OHIO SENATE PASSES RED LIGHT CAMERA RESTRICTIONS

Wednesday the Ohio Senate passed new legislation on red light cameras that would require a police officer to be present for tickets to be issued from red light cameras.

"The cameras are on 24/7 365 without taking a day off," City of Columbus Public Safety Deputy Director George Speaks.
Cameras that capture images of hundreds of drivers plowing through red lights.

"Someone ran a red light. Receives a ticket and in Columbus you pay $95. That person then has 95 reasons not to run that red light again," Speaks said.

But now Speaks believes the red light photo program he helped launch nearly 10 years ago could soon go away because of senate bill 342 and the statewide lawsuit that says the cameras are unconstitutional.

That lawsuit is now being reviewed by the Ohio Supreme Court. 

Speaks believes the solution to the photo red light issues would be for other counties to model the practices laid out here in Columbus, "Those practices would eliminate some of the allegations that have occurred in some if the smaller districts that are utilizing this technology for speed enforcement."

Lawmakers say the bill addresses the legal issues that came to light once red light cameras popped up in Ohio.
State Senator Bill Seitz is sponsoring the bill.

NBC 4 reached out for comment Thursday but did not get a response.

Speaks says if the bill becomes law it will effectively end the red light camera program in Ohio.

Speaks says currently one police officer is in charge of the 38 intersections that have red light cameras in Columbus, but if the bill is passed that would mean that 114 officers would have to man each intersection.

Officers, Speaks says the city of Columbus can not afford to pull out of communities and can not afford to hire at this point to increase manpower.