Should Montco Have Red Light Cameras?

According to a release issued by AAA MidAtlantic, the Pennsylvania legislature is wrapping up its session with a bill to allow red light cameras in the Philadelphia suburbs and in Pittsburgh. 

House Bill 254 passed handily in the state Senate on Friday with 34 yeas and only 15 nays and if signed into law by Gov. Corbett, would reauthorize the red light camera program in Philadelphia through July 2017, but would also allow for the cameras to be used in Montgomery, Chester, Delaware and Bucks counties as well as Pittsburgh.

Municipalities eligible for the red light cameras would have to exceed 20,000 residents and have full-time police forces accredited by the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. That makes Abington eligible for the cameras.

Details of the law:

• Fines would be set at $100 (unless a lower amount is approved by the municipality.)
• The violation would not carry any points. 
• The legislation prohibits frontal photographs of vehicles.
• The cameras only can be used for traffic enforcement, not surveillance. 

Other Montgomery County communities that are eligible for cameras include, Horsham, Lower Merion, Lower Providence, Montgomery, Norristown, Upper Dublin and Upper Merion.

AAA says it strongly supports the same protections for citizens that are provided in Philadelphia’s red light camera program including:

• Posted warning signs telling motorists that red light cameras are present.
• Camera vendors are paid a flat amount, not related to number of citations issued.
• PennDOT has sole responsibility for approving intersections, and the camera locations are based solely on crash data, not traffic volume.
• Yellow light timing cannot be arbitrarily changed.
• Revenue goes to Pennsylvania’s Motor License Fund for safety and mobility projects throughout the state, not just the local jurisdiction.