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Overview
Goals of the Red Light Enforcement Program
Enforcement
Administrative Hearing Process
Frequently Asked Questions
Citation and Traffic Crash data for 2007 through March 9th, 2011 for Randall Rd. and Williamsburg Ave.
Citation and Traffic Crash data for 2007 through March 9th, 2011 for Randall Rd. and Fargo Blvd.
Red Light Photo Enforcement has been used at these intersections since March 9th, 2010.
The locations for the red light photo systems are:
Northbound and Southbound Randall Road at Williamsburg Avenue
Northbound and Southbound Randall Road at Fargo Boulevard
The City of Geneva’s red light program has always had safety as its primary goal. In 2007, the City Council endorsed the following goals for the program:
Fines are only issued for a violation of the law. If there are no red light violations, the city receives no fine revenue.
Cameras have been proven to substantially reduce red light violations. Institute evaluations by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Fairfax, Virginia, and Oxnard, California, showed that camera enforcement reduced red light running violations by nearly 40 percent. In addition to reducing red light running at camera-equipped sites, violation reductions in both communities carried over to signalized intersections not equipped with red light cameras, indicating community-wide changes in driver behavior. In addition to reducing red light violations, cameras have been shown to reduce intersection crashes. In Oxnard, California, significant citywide crash reductions followed the introduction of red light cameras, and injury crashes at intersections with traffic signals were reduced by 39 percent. Front-into-side collisions - the types of crashes most closely associated with red light running - were reduced by 32 percent, and front-into-side crashes involving injuries were reduced by 68 percent. An Institute review of international red light camera studies concluded that cameras reduced red light violations by 40 to 50 percent and reduce injury crashes by 25 to 30 percent.
For additional questions and/or issues please send to the following email: redlight@geneva.il.us
Citations will be issued to registered vehicle owners who run red lights without stopping; make right turns against red lights without stopping; and stop after crossing the limit line/stop bar while making a right turn against a red light, forcing a pedestrian into the roadway.
Tickets are not issued if:
For additional questions and/or issues please send to the following email: redlight@geneva.il.us
An administrative hearing system is a local method to adjudicate municipal violations, rather than prosecuting municipal violations through the County Court System. It is similar to the court process in that an appointed hearing officer presides over all contested violations and essentially serves as a judge at the hearings. Prosecutors are not present at the hearings because the citations are sufficient evidence of a violation.
Defendants that are found liable are assessed a $25 administrative fee. In comparison defendants would pay a $55 fee if the cases were assigned to the Kane County Court System.
The benefits of an administrative haring system versus the County Court System are:
The costs to implement an administrative hearing system will be completely offset by the $25 administrative fee paid by defendants that are found liable.
For additional questions and/or issues please send to the following email: redlight@geneva.il.us
Q: What is red light running?
A: A violation occurs when a motorist enters an intersection after the signal light has turned red. Motorists trapped inadvertently in an intersection when the signal changes to red (E.g., waiting to turn left) are not red light runners.
Q: Is red light running a serious problem?
A: Red light running is one of the major causes of crashes, injuries and deaths at signalized intersections. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 20 percent of drivers do not obey intersection signals. In addition, the NHTSA reports that crashes caused by red light running results in more than 900 fatalities and 153,000 injuries annually. The monetary impact is estimated to reach $14 billion annually. Other motorists and pedestrians account for nearly half the deaths caused by red light running crashes.
Q: What are red light cameras?
A: Red light cameras help communities enforce traffic laws by automatically photographing vehicles whose drivers run red lights.
Q: How do the red light cameras work?
A: A red light camera system is connected to the traffic signal and to sensors that monitor traffic flow at the crosswalk or stop line. The system continuously monitors the traffic signal 24/7, and the camera itself is triggered by any vehicle entering the intersection above a pre-established minimum speed and following a specified time after the signal has turned red. A second photograph typically shows the red light violator in the intersection. Cameras record the date, time of day, time elapsed since the beginning of the red signal and vehicle speed.
Q: Isn't conventional police enforcement sufficient?
A: Traditional traffic law enforcement is intensive and high-risk. Police departments rely exclusively on the presence of officers to observe violations and cite offenders, which is limiting. Officers cannot be everywhere. When officers observe a violation, it is not always possible to safely stop the violator because to make the stop the officer may have to speed to run a red light. This can endanger motorists and pedestrians as well as police officers. Red light cameras are designed to identify traffic law violators without depending on the presence of police officers, allowing communities to focus on other enforcement needs.
Q: I've heard that red light cameras increase the number of rear-end collisions. Is this true and if so, why use them?
A: There is a potential for an increase in rear-end collisions with the installation of red light cameras. The same can be said for the installation of a new traffic signal. to help minimize the opportunity for rear-end collisions the City of Geneva is taking steps to provide advance notification to drivers about the cameras, including sign age at the intersection, the institution of a 14 day warning period, as well as an extensive public awareness campaign.
Q: Does someone review the photographs before motorists are ticketed?
A: Yes. Trained police officers review every picture to verify vehicle informational and ensure that the vehicle is truly in violation.
Q: Why is the registered owner of the vehicle ticketed?
A: Registered owners of vehicles cited for red light violations are ticketed since the violation is treated as a parking ticket.
Q: Would I have a chance to contest my citation?
A: Yes, a registered owner has the right to contest a citation, regardless of where it originated. The information is provided on the back of the citation.
Q: Where are Geneva’s red light cameras located?
A: Geneva currently has red light enforcement cameras located at the intersection of Randall Road and Williamsburg. Randall Road at Fargo Boulevard and Kirk Road at Fabyan Parkway.
Q: Why were the intersections of Randall Road at Williamsburg, Randall Road at Fargo Boulevard and Kirk Road at Fabyan Parkway chosen as the location for these cameras?
A: The City of Geneva conducted a thorough evaluation to determine the best location to install red light photo enforcement cameras. As a first step in the evaluation process, the city determined which signalized intersections experienced the most right-angle and turning crashes, as red light cameras are most effective in reducing these types of injury-causing crashes. Using this initial list of candidate locations, city staff identified four high-priority intersections for further consideration. The city’s red light photo enforcement vendor then conducted a detailed analysis of these four intersections that included a 16-hour violation field survey, a detailed review of crash history and the feasibility of camera installation. After reviewing this report, city staff determined that the highest priority locations for red light cameras were North and Southbound Randall at Fargo, North and Southbound Randall Road at williamsburg Avenue, and Eastbound Fabyan Parkway at Kirk Road and Southbound Kirk Road at Fabyan Parkway. The city will continue to collect data regarding crashes, violations, and injuries at photo-enforced intersections to evaluate their effectiveness
.
Q: Isn’t conventional police enforcement sufficient? Why are cameras necessary?
A: The city’s red light camera program has safety as the primary goal, not revenue. It is against Illinois State Statute to disobey a red traffic signal. The red light enforcement program is a legal mechanism to enforce this existing law. Traditional traffic law enforcement is intensive and high-risk. Police Departments rely exclusively on the presence of officers to observe violations and cite offenders, which is limiting. Officers cannot be everywhere. When officers observe a violation, it is not always possible to safely stop the violator because to make the stop the officer may have to speed to run a red light. This can endanger motorists and pedestrians as well as police officers. Red light cameras are designed to identify traffic law violators without depending on the presence of police officers, allowing communities to focus on other enforcement needs.
Q: Why does the City of Geneva photo enforce right turn on red violations?
A: Turning right on red (where permitted) without stopping is a violation of the law. While crashes from right turning violations are typically less severe than crashes associated with left turn or through movement violations, they do occur. In addition, motorists that fail to stop where right turn on red is permitted have a negative impact on the bicycle and pedestrian environment. Pedestrians and bicyclists become apprehensive about entering the intersection although they have the right of way because right turning vehicles often fail to make the required stop and yield. Red light enforcement of right turns is a tool that can be used to help the motorists pay
more attention and respect to alternative modes of travel. There are also legal implications to selectively enforcing violations of only certain movements.
Q: How does the ticketing process work?
A: Once the red light cameras capture a potential violation, the file is transferred to Redflex’s Chicago office via a secure DSL connection. (Redflex is Geneva’s vendor for the red light photo enforcement program.) Upon the initial review, a Redflex representative checks the potential violation (photographs and video clip) against criteria that has been pre-established by the Geneva Police Department. Events that meet the criteria are matched to the vehicle’s owner by referencing the license plate number. These violations are then reviewed by a second and third Redflex representative prior to sending the file to Geneva Police Department personnel for official review via a web interface.
Once submitted to the Geneva Police Department, an officer reviews the violation. If it is determined by the officer that a violation has occurred a ticket will be issued. Within three days of police approval, Redflex generates a printed citation that is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle in the photo. Violators can also view an online video clip of their vehicle as it goes through the intersection with the signal indications visible.
Q: What are the benefits to having an administrative hearing process for violators to contest a citation?
A: There are several benefits to this process, many of which include cost-savings to both the impacted motorists and the city. This process is in place to ensure everyone receives an impartial hearing, should he or she choose to contest a violation in person. These benefits include:
Each person that receives a ticket has the right to contest his or her violation in person and plead his or her case before an impartial hearing officer. Should the violator disagree with the hearing officer’s ruling, the violation can be appealed to the Kane County court system.
Q: How is the administrative hearing system funded?
A: The costs to implement an administrative hearing system will be completely offset by the $25 administrative fee paid by defendants that are found liable.
For additional questions and/or issues please send to the following email: redlight@geneva.il.us