PROJECT SUMMARY
The problem of red light running has reached almost epidemic proportions in many urban areas throughout the United States. Nationwide, more people are killed by drivers than by guns or knives, and fatal crashes at traffic signals increased 18% during 1992-98. Annually, more than 800 people are killed and more than 200,000 are injured in crashes that involve red light running; many of the victims are pedestrians or passengers in other vehicles. Accidents caused by red light running cost Americans more than $150 billion in property loss, medical and emergency bills, productivity loss, and other costs.

Washington, DC ranks among the top 20 large U.S. cities in fatalities resulting from crashes caused by red light runners (see attachment), according to data compiled by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Between 1992 and 1998, 26 people died in red light running crashes. In public opinion surveys conducted in 1998 and 1999, Washington, DC residents listed running red lights and stop signs as their number one public safety concern. In an effort to make the streets safer for motorists and pedestrians alike, the Metropolitan Police Department partnered with Lockheed Martin IMS to implement a red light photo enforcement program in March 1999.

Using business rules established by the Metropolitan Police Department, IMS handles all aspects of the program: installation, image processing, identifying vehicle owners, issuing notices and collecting fines. The cameras, manufactured in Holland by Gatsometer Inc., photograph a vehicle and its license plate while in the act of running a red light. Using data obtained by IMS from 50 state departments of motor vehicles nationwide, the vehicle owner is identified from the plate number, and sent a violation notice, a $75 fine and copies of the images.

Thirty-nine cameras are now in operation throughout the District, and an additional 20 cameras are expected to be installed over the next six months.

The District was able to finance this sophisticated program at no cost to taxpayers. IMS covers all up-front capital expenses, which include the cost of purchasing and installing the cameras (approximately 50,000 each) and construction-related expenses for installing underground sensors that trigger the cameras when a violation occurs and ($25,000 to $35,000 for each intersection approach). In turn, IMS gets paid a contingency fee for each fine it collects from violators on behalf of the District government. In addition to helping the District avoid up-front capital costs and ongoing operational expenses, IMS' pay-for-performance contract places all of the financial risk on the company.

As of July 31, 2000, the company mailed 133,732 notices and collected $6,104,839 in fines for the city.

Since the start of the program, red-light violations at intersections with cameras have dropped by an average of 47 percent, with some intersections seeing reductions of up to 86 percent. This translates into 12,000 fewer vehicles violating red light traffic laws each month in the District of Columbia.

Originality
The problem of red light running has been vexing police and other law enforcement officials for years. The severity of the problem has attracted greater scrutiny in recent years, with the Federal Highway Administration (FHwA) labeling aggressive driving actions such as red light running as one of the country's top three highway safety issues, behind only drunk driving and failure to wear seat belts. To combat the problem, the FHwA has encouraged cities to explore the use of red-light cameras. While photo enforcement has been in use in Europe and Australia for two decades, the technology has not been widely used in the United States. The City of New York launched a limited red light camera program in the early l990s, but of the approximately 40 U.S. cities now using red light photo enforcement, the overwhelming majority started in the past two years. With 39 cameras in place, the District of Columbia has one of the largest red light programs in the nation. The District's partner, Lockheed Martin IMS has 45 red light and photo radar projects in the United States and Canada - an 80 percent market share. The District program represents the company's largest project in North America.

Quality
IMS has an exclusive agreement with Holland-based Gatsometer Inc. to use its photo enforcement cameras in North America. The cameras are regarded as the most reliable in the industry. The cameras, positioned on a pole about 12 feet high and about 80 feet behind the intersection, are connected to wire sensors inserted into cuts in the roadway. Electricity is run through the wires to create an electromagnetic field, so when vehicles run over them, there is an interference in the field that triggers the camera. Another set of wires set up a few feet away determine the speed of the vehicle crossing the red light. Because the sensors are installed before the intersection, any vehicles caught in the middle of an intersection when the light turns red do not trigger the sensor. The range of the camera's viewfinder covers the entire intersection. Once the wire sensors trigger the camera, two photographs are taken. The first picture shows the vehicle on the loops prior to entering the intersection. The second shows the vehicle in the intersection. Both photographs clearly show a red light.

Implementation
Red light camera locations are selected by the Metropolitan Police Department based on past violation and crash data and video monitoring of intersections. Input from residents about dangerous intersections is also consideration as part of the evaluation process. A public education campaign proceeded the start of the program, which also included a 30-day grace period during which red-light violators received warning notices instead of citations. While the cameras used in the program are highly reliable, violation notices are only processed if the image taken by the camera is clear enough to identify the violator's license plate. The District's partner, Lockheed Martin IMS, is responsible for collecting and developing film, reviewing images, conducting department of motor vehicle checks to determine the name and address of the registered owner, mailing notices and collecting fines. Notices are usually sent within one week of the violation.

Economics
Lockheed Martin IMS covers all the installation, construction and operational fees at no cost to taxpayers. This saves the city over $1.5 million in expenses, had the city chosen to operate the system itself. IMS receives a percentage of the fine it collects from violators (currently $32 of the $75 fine with volume-driven drops in pricing to a low of $16 per paid citation). The District's share of the violation fines is at least 57 percent. IMS assumes all financial risk if violation revenues fail to cover its capital and operational expenditures.