USA - More Iowa drivers appealing traffic camera violations
December 8th 2011 - The number of appeals for red-light and speeding violations captured by automated traffic cameras in Des Moines appears to be on the rise.
December is the busiest month for appeals since police began issuing citations on July 3, according to city records obtained by The Des Moines Register. Forty-nine appeals are scheduled this month, a 44 percent climb over the previous four months combined.
To date, 20 motorists have been found liable for the violations; 14 have been found not liable. Appeals are heard by an administrative hearing officer hired by the city.
Twenty-one appeals are scheduled to be heard today; 28 others will be heard later this month.
Although appeals are on the rise, those cases account for only a fraction of the more than 7,700 citations that have been issued thus far.
Van Meter resident Tim Murray is one of the people who appealed a red-light camera citation and won. Murray received his citation in the mail, reviewed video footage of the alleged violation online, and knew he had a case.
The video showed that it was the vehicle next to Murray’s that was responsible for the red-light violation, not his. “They sent me the ticket, and clearly, whoever was watching it just wasn’t paying attention,” Murray said.
Murray had his appeal heard on Aug. 17. He was found not liable for the violation.
“In general, I think the cameras are going to slow people down and make them think twice,” Murray said. “You hear a lot of people complaining about them. I don’t really have a complaint other than the fact that if they are going to issue a ticket, make sure they get it to the right person.”
The cameras were activated in early June, nearly two years after city officials first said the technology could be used to crack down on drivers who speed and run red lights. There was a one-month grace period before fines were issued.
Police and other city officials who support the program are adamant that it aims to change driver behavior and improve traffic safety.
Des Moines’ automated traffic camera program includes:
Red-light cameras at five accident-prone intersections.
A mobile speed camera mounted in a marked police sport utility vehicle.
Fixed speed cameras in the eastbound lanes of Interstate Highway 235 between 56th Street and Polk Boulevard that were added Aug. 29. Citations tied to the freeway speed cameras began on Sept. 28.
Police spokesman Sgt. Chris Scott said that while the department fields complaints about the cameras, it also hears support.
“For the most part, we are still hearing from our neighborhood leaders and even from some people on I-235 that the speed cameras have changed driver behavior in those areas,” Scott said. “We certainly hear from both sides of the fence, but it just seems like we have a lot of support out there.”
Police and other city vehicles have even been nabbed by some of the cameras. Appeal dockets from July and August showed that the city was found not liable for four violations that involved its vehicles.
West Des Moines resident Bob Moratz appealed his red-light camera citation in September. Moratz decided to appeal because he thought his violation at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and School Street was not the flagrant sort that city officials say they are going after the hardest. He also didn’t feel there was adequate signage in the area to warn motorists.
The administrative hearing officer disagreed with his arguments, Moratz said, and found him liable for the violation.
“I thought, if that is the way the city is going to be, maybe I’ll just avoid going into Des Moines.”
Moratz is fine with the cameras overall, he said. “I think it is okay if they are going to get people blatantly violating the law, but when you are within inches of being in the intersection, then they’re just being picky. Then it just becomes a money issue.”
Police have cautioned that drivers are required to stop behind the “stop bar” — the solid painted bar on the road at intersections — or risk receiving a ticket.
Signs that say “Photo Enforced” were posted to warn drivers of locations with red-light cameras. Once awareness of the traffic cameras grows, violations and new revenues are expected to taper off.
Civil penalties for red-light violations are $65. Speeding citations start at $65 and increase for more egregious violations.
Under its agreement with the city of Des Moines, contractor Gatso USA collects a flat $27 transaction fee for each paid red-light citation and $25 for each paid speeding violation.
Nationwide, automated traffic enforcement is being used frequently. More than 470 cities across 25 states use radar-enabled cameras to catch motorists running red lights, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of Virginia.
Mobile speed and/or red-light camera enforcement programs currently exist in eight Iowa cities, according to the Institute for Highway Safety. They are: Cedar Rapids, Clive, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Muscatine and Sioux City. Polk County officials are considering whether to add mobile speed units to cover rural areas that are hard to patrol.
In Windsor Heights, officials are considering adding speed cameras on westbound I-235.