Scottsdale Asks State to Operate Cameras

The City Council in Scottsdale, AZ, asked the state to take over a highway photo radar enforcement project the city was testing on Loop 101. The study continued to monitor traffic patterns after the cameras were turned off and showed that without the cameras, there was an almost 850 percent spike in speeding.

With the cameras on, the average speed of drivers was reduced to 64 m.p.h., a decrease of nearly 10 m.p.h., while accidents were reduced by 23 percent to 70 percent, depending on variables, compared to a similar stretch of highway.

There were also fewer injuries from rear-end collisions and sideswipes that could potentially save $10 million a year in reduced medical and insurance bills.

The state collected over $2.3 million in tickets issued from the photo-enforcement study, with the city of Scottsdale collecting over $782,000 after expenses.

If the state decides not to turn the system back on, the city will ask permission to take control of the operation.

Critics of the system say there needs to be a way for it to detect the difference between a regular speeder and an on-duty officer in pursuit of a suspect or en route to an emergency, and some believe that the city should not be able to make a profit off of such a system.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from the Arizona Republic (01/17/07); Ferraresi, Michael; Coomes, Jessica.