COMMUNITY FORUM: Use of technology aimed at increasing safety for city's motorists, others
The Colorado Springs Police Department is struggling to continue effective traffic safety education, engineering and enforcement due to budgetary constraints and decreased human resources to provide the increased demands for our services. Lowering the cost of effective traffic safety is a must in these times of fiscal crisis. Photo enforcement programs leverage technological advancements to successfully supplement the efforts of police officers by monitoring intersections, school zones and roadways that are difficult for an officer to cover, especially when a department is short staffed.
Photo red and photo radar will be cost-neutral programs for the city, with no tax dollars used other than limited manpower to ensure the programs are working efficiently and effectively. Under Colorado law, a vendor can charge only a monthly fee for their equipment and services and cannot receive a percentage of revenue collected for violations. Vendors will provide a cost-neutral guarantee to the city. Photo red light will be implemented only at intersections that are proven to be problematic locations. Photo radar can be deployed only in school zones, residential neighborhoods, construction zones or along a street that borders a municipal park.
Photo enforcement is specific and detailed in photographing intersection violations, providing photographic evidence of: (1) the vehicle behind the violation line with the red light depicted clearly in the photo; (2) completion of the vehicle traveling through the intersection with the red light in view; (3) a photo of the license plate of the vehicle; (4) a clear photo of the driver’s face (face only); and (5) a video clip of the full violation sequence to confirm the completed violation.
This photo system is not indiscriminate in nature, but captures only the specific vehicles and drivers’ details as required by state law.
Once the violations are captured and processed, the violation photos and video, along with ownership information, is provided to the Police Department in an encrypted and secured format, allowing a police officer to view the images and make the violation determination. All violations must be approved by an authorized representative of the city. The viewing officer verifies the violation and authorizes the vendor to print and mail the citation, or rejects the violation and it is removed from storage.
CSPD will not authorize citations that are not clear violations. The citation includes a Web address and personal identification number so the owner can review the photos and the video clip on-line, greatly reducing court challenges. If court action is necessary, the judge has access in court to all violation images and video sequence.
Colorado legislators have implemented law that governs the use of photo enforcement systems throughout Colorado. The city of Colorado Springs is bound to abide by the rules set forth in this statute.
A municipality is required to serve a penalty assessment notice or summons and complaint for an alleged violation on the defendant no later than 90 days after the alleged violation occurred. The use of photo red light and photo radar is prohibited unless there is signage posted in a conspicuous place notifying the public that a photo enforcement device is in use immediately ahead.
Colorado law limits the fines assessed for violations detected by a photo enforcement device to $75 for a red light violation and $40 for photo radar violations, with the radar fine doubled in school zones and construction zones.
The city may not assess any points against a driver’s license upon entry of a conviction or judgment for a violation of a municipal traffic regulation that was detected through the use of a photo enforcement system.
Our overall goal with the implementation of these programs is traffic safety. These programs have proven they can assist with decreasing the number of injury-related accidents. CSPD is hoping for a combination of reduced crashes and an absence of violations.
—
Myers is Colorado Springs’ chief of police.
