Red Light Cameras Coming Down

The city of Dalton is making a move that will make a lot of drivers very happy - city leaders want to get rid of those red light cameras.

Mayor David Pennington says they don't make his city any safer, and now they are costing more money than what they bring in to the city with tickets.

The camera's that catch drivers not completely stopping at red lights in Dalton have made a lot of drivers see red when they get the $75 ticket in the mail. The camera operated systems have been promoted as making streets safer and reducing crashes. But in Dalton, we've discovered the numbers don't show it.

Mayor David Pennington said, "Does it really enhance the public safety in a community? We see no evidence that it does."

Mayor Pennington says at one intersection, Waugh Street and Thornton Avenue, the number of crashes increased after the red light cameras were installed.

"Because of rear-enders, and maybe some of it is some people when they see the sign and suddenly thought hey, there's a traffic camera here and they slam on their brakes and then somebody rear-ends them," he said.

Besides having no safety benefits the city is now losing money on the camera systems, before taking into account the number of man hours it takes to process the pictures and mail out tickets. The equipment is not cheap. The city of Dalton pays Laser Craft, the company that installed these cameras, about $25,000 a month under the terms of the lease.

The number of tickets issued has been declining. In February last year 586 tickets brought in just under $44,000. This February the number of tickets fell to 125, bringing in just under $9,400, nowhere near the $25,000 the mayor says he pays Laser Craft.

Same for January, where 397 tickets in 2008 shrank to 203 tickets this year bringing in just over $15,000... about $10,000 less than the cost of the machines. So now the mayor wants to get rid of the red light cameras, which makes most drivers very happy.

"Sometimes when you're in the middle of a yellow light you know, that's when they take their picture and stuff. Yeah, Id like to get rid of 'em, save a little money for us you know," one driver said.

Tickets for rolling stops far outnumber the number of hard stops at the downtown cameras. That's where a driver approaches, slows down to a near stop, then proceeds if traffic is clear.

Mayor Pennington said, "Instead of paying the money that it costs to have cameras at the intersections, are we not better off with a policeman that patrols a high-crime area?"

Money better spent the mayor says, since red light cameras do not improve safety. The mayor will recommend the Dalton City Council take action to get rid of the red light cameras in the coming weeks. Other cities in suburban Atlanta have already taken their cameras down.