I got a ticket a year or two ago on C.Columbus and Montgomery. I was on my way to church. I gladly paid the bill. I should have been ticketed. I think there should be more enforcement of traffic violations and pedestrian safety needs to be a priority. Pedestrian Safety is a huge issue. There should cameras for people who don't yield to pedestrians.

It's hard to fight tickets (especially taking off from work). But, I generally do it anyway. It is important, albeit frustrating, to fight when you are not actually in the wrong.

For Jersey City, I would guess that it would only apply to tickets received at the the Kennedy & Communipaw intersection before 8/2012, as that was the only intersection that was not properly certified for the yellow light timing. I'm not saying you shouldn?t try if you got one somewhere else, but don't get your hopes up...

Red-light camera company to pay $4.2 million to NJ motorists..

By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

on March 13, 2013 at 7:20 PM, updated March 13, 2013 at 8:00 PM

NEWARK ? State motorists who feel they were wrongly ticketed by a red light camera may be eligible for a refund, according to a preliminary settlement filed today.

The Associated Press reports that the Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions will set up a $4.2 million fund to pay plaintiffs in a suit that alleges motorists tagged by the company's cameras were not given ample time to apply the brakes, according to a preliminary settlement filed today.

The company isn?t admitting any wrongdoing or liability.
Anyone who was ticketed before August 2012 in any of 18 towns and paid the $85 fine would be eligible to receive money back, but a judge must approve the agreement, the AP reports.

The towns are Brick, Deptford, East Brunswick, East Windsor, Jersey City, Lawrence, Linden, Glassboro, Gloucester Township, Monroe, Palisades Park, Piscataway, Pohatcong, Rahway, Roselle Park, Union, Wayne and Woodbridge.

link to the news story

Seconded X infinity. If there's one thing NJ natives absolutely hate, it's being called out on how ignorant and irresponsible their driving is. There will always be a huge blowback against any program that attempts to correct the criminal driving practices that are commonplace here, and this is one of the few areas in which I recommend that politicians ignore their constituents because the population at large is just plain wrong.

I also applaud the JCPD on some of the traffic enforcement efforts I've noticed recently, and in keeping with this support I decline to mention the areas that seem to be targeted.

Quote:

Love to see more red light cameras and would love if someone invented a failing to stop at a STOP sign camera. If correctly installed and operated, it will only give you a ticket after you commit the offence - which would mean you are guilty. The cameras will also show who ran the light or STOP sign if there is an accident involving other vehicles and pedestrians. Being accountable when no law enforcement authority is watching obviously upsets some, but makes others happy.
Motorists can still argue in court if they feel there is a fault with the camera, which could only mean that the cameras were set-up incorrectly - I think the system is great as we will never see a cop at every set of traffic lights to watch ass-wipes being impatient

Dear Honorable Assemblyman O'Scanlon:

I am a registered Democrat, resident, property owner, and active voter in Jersey City.

Simply: Thank you for your efforts to rid our state of "red light
cameras" which are designed to make profits for third party
corporations, to extort money from citizens, and to further undermine
the people's trust and faith in our government and our elected
officials.

Red light cameras represent "guilty until proven innocent" and as such
should be removed and an moratorium be placed on their enforcement.

Thank you for your bi-partisan effort with my local City Councilman
Steve Fulop to expose this issue. It is clear to any reasonable adult
that this farce, as you rightfully call it, must be stopped, and that
our current mayor Healy is clearly on the wrong side of the people.

I will do whatever I can from the grassroots to press this issue in
Jersey City and to support candidates, including Mr. Fulop, who agree
that "for profit law enforcement" as I am calling it must come to an
end.

Additionally, I will, to the best of my ability, canvass the residents
of Jersey City and the State of New Jersey to plead NOT GUILTY to
these bogus citations, such that the courts are overwhelmed by the
citizenry demanding their right to be heard.

Thank you again.
Kind regards

Copied and pasted from yelp...
Enjoy!
***

This Is A Money Grab Under The Guise Of Public Safety Yeah I Got One, $85 For Not Coming To A Complete Stop At 4 am. Rolling Right On Red Ticket.

The cameras don't make intersections safer, they do the opposite. The companies that make the cameras sell local governments the money makers on the premise of cash flow without manpower, safety and of course the camera operators get a nice cut. Then they smile, shake hands and sign the contracts, win win!

BUSTED: Settlement reached in red-light camera class action suit

"Close to a half-million people who received red-light camera tickets in New Jersey will receive partial refunds under a settlement in a class-action suit. The refunds will apply to motorists who received tickets at intersections in 18 towns where the timing of the yellow lights wasn't officially certified until July 25. But motorists, who received tickets from $85 to $140, won't exactly be able to celebrate with a surf-and-turf dinner. The average $6 refund will be more suited for a McDonald's Value Meal."

"The refunds apply to motorists who received tickets before July 25 in the cities of Jersey City, Linden and Rahway; the boroughs of Glassboro, Palisades Park and Roselle Park; and the townships of Brick, Deptford, East Brunswick, East Windsor, Gloucester, Lawrence, Monroe, Piscataway, Pohatcong, Union, Wayne and Woodbridge. They apply only to cameras operated by American Traffic Solutions."

"A separate class-action suit is pending against Redflex Traffic Systems, vendor for cameras in Newark, Edison, New Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Englewood Cliffs, Springfield Township, Gloucester Township and Stratford Borough."
__________________________________________________ _____________________

Public Safety My Ass, They Increase Collisions at Traffic Intersections

"The Jersey City Police Department is committed to public safety and reducing the number of motor vehicle collisions at our traffic intersections. Our department has begun utilizing advanced video / computer technology in order to help make our streets safer."

Jersey City Annual Crimes:
VIOLENT 1,906 - PROPERTY 5,701 - TOTAL 7,607
With my chances of becoming a victim in Jersey City being 1 in 131 almost twice the national median, you would think the police have bigger fish to fry. So what is it, money or safe streets?

Why not utilize advanced video / computer technology for crime fighting? We know the answer, no money in taking thugs and drugs off the streets. This my fellow citizens is the easy way, introducing the New Jersey Statute for Red Light Camera$

In part N.J.S.A. 39:4-8.15 states that:
1.The owner and operator shall be jointly liable for a traffic control signal violation summons issued, unless the owner can show that the vehicle was used without consent, expressed or implied.
2.An owner who pays any fine, penalty, civil judgment, costs or administrative fees in connection with a traffic control signal violation has the right to recover that sum from the operator in a court of competent jurisdiction.
3.In no case shall motor vehicle points or automobile insurance eligibility points be assess against any person for a violation.
__________________________________________________?______________________

Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee NJ was at least honest in his support, he offered two reasons for supporting the technology: "One, for safety reasons, two, yeah for money reasons. There, I said it. These things generate income."

So why not let voters decide?

"That was the question posed by state Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Warren, during a meeting hosted by the United Republican Club on Tuesday. His remark came just weeks before the Borough Council may take up the issue. Sokolich, who didn't attend the meeting, said the next day that while he generally supports having voters determine what's best, he doesn't believe a ballot question could provide enough details for voters to fully understand the rationale behind the proposal."

"You put this on the referendum and I don't know if it would garner enough support to pass. Every once in a while, government needs to have the fortitude to make a decision that, on its face, is unpopular. Even among the all-Democratic council, it's possible that the members may split on this issue. I think it would be close, this might be one of those rare situations where I may have to break a tie."
__________________________________________________?________________________

Stop Pissing Down My Back And Telling Me It's Raining

Quote:

You will only be ticketed if the light was red as you passed over the white line. You will not receive a ticket if it was yellow and turned red before you left the intersection. The flash goes off on all of these cameras for no reason, so don't worry about it if you saw the flash.

There are no points associated with the tickets, just a fine.

So, I was driving west on Communipaw and making a left onto Rt. 440 to go Hudson Mall. The left-turn light went from yellow to red as I was going through the intersection. I'm always very cautious as a driver, but I'll admit to slightly miscalculating the length of that yellow light. The city lists the westbound approach of that intersection as one with a red-light camera. I didn't notice a camera mounted above the intersection, nor did I notice any flashing strobe when I made that turn. Does anyone know if the camera is actually operational? How long will it take for a ticket to be mailed? I was in a borrowed car, so I'd like to give the owner a heads-up, and of course, pay the fine. In addition to the fine, are there any points involved?

I got hit with a ticket from a red light camera on Montgomery and Westside Avenue. Obviously, this was very frustrating, but I was clearly in the wrong, as shown in the video available on the associated website.

I think these cameras are much better than the alternative: police occasionally spotting the violator.

Effective law enforcement comes from certainty and consistency. Absent the cameras, enforcement of traffic rules is uncertain and inconsistent.

We should have speed-enforcing cameras on the highways as well. If much of the speed enforcement can be automated, then more law enforcement resources could be routed to where automation isn't possible or desirable. (Or we could reduce the number of LE personnel.)

Paying police to do basic traffic enforcement like this is like paying people to collect tickets on the train. Oh, but NJ does that too on NJ Transit. Government suffers from a serious case of Baumol's Disease when efficiency pressures are apparently absent.

[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baumol's_cost_disease]Baumol's Disease[/url]

I've seen idiots blow through stop signs and red lights like they were in some GTA-induced state of (un)consciousness. The threat of getting a ticket won't stop those fools. On the flip side, there are also some intersections in Harsimus Cove where you have to literally stick your head out the window (or roll halfway into the intersection itself) to check for oncoming traffic because of strategically placed obstacles. They should replace all stop signs with traffic lights in these situations, but of course, that assumes people will be watching those lights in the first place instead of texting their buddies that they're almost at their destination and--just ran over some little old lady... What do(n't) they teach in Driver's Ed these days anyway?

Yes, he said it: Red-light cameras all about the money

August 24, 2012, 5:33 PM
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

Every so often, a kernel of truth manages to squeak past the spin.

That's the case in Fort Lee, where Mayor Mark Sokolich told his constituents that, yes, he wants to install red-light cameras in town ? and, yes, it?s about the money.

Sokolich has gone somewhat off the reservation in this case. The official talking points from the state Department of Transportation, the vendors providing camera systems to dozens of New Jersey towns, and the mayors and police chiefs in those municipalities, are that the red-light camera program is there to make the roads safer. Most recently, a top vendor, American Traffic Solutions, coordinated a PR campaign with local officials who use their red-light cameras meant to remind New Jersey that the cameras are about preventing accidents, not writing tickets.

And then Sokolich goes and tells his people the truth. At least the truth in Fort Lee: ?Yeah, for money reasons. There, I said it. These things generate income," Sokolich told The Record.

That grain of honesty earned Fort Lee's mayor a rebuke from state Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren), an outspoken critic of the red-light cameras who wants New Jersey's program to end. Doherty correctly called Sokolich on the carpet for buying into the blatant money-grab of the red-light cameras.

Despite claims that the cameras increase red-light obedience and prevent dangerous, potentially fatal collisions caused by red-light runners, statistics across the country - in other states where red-light cameras are used - show that the programs generate millions of dollars in traffic tickets from people who, most often, commit the offense of rolling through a right turn on red, rather than driving straight through the red signal. Studies also show the cameras can lead to an increase in rear-end collisions caused by drivers who slam on their brakes when a light turns yellow to avoid an $85 fine from a robotic camera system.

There's little question that red-light cameras are more about money than safety. Nationwide, the stats prove that the vast majority of tickets are for relatively minor offenses that, technically, break the red-light traffic rules. Doherty and other lawmakers critical of the state's program are right to seek its end.

And Mayor Sokolich, while on the wrong side of the issue - at least in the eyes of his constituents - was refreshingly correct in speaking the truth

http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page ... d_it_red-light_camer.html

Jersey City to resume red-light camera operation at Kennedy & Communipaw

July 25, 2012, 12:41 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City may resume issuing traffic tickets from the red-light cameras at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue today, one day after Gov. Chris Christie said the cameras that had been suspended statewide have been authorized for operation.

The city stopped issuing tickets using the red-light cameras at that intersection last month, after the state suspended 63 of the 85 cameras in the state because of concerns that the yellow lights at the intersections may not have been timed as per state law.

Jersey City has eight intersections with activated red-light cameras, and a handful more are on the way. The newest cameras, at the foot of Newark Avenue where it meets with Routes 1&9, will be activated Aug. 5.

The cameras at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue were the only cameras in the city the state ordered suspended until the yellow-light timing was certified. In May, city officials said those cameras were responsible for 20,000 tickets and $1.7 million in fines from May 2011 to April 2012.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_to_resume_red-ligh.html

Generally speaking, the yellow light is supposed to remain yellow 1 second for every 10 mph in the speed limit.

Candid camera
Do red light cameras really improve traffic safety?

by E. Assata Wright
Hudson Reporter staff writer
Jul 08, 2012

The intersection of Columbus and Jersey avenues is among 14 in Jersey City that are outfitted with cameras designed to document drivers who run red lights.

Do those notorious red light cameras around Jersey City and other cities really lower car crashes ? or lead to more accidents than standard traffic signals? That is a question that?s being hotly debated by motorists who have been ticketed after allegedly being caught on camera running red lights.

A recent decision by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to suspend the issuance of tickets at 63 intersections in the state outfitted with red light cameras initially led to relief among drivers who have been fined after being caught running lights. The suspension of the program was particularly felt in Newark, where all of that city?s red light cameras will stop issuing tickets until the system can be recalibrated and improved.

But the suspension of the red light camera program provides little amnesty to Jersey City drivers. Of the 13 red light cameras that have been in operation in Jersey City, only one ? at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue ? has been suspended. The remaining 12 cameras in Jersey City remain in full effect and drivers who run red lights at these intersections will still receive tickets and fines.

Indeed, last week the city announced that yet another Jersey City intersection has been outfitted with a red light camera. This camera at this intersection, at Newark and Wallis avenues, began a one-month warning/trial period on July 5. During this trial, the camera will take still photos and video footage of cars that speed through red lights. Violators will receive written warnings in the mail, but will not be fined during the trial period. After the trial period ends on August 4 motorists will start receiving fines for violations.

Cities love ?em, drivers hate ?em

Municipalities love the controversial cameras. They generate quick cash (the municipality splits the proceeds with the state) and force speeding drivers to slow down ? without the need for police personnel to monitor dangerous intersections and write tickets. This year alone, Jersey City expects to bring in $2 million from fines issued through its network of red light cameras, after fees and expenses, according to a city spokeswoman. Reliance on red light cameras also allows the police department to redeploy officers from traffic duty to other functions.

But many drivers say the camera systems are unfair. They claim the camera systems unjustly target people who were in an intersection during a yellow light and also ticket drivers who entered an intersection on a green light, but who then had to wait for oncoming traffic to pass before they could make a left turn.

The presence of cameras at notorious intersections has, some drivers say, forced them to change where and how they drive.

?I no longer take my old route to work,? said one motorist who has been fined twice after being caught running red lights. ?Now I go through residential neighborhoods where I have more stop signs and fewer red lights.?

This motorist claims his tickets were issued when the traffic lights were yellow, not red.

Other drivers admit the camera systems have led them to treat yellow lights as if they were red ? a bad habit that can lead to more rear end collisions.

?I stop on yellow,? said resident Monica Foy. ?I got a ticket last year. I was taught that if you are already in the intersection when the light turns red you keep going. I believe that?s what I did when I got my ticket?The same thing happened to my boyfriend. Now I won?t take the chance.?

According to the NJDOT there is a formula that is supposed to determines the length of time a camera-equipped traffic light should be yellow. This length of time differs from the standard length of time at regular traffic signals that do not have cameras. Throughout the state, traffic signals equipped with cameras may need to be re-set so that drivers are not getting tickets for driving through yellow lights.

Overall crashes down?

There are roughly 86 intersections statewide that are equipped with cameras that monitor traffic signal violations. The cameras are part of a five-year pilot program that went into effect in 2009 and, according to the NJDOT, ?aims to determine whether red light cameras promote safety by reducing the frequency and severity of crashes at intersections that have a history of motorists running red lights.?

But some motorists question whether the camera systems ? which are currently being tested out in 25 New Jersey municipalities ? prevent accidents or cause them.

The NJDOT maintains the cameras have reduced accidents and, possibly, saved lives.

?Under the five-year pilot program we have to provide an annual report on all of the data, both summonses as well as crashes,? said NJDOT spokesman Tim Greeley. ?We have to look at rear-end collisions, as well as the much more dangerous and, possibly, fatal side crashes.?

Each November, Greeley said, the department issues a report that looks at summonses and crashes at intersections that have had operational red light cameras for at least one full year. (Cameras and intersections that have been in effect for less than a full year are not included in the annual report.)

The November 2011 report, which included data from only two intersections, ?total crashes are down 45 percent?right-angle crashes are down 57 percent, and same direction crashes are down 50 percent. When crash severity is factored into the equation, the overall cost of these crashes ?was reduced by an estimated $149,000.?

The report concluded that while the cameras appear to have a beneficial impact on the number, severity, and cost of crashes, the NJDOT believes ?the date [is] too limited to draw any meaningful conclusions at this time.?

The 2011 annual report did not include data on any of the intersections in Jersey City since none of them had been in operation for a full year when the report was drafted. The 2012 report will have more crash data for Jersey City.

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... ey_city_story_left_column

Jersey City to activate red-light cameras at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9

July 03, 2012, 4:30 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Despite state officials suspending most of New Jersey?s red-light cameras, Jersey City is forging ahead with the controversial program by adding cameras to a ninth city intersection, at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9.

The city, which started implementing the program last year, plans to install the cameras at more than three dozen locations citywide. The latest set of cameras will catch motorists speeding through the red lights at the foot of Newark Avenue, by the Wittpenn Bridge.

Cameras installed last March at Kennedy Boulevard and Communipaw Avenue were suspended on June 19, along with more than 60 statewide, after the state determined the yellow lights at the intersections may not be timed correctly.

Cameras installed at the other seven Jersey City intersections were permitted to continue operating.

The Jersey Journal asked the city whether it should halt any implementation of additional red-light cameras until the state concludes its investigation of the program.

"The study being conducted by the state involves certain cameras and the timing of the yellow signal,? said city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill. ?The only that has been temporarily suspended pending the review was the red light camera at Communipaw Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard, and ultimately the state authorizes the activation of all new cameras.?

City officials stress that increasing public safety is the top priority for the red-light camera program, though they concede the cameras may be responsible for as much as $3 million in revenue this year.

A 30-day warning period for the red-light cameras at Newark Avenue and Routes 1&9 begins on Thursday. Motorists will be cited $85 for running a red light there starting August 5.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_to_activate_red-li.html

This is going to be embarrassing - they'll find that 85% of drivers are going at least 10 MPH over the posted speed limit.

Quote:

New Jersey is suspending its controversial red light camera program to further study whether the cameras, which have frustrated motorists while generating millions of dollars for towns, meet standards for the timing of yellow lights.

Officials with the state Department of Transportation said today that 63 of the 85 red light cameras in the state ? including all 19 in Newark ? have not been tested to ensure yellow lights were timed in full accordance with state standards.

Tickets will not be issued at those 63 locations until it is determined whether the cameras are in compliance with the law. The other 22 cameras are in compliance.

The yellow lights are expected to stay lit one second for every 10 mph ? 3.5 seconds in the case of an intersection where the speed limit is 35 mph.

In addition, the standards call for towns to study the speed at which vehicles approach the intersection before determining how long the yellow lights stay lit, taking into account the speed at which 85 percent of the drivers travel through the intersection. For 63 of the 85 cameras in 21 towns, those speeds had not been determined before the towns received approval to install the red light cameras.

Assemblyman Declan O?Scanlon Jr. (R-Monmouth) said motorists have been caught in the red lights and fined because the yellow lights may have been incorrectly timed.

"It?s a good victory for the motorists of New Jersey," he said.

The towns where the red light cameras will remain in limbo are Newark, Linden, Wayne, Palisades Park, Union Township, Springfield, Roselle Park, Rahway, Englewood Cliffs, Pohatcong, Piscataway, Edison, East Windsor, Lawrence, Cherry Hill, Stratford, Monroe, Brick and Glassboro, Jersey City (one camera of 13) and Woodbridge (one camera of four).



http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012 ... he_breaks_on_red-lig.html

Quote:

Perhaps it is too strong a word, but hiding the camera promoted income rather than general compliance. Of course the best thing would be for everyone to expect a cam at every light and so everyone would drive safe, but that's unrealistic for now.

A warning sign is the best compromise, since most of the criticisms of the cams is that the flash causes rear end collisions because when it unexpectedly goes off the numskull in the intersection jams on the brakes and the second idiot running the light even later than the 1st slams into them.

I wonder if Area_Man would update us as to whether he actually got a ticket or not.

How does the existence of an undisclosed camera constitute entrapment?

Quote:

Is that why the sign warning of cam enforcement is on the other side of the street at westbound Columbus & Jersey, where a driver would never see it? I'm for enforcement leading to safer streets, not entrapment leading to cashflow.

State OKs red-light cameras at Routes 1&9 & Manhattan Ave., 14th St. & Jersey Ave. in Jersey City

June 12, 2012, 3:49 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

State officials have given the OK for Jersey City to install two more sets of red-light cameras, at Routes 1&9 and Manhattan Avenue and at 14th Street and Jersey Avenue.

The city has 24 cameras at eight intersections already, and they plan to install 14 more cameras at six additional junctures.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill told The Jersey Journal last month the city expects to net $1 million this year from the cameras, far short of the $7 million the city initially hoped to receive.

City officials have stressed that the primary goal of red-light cameras is to reduce motor-vehicle accidents, not increase revenue for the city.

The red-light cameras at the two newest intersections have not been activated yet. City officials give motorists 30 days from activation of the cameras before they start issuing tickets.

A sign warning of a red-light camera has been installed at the foot of Newark Avenue, when it intersects with Routes 1&9, but that camera has not been activated yet either.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... red-light_cameras_at.html

I'm in favor of a camera on every corner and doubling the fines. People are getting killed on the streets, literally. Multiple accidents on Grand street one morning last week. The non-mechanized version of the police have shown no consistent interest or ability to affect change with regard to vehicular and pedestrian safety - so let's give this a shot. If you obey the rules, you have nothing to fear - and driving is a privilege, not a right.

The government is not forcing anyone to speed or ignore red lights, is it?

Quote:

I'll bet you don't even get that one sent to you. What you did was legal, far as I remember the laws. You were already in the intersection.

This is nothing more than Government sponsored extortion in the name of "safety" It has nothing to do with safety and everything to do with pocketing the money..

I got flashed while trying to make a left onto Jersey from Columbus. When the light turned yellow cars coming in the opposite direction continued to blast through the intersection, leaving me trapped out there. Finally when the light had been fully red for a moment I was able to turn and the flash went off.

I won't be paying that summons. In situations like that, the camera is useless.