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Red-Light Cameras Going Up

June 7, 2007

By LOYD BRUMFIELD / Today Newspapers

The Cedar Hill Police Department has recorded an estimated 200 violations since May 14 at its one red-light camera at Belt Line and Clark roads.

Four more red-light camera intersections went online June 5, and a fifth is scheduled to be operational by June 20.

Like the first camera at Clark and Belt Line, the others will operate under a 30-day warning period for drivers before violations will be recorded for real.

FM 1382 is the focal point for most of the cameras. One is going up to observe the westbound service road at FM 1382 and the Highway 67 overpass and another is going up at the eastbound service road.

Other cameras will be located at East Belt Line Road at Joe Wilson Road, one will be at Belt Line and Waterford Oaks Drive, and one will be at the southbound service road at Highway 67 and FM 1382.

“It’s been interesting so far,” Cedar Hill Police Chief Steve Rhodes said of the city’s first camera at East Belt Line and Clark. “I think our officers see about 70 violations a week and most of them have been pretty blatant.”

During testing periods done by American Traffic Solutions based in Scottsdale, Ariz., the following number of violations was recorded:

  • Thirty-seven red-light violations at Belt Line and Clark;
  • 17 violations at FM 1382 eastbound at Highway 67;
  • 31 violations at FM 1382 westbound at Highway 67;
  • 11 violations at Belt Line at Joe Wilson;
  • 16 violations at Belt Line and Waterford Oaks.

“We’ve viewed quite a few (violations) since May 14,” Cedar Hill Police Sgt. Charles Woods said. “Not all of them are accepted as violations.”

Most people who have been ticketed have responded favorably and haven’t complained, both Rhodes and Woods said.

“I think two have elected to take their violations to hearing officers, but otherwise people just pay the fines,” Woods said.

All violations are monitored by ATS personnel, who filter out incidents that don’t meet the definition of a violation and pass those on to the police department.

Then, Woods and three other officers go through the data and decide for themselves if violations have occurred. The department sends that information back to ATS, which then issues violations.

Drivers, once they receive their violations, are directed to a website where they can view their offense on video. The fine for a violation is $100 and jumps to $200 for the third and all subsequent violations.

Fines must be paid in full, and there are no plans at this time to offer payment installment options, Rhodes said.

Cedar Hill defines a violation as a vehicle running through an intersection in which traffic lights are emitting a steady red signal at the time the intersection is entered.

“The whole idea for this is to create patterns of traffic safety behavior,” Rhodes said.

Woods said everything has functioned as planned so far.

“The system has worked remarkably well,” he said. “We’ve had no glitches.”

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