AURORA | Aurora drivers will get an extra second turning left at intersections where photo red-light is enforced.
Aurora police are in the process of implementing a one-second grace period on left-hand turn violations, giving a driver now four seconds instead of the legal three to get through a photo-enforced left turn before being issued a ticket.
Aurora police Officer Albert Graham with the traffic unit said the planned change comes after concerns brought up by Aurora City Council members.
Graham said the department did not have an estimate of how much revenue would be lost by not ticketing offenders who run red lights during the grace period.
Ward IV Councilman Charlie Richardson who initially pressed for the city to stop issuing photo red-light tickets for violations at any yellow light shorter than four seconds — the only such lights in Aurora are left-turn signals, both on and off the photo enforcement system.
Richardson, who is also working on a ballot measure to ask voters whether to keep the photo red-light system, said in April it seemed unfair to citizens that the lights are timed differently for the tickets, which start at $75, but can increase if they go into collections.
Data about the photo red-light intersections from 2013 to 2015 showed left-hand turn violations have accounted for an increasing share of total photo red light tickets issued. In 2013, they accounted for 37 percent of around 62,000 tickets issued; in 2014 they accounted for 41 percent of about 62,000 tickets issued, and in 2015 they made up 42 percent of 58,000 tickets issued.
FEWER FENDER-BENDERS BUT MORE SEVERE INJURIES AT INTERSECTIONS WITHOUT CAMERAS
Some council members contend that the cameras have caused an uptick in fender benders, which is confirmed through data provided by the city on the cameras.
Crash data obtained by the Sentinel shows the intersections where city officials are considering placing new photo-red cameras do have a lower rate of fender-bender crashes than photo-enforced intersections.
Traffic data from Aurora police from 2010 to 2015 shows about one in five crashes were front-rear at three intersections being considered for photo enforcement: East Mississippi Avenue and Sable Boulevard; East Iliff Avenue at South Peoria Street; and East Quincy Avenue at South Chambers Road. More than three out of every four crashes were front-rear at most of the city’s intersections with photo enforcement.
At the same time, front-to-side crashes were much greater at these non-photo-enforced intersections — crashes where severe injuries were more common.
That’s one reason why Aurora police say the cameras are making the city safer.
“The purpose of the (photo red-light) system is to reduce injury crashes,” Graham said. “People don’t understand what photo red-light’s purpose is. It’s not designed to affect front-to-rear crashes, it’s designed to reduce front-to-side collisions. Those are by far the most dangerous crashes you can be involved in.”
Graham said the city has “drastically” increased its public outreach about the photo red-light and other traffic safety programs in the past two years through social media and other forums. He said signs are also posted at the photo-red intersections warning drivers the intersection is photo-enforced.
He said Aurora is also unique in its approach to photo red-light tickets, with a police officer reviewing each violation before issuing a fine to driver.
“Just because the system flashes, that doesn’t mean it was a violation,” he said. “Every ticket is reviewed by a law enforcement officer. Not every jurisdiction can say that bout their system.”
Graham said in January of this year, police reviewed nearly 16,000 potential photo red-light violations and only issued tickets to around 25 percent of the individuals who triggered the system.
Graham said the best way to reduce fender-benders at the intersections is for drivers to follow the speed limit and not follow other cars too closely. He said distracted driving is also an issue.
“One of the biggest challenges we’re facing right now is to put down the phone. That’s one of the biggest causations in minor fender benders,” he said.
The photo red-light program brings in approximately $3.3 million annually, according to Aurora police. But not all of that goes to nonprofits. In 2015, about $1.1 million of photo red-light revenues went to a “nexus” program that supports nonprofits who provide a substantial service to law enforcement.