Photo radar cameras snapped more than 166,000 pictures resulting in some 40,000 violations on the state’s highways since the Department of Public Safety began expanded enforcement in September, the agency announced Dec. 2.
DPS reported a total of 166,176 photo enforcement activations, but there were only 40,401 notices of violation since Sept. 26. Gov. Janet Napolitano pushed to expand the program earlier this year to improve safety and generate cash for the state. The figures indicate about 23 percent of enforcement photos have resulted in a notice of violation.
At $181.50 per ticket, fees from all notifications issued so far total $7,332,781.50. Each ticket includes a $165 penalty for speeding plus a $16.50 surcharge that goes to state public campaign funding.
Bart Graves, DPS media relations coordinator, said the discrepancy between the number of photo enforcement activations and the number of notices of violation was caused by technical problems with the cameras, which the agency is working to correct.
“A lot of these images are blurry,” Graves said. “A lot of this is due to that these cameras, the stationary ones primarily, are still getting calibrated.”
He said DPS wanted to be sure it had a good match with both driver and license plate before issuing a ticket and that the system should improve soon.
“In the next couple of months, when we do an update, you’ll see that number narrow to be less of a disparity between the activations and the notices of violations,” Graves said.
Meanwhile, a concentrated photo-enforcement program aimed at reducing pre-holiday collisions along I-10 and I-40 has “paid off” in reduced accidents and injuries, according to DPS officials.
The program, called Operation Border to Border, placed 42 mobile photo-enforcement units at approximately 20-mile intervals along the state's two interstate highways from California to New Mexico for an eight-hour period, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Nov. 26. During that period, there were a total of 505 photo-enforcement activations, resulting in 436 notices of violations.
Also during that period, there were two collisions reported along I-10 and I-40, compared to 29 collisions reported during the same period last year. This year one accident involved injuries, compared to three accidents with injuries last year.
The dollar amount for fees issued during the operation was $79,134, based on a $181.50 fee per ticket.
The mobile photo-enforcement cameras used in Operation Border to Border had a higher success rate than stationary cameras, with more than 86 percent of activations resulting in a notice of violation. Graves said that was because the mobile units have been in service longer, enabling the agency to work the kinks out.
“They’ve been on the road for a while, so we have actually not as much calibration issues,” he said. He said he was confident the notices of violations issued were good matches.
The highest speed recorded was 130 miles per hour, which occurred at two locations. One of the high-speed violations was registered by a motorist in the southbound lanes of State Route 51 at Bethany Home Road, and the other one was in an unspecified location in West Valley, according to DPS.
DPS Director Roger Vanderpool stated in a press release on Dec. 2 that photo enforcement was not a replacement for conventional law enforcement on the highways, but he felt it was having a positive impact on public safety on the road.
“Photo enforcement does not replace the highway patrol officer,” he stated. “It cannot pull over impaired drivers or aggressive drivers or distracted drivers. It can help slow people down, and that goes a long way toward preventing serious injury or even fatal collisions.”