Tempe red light and speed cameras begin issuing $250 fines on June 6
TEMPE, Ariz. - Red light and speed cameras are officially back in Tempe.
FOX 10 reported in April that the cameras were being installed, and on June 6, citations will begin.
For the past month, an offender has only been sent a warning as people and police get accustomed to the new system.
So, how has it all been working out so far at the 14 intersections?
What they're saying:
"I see a lot of people speeding, so maybe it will be a good thing," a driver said.
"I think that it's bringing awareness so eventually, yes, it will prevent crashes," another driver named Nicole Crenshaw said.
"Don't run red lights," Maya Coleman, a driver, said. "That's pretty much it."
Tempe turns on photo enforcement cameras: Here's what drivers need to know
Here's what drivers who visit the East Valley should know, as the City of Tempe turns on over a dozen photo enforcement cameras at various intersections.
By the numbers:
In just one month, Tempe Police says it has issued several warnings.
Tom Haubold is the traffic program supervisor for the Tempe Police Department.
"So far, 5,186 have gone out," he said.
Haubold is able to review video and pictures showing drivers running red lights or speeding.
"Well, this one, they're doing 59 in a 40," he said, looking at a video of a violator.
Data is also broken down by how fast people are driving over the speed limit.
"This one was 21 miles an hour. All of these people were 22 miles an hour. All of these were 23," he said.
Before a citation can be mailed out, there are steps the police department takes to make sure a violation is valid.
"They'll look at all the information that's in there, and then they'll decide, ‘OK, yes, this is a good violation.’ Now, they have to look at the driver's photo and the registered owner's name. Is it a match? Is it a male driving in a male name? That's better, right? So then they'll run the plate, they'll get the driver's license photo of the registered owner. "Now they have to compare the two photos, and if that's a match, then it can go out as a citation," Haubold said.
If you are photographed running a red light, you could expect to see a $250 citation in the mail.
Dig deeper:
The city of Tempe is leasing the cameras on a monthly basis.
The red light cameras are $2,000 a month. The mobile cameras that move every two weeks are $3,000 a month.
"The biggest thing I want to see is, I want to see the reduction in our fatalities and our serious injury crashes," Haubold said.
Here's a fun fact: the city of Tempe had these cameras years ago but got rid of them. They brought them back as part of their Vision Zero program.