Red light cameras come to Seaford

Nassau County has recently expanded its red light camera program to Seaford, with cameras coming to the intersection of Merrick Road and Washington Avenue.

The county began the program in 2009, and has since installed cameras at nearly 100 intersections. According to the county’s website, the mission of the program is “to maintain and enhance both pedestrian and vehicular safety through education and timely adjudication of parking and traffic violations.”

In regards to the recently added cameras at the Merrick Road and Washington Avenue intersection, Chris Mistron, Nassau Country’s traffic and safety coordinator, said, “All our intersections are carefully chosen based on crash data.”

The cameras will be monitoring eastbound and westbound traffic on Merrick Road, and the installation of equipment took place last week.

Current state legislation limits the number of intersections included in this program to 100. Mistron says that the county is looking to reach that limit, however he has not reviewed any additional locations in Seaford.

While the program is designed for driver and pedestrian safety, many critics feel that this program is simply a revenue generator for the county.

However according to Mistron, “The public has responded positively to the slower speeds in areas of the cameras. There also has been positive feedback with regard to pedestrians being able to cross safely.”

Red light violators must pay a $50 fine, in addition to a $30 administrative fee. These tickets do not carry any points and will not affect a driver’s auto insurance.

During the 2013 calendar year, the county captured nearly 500,000 violators, which led to more than $20 million in revenue for the county.

Though some may question the true incentive of the program, Mistron says, “We have been able to decrease red-light running as shown by the number of violations decreasing as well as a crash reduction of 27.5 percent.”

A program review released in 2014 stated that no fatal accidents have been recorded at any of the intersections with red light cameras.

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