COUNCIL TO REVISIT STOPLIGHT CAMERAS

City officials tonight will revisit the issue of installing video cameras at one Cape Girardeau intersection as a means of preventing serious crashes and punishing red-light runners.

The City Council has discussed automated red light technology since February 2000, but differing opinions about personal freedom and lingering doubts about the system's effectiveness as a deterrent have prevented the group from coming to a consensus.

In late November, the council put the issue on hold, opting to wait for a Missouri attorney general's opinion about the legality of Missouri cities installing the system without state legislative backing.

However, a senator from St. Louis has introduced a bill to allow cities to implement such systems, and the General Assembly is expected to discuss the matter this year.

City Manager Michael Miller said the city's understanding is that the attorney general will not provide an opinion, pending the bill's approval.

He said city officials decided to put the matter on tonight's agenda as an opportunity for more discussion before an ordinance goes to first reading at the Feb. 20 meeting.

Automated red-light technology consists of a set of cameras that tapes only drivers who are in the process of running red lights. The system also delays cross traffic while the offense is in progress to prevent collisions a strong selling point for Mayor Al Spradling and other city officials.

The system allows police to ticket vehicle owners by taping a five-second clip only when it senses that a driver is going too fast or has not slowed in time to stop for a red light.

Police can review the clips to determine if there were extenuating circumstances, such as an approaching fire truck or ambulance, that caused a driver to run a red light. Vehicle owners who are issued citations will not receive points on their driving record.

Citations are issued to vehicle owners, not drivers a matter that has caused concern for some councilmen. The Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles, unlike its California counterpart, is not set up to allow local police to cross-reference video clips of drivers' faces with state license records.

The Cape Girardeau Police Department received a $75,000 grant from the Missouri Division on Highway Safety and expects additional money from the Missouri Department of Transportation to help pay for the $100,000 system, should the council approve it.

The fine for running a red light in Cape Girardeau is $50, plus $21 for court costs. In 1999, the police department issued 578 citations for traffic signal violations. City research indicates that only speeding, vehicle registration and "non-hazardous" violations exceeded that number.

The police department estimates that 25 percent of all accidents at intersections with traffic lights are the result of drivers running red lights.