Los Angeles: On Monday, December 17, at 12:01 a.m., the intersection of Florence Avenue and Figueroa Street, in South Central Los Angeles, will become the ninth intersection to be equipped with cameras designed to capture red light runners. The Photo Red Light Enforcement program for the City of Los Angeles is a joint program of the Police Department and the Department of Transportation, in operation since December of 2000. The three and one half year pilot program will ultimately have sixteen intersections equipped with cameras.

Motorists travel across magnetic loops that are imbedded in the roadway, which detect their relative position at the time the signal changes to red. Vehicles failing to stop at the intersection limit lines are photographed and an automated citation is sent to the driver. The first photo citations were captured on December 31, 2000, after a 30-day warning period. Through October of 2001, 12,768 citations have been issued at the eight intersections currently being monitored. Those intersections are; Wilshire Boulevard and Westwood Boulevard, National Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard, 3^rd Street and Vermont Avenue, Alvarado Street and 6^th Street, Imperial Highway and Figueroa Street, Rodeo Road and La Brea Avenue, Winnetka Avenue and Sherman Way, and Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Victory Boulevard.

A recent article by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (Vol. 36, No.4, April 28, 2001) stated that, "Significant citywide crash reductions have followed the introduction of red light cameras in Oxnard, California." The article continues to say, "These reductions...represent the first hard evidence that red light camera enforcement is making U.S. intersections safer."

In year 2000, there were 3,112 collisions directly attributed to red light runners in the City of Los Angeles resulting in 16 deaths, 2,452 motorists injured, and untold property damage losses. Through October of this year, there have been 2,767 collisions directly attributed to red light runners resulting in 13 deaths and 2,221 injuries. The collision summary of the City currently indicates a four-year rise in all traffic collisions.

For further information, contact Sergeant John Gambill, Uniformed Support Division, Photo Red Light Coordinator at 213-473-7796.

This press release was prepared by Public Information Officer Jason Lee, Media Relations Section, 213-485-3586.