help close the state's budget shortfall. 


Los Angeles officials have voiced mixed reactions but taken no formal action on the proposal.

As for red-light cameras, critics contend that the safety benefits have been overstated and that the cameras chiefly are used to fatten government coffers. Those complaints have grown louder as red-light ticket fines have climbed sharply in recent years. They now total more than $500 in Los Angeles County when traffic school fees are included.

But LAPD officials and some experts say photo enforcement reduces potentially serious red-light-running accidents, changes driver behavior for the better and frees up patrol officers for other tasks.

And after struggling with construction delays and start-up and early operating expenses, Los Angeles' red-light cameras have begun producing a sorely needed revenue surplus at a time when city programs and payrolls are being slashed.

Beyond payments of about $2 million to the city's camera vendor and $1.2 million for Police Department costs, the city's 32 camera-equipped intersections generated $6.4 million in net revenue in 2009, said LAPD Sgt. Matthew MacWillie, who oversees the program. The LAPD issues about 3,600 photo enforcement tickets a month, records show.

The program's financial turnaround can be partially attributed to a decision 18 months ago to more than double fines for rolling right-turn violations, which MacWillie has acknowledged account for most violations caught by the cameras.

Previously, Los Angeles had been the only city in the county to charge right turn violations under a vehicle code section that carried a $156 fine. When the LAPD brought its ticketing practices in line with other agencies, right turn fines jumped to $381. The city's share of the fines grew from $58 to nearly $150.

At least one City Council member, Valley representative Dennis Zine, said pursuing bids to continue or expand the photo enforcement program is premature.

He said a detailed study of overall accident rates at photo-equipped intersections was still in the works. "I don't want to do anything until we get the results of that inquiry," he said.

Zine, a former LAPD traffic cop who sits on the council's Public Safety Committee, sought the analysis last year after a local television station reported that the city's red-light cameras haven't always reduced collisions. The LAPD's study is not expected to be completed for about a month.

But MacWillie said Tuesday that data show overall accidents, as well as red-light-running accidents, have declined at camera-equipped intersections.

Considered a key city expert on photo enforcement, MacWillie also said speed cameras can be a valuable traffic enforcement tool if properly focused on safety and altering driver behavior. Approximately 40 people die annually in speed-related accidents in the city, he said.

Zine said putting speed cameras at intersections is an "absurd idea" that would undermine the traditional focus of police officers on public safety.

The governor is "just saying this is a revenue producer," he said.

"With that in mind, why don't we just charge everyone $10 when they start their engine?"h

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