Hoffman OKs red-light cameras
Citing a need to improve road safety, the Hoffman Estates village board Monday voted to install red-light cameras.
The cameras, which could be installed by late summer, would be initially placed at five intersections, said Hoffman Estates Assistant Police Chief Steven Casstevens. Trustee Ray Kincaid voted against the measure, and said he was concerned about cameras watching him at all intersections.
In studying the need for cameras, Casstevens used recruits from the village's citizens police academy, who sat in their civilian vehicles and recorded the number of violations at high-traffic intersections. Palatine and Schaumburg are among other communities which have approved red-light cameras.
One of the proposed intersections is at Higgins and Barrington roads, which, according to Casstevens, had 89 violations during two, two-hour periods during rush hour on one given day.
"Imagine what it's like for the other 20 hours," Casstevens said.
Over the last three years, the intersection has seen 140 crashes, he added.
Other intersections include Golf and Barrington roads, Golf Road and Route 59, Higgins and Roselle roads and Golf and Bartlett roads. Cameras could also eventually be installed near Hoffman and Conant high schools. Costs for the cameras range from about $8,500 to $16,000. A typical two-road intersection with traffic flowing in both directions would need four cameras.
Casstevens said tickets would include the photograph snapped by the camera, and an Internet link where the alleged violator could click and see a 15-second video clip of the incident. Casstevens said the video provides evidence which deters violators from contesting the ticket. The information would be transmitted via the Internet to Laser Craft daily.
Hoffman Estates police would have the ultimate say on whether to issue a ticket, Casstevens said. The department would also set the camera's threshold to what constitutes a violation, he added.
Fines would be set at $100, rising to $200 if left unpaid after 30 days. The tickets would go to the owner of the vehicle, despite who might be driving.
Casstevens stressed that his motivation wasn't to generate money, but to improve public safety. Based on his projections Laser Craft would make $55,140, while the village could make $309,860 per year. That's assuming each intersection has 10 violations per day for 3,650 tickets per year.
The village will use Laser Craft as the vendor, as Casstevens said the firm charges a flat fee -- about $4,600 per month -- instead of tying their charges to the number of issued tickets. The company has in-state contracts with Lake in the Hills, Libertyville, Plainfield and Willowbrook. Laser Craft will likely have a three-year contract with village, which has yet to be agreed upon, Casstevens said.
"I'm sure there are going to be parents of a lot of teenagers out there unhappy," said Trustee Karen Mills, alluding to the number of parents loaning cars to their children.
The owner is ticketed because of the difficulty proving who was driving, Casstevens said. A camera would have to capture a clear, close-up image of the driver for proper prosecution, and that technology could be costly and unsafe.