Updated: Lawrence Red Light Cameras Meet Timing Requirement

Update: See below for a new release issued on Wednesday, July 25, by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Original Story, posted 4:30 a.m. July 25:

Lawrence Township has completed the traffic analysis that was ordered last month when the New Jersey Department of Transportation temporarily suspended the operation of red light traffic enforcement camera systems in Lawrence and 20 other municipalities statewide, according to Township Manager Richard Krawczun.

That analysis, according to Krawczun, included data certifying that the camera system at the intersection of Route 1 and Bakers Basin Road/Franklin Corner Road in Lawrence complies with the state’s strict requirements for the duration of the yellow warning light.

All four approaches at the intersection were certified as compliant, he said, noting that the data was submitted by the township to NJDOT on June 27.

Municipalities have until Aug. 1 to submit their traffic analysis and yellow light timing findings.

NJDOT spokesman Tim Greeley told Lawrenceville Patch via email on Friday that certification data had been received from several municipalities and was “under review.”

At that time, the fate of the state’s red light camera pilot program remained in limbo.

“We do not have an estimate as to when an announcement will be made,” Greeley said in his email on Friday.

But last night (Tuesday, July 24) - according to online reports by both New Jersey 101.5 and the Star-Ledger - Gov. Chris Christie announced during his monthly "Ask the Governor" radio call-in show on New Jersey 101.5 that all red light camera systems in the state had been certified and that municipalities will soon be given the go-ahead to again issue tickets for violations. 

It was June 19 when NJDOT ordered 21 New Jersey municipalities to suspend the issuance of summonses from its red light enforcement cameras.

The order was given due to concern that some systems might not meet the requirements for yellow light duration.

Legislation that authorizes the cameras under a pilot program requires a formula to determine the proper duration of the yellow light in a traffic signal that differs from the formula most state roads already use.

State officials said most yellow lights follow the legally-required engineering and safety standards in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which requires a minimum duration of the yellow light to equal one-tenth of the posted speed limit on the approaching road.

For example, where the approaching road has a posted speed of 40 mph, the signal must display a yellow warning for a minimum of four seconds. NJDOT rounds up to the nearest whole second, so in instances where the approaching speed limit is 45 mph, the signal should show yellow for five seconds.

The formula in the pilot program legislation, however, requires an analysis of vehicle speeds as they approach the intersection where a red light camera installation is located or proposed. The formula requires a yellow light of at least three seconds if at least 85 percent of the approaching traffic travels at speeds of 25 mph or less.

For each increase of 5 mph in vehicle speed above 30 mph, the minimum duration of the yellow light must be increased by 0.5 seconds, according to the legislation.

This requirement, officials said, is there to ensure that the traffic signal is timed properly to provide motorists with sufficient time to avoid a violation and fine that would result from their entering an intersection when the light is red.

The order to temporarily suspend operations affected 63 of the 85 camera systems in the pilot program.  Municipalities where those cameras were located were ordered to conduct traffic analyses and submit certification data by Aug. 1.  

The remaining 22 systems remained in operation because they had already been certified as being in compliance.

Following the order from the state, Lawrence Township issued the following statement:

Effective June 21, 2012, Judge Kevin P. Nerwinski of the Lawrence Township Municipal Court has stayed all action in the court's processing of traffic tickets issued arising from the Red Light Camera Program.

In addition to adjourning cases now scheduled for court, all checks submitted to the court for payment of these tickets will not be negotiated (but held) if received on or after this date and until such time as the New Jersey Department of Transportation makes a determination as to whether the red light camera is certified as compliant with state law.

This is in addition to the NJDOT directive to hold in abeyance any tickets issued from the red light camera on or after June 15, 2012. Refunds for previously paid tickets will not be made during this hold period pending the final outcome of the compliance review.

Update: At noon on Wednesday, July 25, the New Jersey Department of Transportation issued the following news release. A list of the 85 red light camera systems in New Jersey's pilot program was also released at that time. That list can be found in PDF format in the media box above.

Responding to a June 19 directive from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, 21 municipalities have provided re-certifications confirming that the yellow light timing at 63 intersections statewide where red light cameras are authorized for operation is in accordance with the formula specified in the legislation.

Last month the Department directed 21 of the 25 municipalities participating in the red light camera pilot program to suspend issuing summonses to motorists on the basis of video evidence provided by cameras placed at intersections.  The suspension order affected 63 of the 85 authorized red light camera intersections statewide.

NJDOT ordered the suspension at the affected intersections because it had come to the attention of the Department that the pilot program legislation specified a formula to determine the proper duration of the yellow light in a traffic signal that differs from the legally required, nationally accepted formula that NJDOT, counties and municipalities use when installing traffic signals. 

NJDOT notified the 21 affected municipalities of the variance in the formulas and directed each to perform an analysis that conforms to the formula in the legislation. The affected cameras were not required to be turned off, but rather continued to record traffic activity.

Each affected municipality has conducted the requested traffic analysis and provided their re-certifications to NJDOT via a professionally licensed municipal engineer.  In each case the results have confirmed that the duration of a yellow light at the authorized intersection meets the minimum duration as required by the legislation. 

The municipalities that were affected by the suspension have been informed that they are now permitted to continue issuing violation summonses, as well as issue violation summonses for violations that occurred during the suspension period.

If the analysis had shown that a signal did not display a yellow light long enough to meet the formula in the legislation, that intersection would have been removed from the pilot program.

The red light camera pilot program, authorized by an act of the Legislature in 2008 and implemented beginning in 2009, aims to determine whether red light cameras promote safety by reducing the frequency and severity of crashes at intersections that have a history of motorists running red lights.  NJDOT administers the pilot program but has no direct role in the issuance of violations.

Click here for a complete list of the 85 intersections approved for red light camera enforcement. 

See Also:

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