More red-light violators caught with new cameras
25,833 tickets issued from March to Sept a 37% increase over entire 2013
By Aw Cheng Wei, The Straits Times, 11 Nov 2014
25,833 tickets issued from March to Sept a 37% increase over entire 2013
By Aw Cheng Wei, The Straits Times, 11 Nov 2014
DRIVERS be warned. New digital cameras - which do not run out of film like older cameras - are catching many more red-light violators in the act.
The Traffic Police have already issued 25,833 summonses to drivers caught running red lights between March and September this year, a jump of 37.4 per cent from the 18,796 issued for the whole of last year.
From 2011 to last year, the rise in such violations was minimal, or at most 7 per cent.
The substantial increase this year comes after digital cameras replaced old film cameras at 120 locations from March. The remaining 120 film cameras will be replaced by June next year.
The tickets issued this year include those for offenders caught on digital cameras, on top of those for offenders caught by film cameras and during operations.
Traffic Police chief Sam Tee said the digital cameras should send a strong signal to motorists to deter them from running red lights and spur them to stop when lights are red.
"Over time, we hope to shape their behaviour of following this simple rule which saves lives," said the Assistant Commissioner of Police.
In the past four years, drivers who ignored red lights killed 39 people. Some of these drivers also died in the process.
Despite the falling rate of fatalities in accidents where drivers ran red lights, that is a number too high because the accidents could have been prevented, said AC Tee.The new cameras, fixed on 3.5m-tall poles by the roadside, snap twice - when vehicles hit the stop line and when they pass it. But they do not run out of film and can work all day, every day.
The 11-megapixel cameras shoot in colour, unlike the film cameras, which take black-and- white images.
Officers also do not have to collect the film manually. Images are sent automatically to the Traffic Police headquarters to be checked to ensure the summonses are sent to the right people.
The new cameras can also identify licence plate numbers.
AC Tee said: "It is not just a camera, but a whole-system design."
The new system must also hold up to court scrutiny when photographs are needed to prove the running of red lights occurred, he said.
Digital cameras also shorten the time taken for errant drivers to receive their summonses. It now takes about 10 working days, down from 18 before.
The process might become even faster when more digital cameras are installed next year.
But the flashes of the old film cameras are not taken down, in case they are needed as backup for the digital cameras, which come with their own flashes.
About 5 per cent of the 150 fatal accidents last year involved vehicles running red lights, which is more likely to happen from 8pm to the wee hours of the morning, when traffic tends to be lighter.
To encourage motorists to obey traffic lights, signs are put up to warn them of cameras ahead.
Motorists who run red lights are liable to 12 demerit points and a fine of $200 for light vehicles, and $230 for heavy vehicles.
Motorists who repeat their offences within 24 months will have their licences suspended.