Debate over red-light cameras continues

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- As a Missouri Senate committee decides whether a bill outlawing red-light cameras should advance, supporters of the cameras gathered Tuesday to encourage more communities to use them.

Missouri Families for Safer Roads includes among its supporters several chiefs of police from around the state, nearly 20 of whom gathered in the St. Louis suburb of Hazelwood to officially launch the effort.

"These cameras remind busy drivers to pay closer attention as they are approaching dangerous intersections," said Bill McKenna, a director of the coalition, a former state legislator and former chairman of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.

About 30 Missouri municipalities now have cameras at dangerous intersections as a way to both catch those running the lights but also to dissuade them from doing it. The devices take digital photographs of offenders. A color copy of the photo, along with a ticket, is mailed to the vehicle's registered owner.

Statewide information on the effectiveness of the cameras is not available. But Hazelwood police chief Carl Wolf said citations for red-light offenses are down 53 percent since the town installed cameras and began other enforcement measures two years ago.

"They are raising awareness, they are reducing citations, and they are saving lives," Wolf said.

Opponents of the cameras criticize the practice as a clandestine surveillance method that infringes on civil liberties and denies drivers the right to contest a traffic ticket issued by an unseen accuser.

Among those opponents is state Sen. Jim Lembke, a St. Louis County Republican who sponsored a bill currently in committee that would prohibit the use of red light cameras. Lembke said a decision should be reached this week on whether the measure goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Lembke cites several concerns. For one thing, the ticket goes to the vehicle owner, even though he or she may not be driving the car at the time of the offense. He believes some communities use them as a source of revenue. And while he concedes the cameras may reduce some accidents, he said they can lead to others, particularly rear-end accidents caused by a car stopping suddenly at an intersection.

Lembke said the real cause of most wrecks at intersections is inattentive driving.

"They're texting. They're putting their makeup on. They're intoxicated," he said.

Inattentive driving was a factor in the December 2002 wreck that killed 10-year-old Kayla Tremeear. She was riding in a van struck by a car that ran a red light as the driver fumbled with the radio.

That accident happened in Arnold, south of St. Louis. The community became the first in Missouri to install red light cameras.

Kayla's mother, Kathy Tremeear, appeared at the news conference in Hazelwood, and appears on a video posted on the coalition's website, saying she believes the cameras can help prevent accidents like the one that killed her daughter.

"I think Kayla's story will make people more aware," Tremeear said. "They may be too busy or too hurried, so the red light camera makes them more aware."

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On the Net:

Missouri Families for Safer Roads: www.mosaferroads.com.

State Sen. Jim Lembke: http://www.senate.mo.gov/09info/members/mem01.htm