Red-light runners face fines as cameras go on trial in CBD

A red light enforcement camera stands empty at a busy Auckland intersection. Picture / Michael Craig

Thousands of Auckland drivers have been running red lights with impunity as intersection cameras have lain hollow, rusted and unused for the past five years.

A recent survey at one busy city intersection found almost five drivers running red lights every hour - 300 people over one 24-hour period at the Hobson St, Union St corner.

But Auckland City Council abandoned its 15 cameras in 2001 because of the cost of running them, leaving both the camera boxes in place and signs around them still warning drivers the cameras were there.

Now the council wants to introduce digital cameras, initially trialling 11 cameras at intersections around the city. Each camera will cost between $50,000 and $60,000 each.

Karen Hay, manager of road safety at Auckland City Council, said the cost of operating the city's film cameras was "too expensive", but digital technology made them more feasible. If the plan is approved by police, drivers who run reds will receive a $150 fine.

Under the pilot scheme, Auckland City Council will contribute $66,000, with the Auckland Regional Transport Authority sourcing funding for the remainder.

Former Auckland mayor John Banks has labelled the pilot "a naked money grabbing exercise". He said it should be the responsibility of police to manage and enforce a red light camera system, not councils.

Since the demise of the film cameras, it has been the responsibility of police to stop motorists and issue infringement notices when they see drivers ignoring red lights. But Inspector Heather Wells, manager of Auckland City roading said that was not always feasible.

"Police can't always pull people over because of the disruption it causes on some busy roads to others on the roads," she said. Local authorities are not legally empowered to issue and collect red light infringements, but can own and operate the cameras.

Wells said the cameras are "definitely not a revenue mechanism". "We are doing this to reduce trauma that is experienced as a result of intersection crashes," she said.

Between 2001 and 2005, 38 injuries occurred at seven of Auckland's busiest intersections - including Karangahape Rd, Symonds St, Fanshawe St and Tamaki Dr - resulting from red light running. And in a recent ARTA survey, 41 per cent of people said CBD intersections were unsafe or sometimes unsafe and 46 per cent said they see red light running in the CBD at least once a week. In one 24-hour period, 300 instances of red light running were recorded on the Union and Hobson St intersection in the CBD.

Steve Spence from the New Zealand Local Authority Traffic Institute said councils have wanted red light cameras, but a lack of funding had prevented it. "The biggest cities have been waiting with some impatience for an extra addition to the safety tool box... but [Government] was not convinced of the cost benefits," he said.

The Auckland City pilot programme would see motorists posted a warning letter by police during its first month, with fines from the second month onwards. Hay said it was safety first and not profit. "It is very evident that Auckland City has an extensive red light problem. Motorists need to learn to share the roads," she said.

If successful, other cities may follow suit. Christchurch City lost its film cameras two years ago after meter mechanic Greg Andrews suffered a hernia after lifting the city's two heavy mobile cameras.

Traffic systems engineer Vaughan Penney told the Herald on Sunday that the council now has one fixed digital camera on the Cashel and Barbados Rd intersection, which cost $50,000.