Crime & Safety

Red Light Cameras Now Fully Operational on Route 1

Tickets are now being issued for red light violations documented by Lawrence Township's new traffic enforcement camera system on Route 1. Tell us what you think of the new system by answering the two polls at the end of this story.

quietly went fully operational early last Friday, Nov. 18, following a month-long testing period.

That means that actual tickets are now being mailed to the registered owners of vehicles that violate traffic laws by going through red lights at the intersection of Route 1 (Brunswick Pike) and Franklin Corner Road/Bakers Basin Road.

The minimum fine for each violation is $85.

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Written “courtesy warning notices” were sent out to red light violators for infractions committed during the month-long testing period that began at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 18.

Lt. Charles Edgar, a spokesman for the Lawrence Township Police Department, declined to say how many warnings were issued during the testing period, saying only that it was “a lot.”

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He noted that many motorists received multiple warnings during the month-long testing period, with some receiving warnings for multiple infractions committed the same day.  

Edgar explained that it is still legal to make a “right turn on red” at the intersection, when traffic permits such a turn to be done safely, but he stressed that motorists need to come to a complete stop at the intersection before beginning to turn.

Drivers who make “rolling” right turns at a red light – in other words, whose vehicles do not first come to a full stop at the corner – will trigger the camera system, which in turn could lead to a ticket for a traffic violation, he said.    

The camera system, being operated by Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions as part of a contract with Lawrence Township, captures detailed digital photographs of vehicles that fail to obey red lights at the intersection.

Edgar said all potential violations captured by the camera system are reviewed by a Lawrence Township police officer.

If the reviewing officer confirms a violation, a ticket will then be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle involved. However, no ticket will be issued in situations where the reviewing officer observes a valid reason for the red light violation – such as a motorist trying to get out of the way of an approaching fire engine or ambulance.

The new system in Lawrence Township is part of a pilot program authorized by the New Jersey Department of Transportation to test if red light cameras will work in the Garden State.  

Township officials have previously said they hope the camera system will make the intersection safer.

According to the 2010 annual report of the Lawrence Township Police Department, there were 53 traffic accidents at the Route 1 and Franklin Corner Road/Bakers Basin Road intersection last year, making it the second most-dangerous intersection in terms of vehicle crashes in the township in 2010. Only the Brunswick Traffic Circle had more accidents (66) that year.

After the month-long testing period began on the system in Lawrence Township, . The report was focused on such systems nationwide and did not specifically address the system in Lawrence. 


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