¥Georgia: Red Light Cameras Struggle in Face of Longer
Yellow
¥Lilburn, Georgia suspends red
light camera program after extended yellow time cut violations
by 80 percent. On January 1, a new Georgia law kicked in forcing a one-second
increase in the duration of the yellow warning light at intersections with red light
cameras. The result has been devastating for red light camera makers as violations
-- and revenue -- immediately plunged for the months of January, February
and March. Last week, the city of Norcross dumped photo enforcement. Now the
UK-owned red light camera maker Lasercraft is offering its customers a 90-day
suspension of service to prevent cities from dropping their automated ticketing
contracts.
The cities of Lilburn and Snellville accepted this offer yesterday and suspended
their red light camera programs.
¥
¥"With the passage of House
Bill 77, effective January 1, 2009, there has been a precipitous
decline in the number of citations issued through the program," Lilburn Police
Chief J.B. Davidson wrote in a memo to the city council. The mandated increase
in signal time created dramatic and instant results. In 2008, Lasercraft issued
an average of 1,559 citations each month. In January, that number dropped 80
percent to just 313.Ó
thenewspaper.com