Truck Accident News

Red Light Cameras Catch Violators

Intersection safety is a serious problem in the United States, and it is one of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) top priorities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that about 6.4 million crashes occurred on the Nation's roadways in 2000. Approximately 40 percent of all crashes are intersection-related. Redlight- running (RLR) causes more than 180,000 crashes every year, resulting in approximately 1,000 deaths and 90,000 injuries a year. The number of fatal motor vehicle crashes at traffic signals is rising faster than any other type of fatal crash nationwide.

RLR occurs when a driver enters an intersection after the traffic signal has turned red. The traditional way of enforcing this violation is to station a patrol vehicle near an intersection. This method is dangerous for the officer, expensive to localities, and drains valuable police resources.

Red light cameras detect a motor vehicle that passes over sensors in the pavement after a traffic signal has turned red. The sensors are connected to computers in high-speed cameras, which take two photographs of the violation. The first photo is taken of the front of the vehicle when it enters the intersection, and the second is taken when the vehicle is in the intersection.

Law enforcement officials review the photograph, and in many localities, a citation is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. The owner can challenge the citation if he or she was not the driver at the time of the violation.

Contact our California Traffic Violation Lawyer Now!

	Did You Know?
	A subpoena is a court order to appear or bring information to a court proceeding. The target of the subpoena can object to the order, and a case within a case can evolve that deals solely with the subpoena. A subpoena has to be "served" on the party being ordered to produce information or testimony. Anyone can serve a subpoena, as long as they are not directly involved in the litigation. Along with the expense, another downside of subpoenas is that the information is usually not produced until the time of trial. For purposes of developing a defense it is desirable to have all relevant information well before your trial.