Automated Enforcement

The goal of this research was to find out which automated enforcement programs have been successful and what contributed to their success, as well as which programs have been unsuccessful and to draw lessons from their experiences. This was accomplished through a comprehensive assessment of automated speed and red light running enforcement activity in the United States and Canada, which led to the development of guidelines to assist agencies in implementing and operating successful automated enforcement programs. Over 350 jurisdictions with current or past automated enforcement programs were contacted by survey and phone as part of the assessment. In addition to the survey, an extensive literature review was conducted to determine the effect of the programs, cost effectiveness, and resource requirements, and to get the perspective of the public.

Senate Bill 1512, which was passed into law by the 74th State Legislature in 1995, requires the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to install and operate automated highway-railroad grade crossing enforcement systems as a demonstration project. Six sites with gates, relatively high traffic and train volumes, and a minimum number of accidents, were selected for the demonstration study. Potential vendors responded to a formal request for proposals to demonstrate their abilities. Because of problems encountered at three sites, automated enforcement equipment was installed and demonstrated at three (rather than six) sites in Texas by two vendors. The equipment at the sites photographed vehicles violating the gate arms. The information was then sent to a processing center either in the form of a film canister or as a data file over a voice-grade phone line. Once at the processing center, the violation was confirmed by a clerk, who then recorded the license plate number of the vehicle and the vehicle's characteristics. After the vehicle owner information was provided by TxDOT's motor vehicle registration department, the vendor took the necessary steps to have an education letter produced. At one site, the vendor mailed the letter, and at the other two sites, the information was provided to the local police department for processing. The project clearly demonstrated that automated enforcement equipment can be used at highway-railroad grade crossings to record violations, identify the license plate and owner of the vehicle, and mail educational materials.

Tour of the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Australia.

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The Federal Highway Administration estimates that red light running causes more than 100,000 crashes and 1,000 fatalities annually and results in an estimated economic loss of over $14 billion per year in the United States. In Iowa alone, a statewide analysis of red light running crashes, using crash data from 2001 to 2006, indicates than an average of 1,682 red light running crashes occur at signalized intersections every year. As a result, red light running poses a significant safety issue for communities. Communities rarely have the resources to place additional law enforcement in the field to combat the problem and they are increasingly using automated red light running camera-enforcement systems at signalized intersections. In Iowa, three communities currently use camera enforcement since 2004. These communities include Davenport, Council Bluffs, and Clive. As communities across the United States attempt to address red light running, a number of communities have implemented red light running camera enforcement programs. This report examines the red light running program in Iowa and summarizes results of analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of such cameras.