South Jersey red-light report: Cameras led to 41,000 tickets

South Jersey municipalities issued more than 41,000 tickets last year to drivers caught on camera running red lights at intersections in Camden and Gloucester Counties.

Gloucester Township, one of four local towns that started the red-light-camera program in 2010, issued about 17,300 tickets between July and December. Few drivers have challenged the $85 tickets in court, officials said.

The program is a five-year effort to see if the cameras reduce violations and accidents. While results are promising, South Jersey police departments say, it's too early to gauge the program's effectiveness.

"The real test will come in the next three to six months. . . . If the violations drop and accidents drop, that's when we will know," Stratford Police Chief Ronald Morello said.

After a 30-day warning period, a camera at White Horse and Berlin Roads in Stratford, near the Lindenwold station on the High-Speed Line, started recording violators in November.

In December, Stratford issued 432 citations for drivers who ran the light in November. About 95 tickets were issued in December for violators that month, and a few hundred more violations still have to be reviewed, Morello said.

Since late 2008, the state Department of Transportation has accepted 25 towns, including Cherry Hill and Monroe Townships, into the program. The red-light cameras are operational in nine municipalities statewide, the department said.

Cherry Hill's cameras could be up and running in February, a town spokesman said.

For several years, red-light cameras have operated in cities nationwide, but with strong criticism. Proponents say the cameras decrease crashes and improve public safety, but several studies have suggested otherwise.

Opponents say the cameras are nothing more than money-making machines for municipalities and some companies, depending on the arrangement with the city. In Los Angeles, a 2010 city controller's audit found that the red-light program had not conclusively proved it increased public safety.

In New Jersey, points are not assessed for the $85 tickets. The red-light cameras identify license plates, not drivers.

Arizona-based vendors review the potential violations from the South Jersey towns. Then police review the videos for a final determination.

Police can reject violations for several reasons, such as poor video quality or plate obstruction. In Gloucester Township, police rejected 390 violations this year, officials said.