You’re right on all counts. Major Las Vegas intersections are under video-traffic-camera surveillance; drivers routinely run lights several critical seconds after they’ve turned red from yellow; and the cameras do not impose traffic-infraction tickets-by-mail on violators.
For a little background, "red-light cameras," as they’re commonly known, capture images of vehicles that enter intersections against red lights. The cameras record the violations, after which traffic-enforcement personnel review the evidence and send out citation letters. The fines can be hefty, up to $500 in some jurisdictions. There’s a process for disputing tickets, though in many places it’s onerous; there’s also a varying degree of follow-up enforcement for violators who ignore the citations.
Red-light cameras are used all around the world, especially in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries, the U.S., and Singapore.
In the U.S., red-light cameras are in use in more than two dozen states, though their law-enforcement uses tend to be a municipal (rather than a statewide) decision, except for where their citation function is banned, such as in Nevada (and nearly a dozen other states). In New York, for example, a statewide traffic law permits the use of red-light cameras in cities with a population of more than one million. Most major U.S. cities employ red-light cameras and your Sunshine State has used them on all state-owned rights-of-way since 2010.
In Los Angeles, however, in July 2011, the City Council voted to shut down the red-light-camera program, after the L.A. County Superior Court stopped enforcing collections against those who ignored the citations, and paying the tickets became voluntary; the following March, the Police Commission canceled the contract with the company that operated the cameras and officers no longer appeared in court on red-light-camera cases.
Red-light cameras have prompted much debate and some controversy. On one side, studies have shown that cameras can decrease red-light running by 40%-50% and reduce the number of injury crashes by 25%-30%. The non-profit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a nationwide study of red-light fatalities in which it compared 62 cities with populations of more than 200,000 with red-light cameras to those without. Traffic fatalities in 14 cities with red-light cameras fell by 35% between the study periods. The rate dropped by only 14% percent in 48 cities without the cameras.
On the other side, opponents argue that red-light cameras scare drivers into more sudden stops at yellow lights, which actually increases rear-end collisions. A comment we came across from a Californian attests to this, declaring that crossing major intersections can be like "flying through an asteroid belt, with people desperately accelerating or slamming on their brakes in frantic fear of an uncontestable $500 fine." Many opponents believe that the red-light cameras address not a safety issue, but a revenue issue, and are an abuse of police powers. If safety is the concern, intersections can be re-engineered to improve traffic-signal timing. And, of course, there’s the slippery slope of the possible invasion of privacy, whereby the cameras might not only watch traffic, but every move made in their field of view.
Back to Las Vegas, a 1999 statewide law bans the use of remotely controlled cameras to gather evidence against drivers who run red lights or are involved in accidents. The issue has reared its head in every legislative session since 2005, with the city of North Las Vegas unsuccessfully lobbying each time to allow the red-light cameras. No amendment to the law has been made. However, in 2012, for the first time, the Nevada Transportation Department came out in favor of repealing the ban. For now, and probably the foreseeable future, the cameras remain for surveillance purposes only, allowing commuters and drivers to make travel decisions based on road conditions. They’re one part of NDOT’s statewide network of Intelligent Transportation Systems, including freeway digital message signs and Highway Advisory Radio.
You can go to apps.nevadadot.com for a map of the traffic-camera intersections in Las Vegas; by clicking on the camera, you’ll get a real-time look at the intersection, which might even help you plan a driving route. (You’ll need an up-to-date version of Windows Media Player to access the video feeds.)
