Red light cameras already proving effective in London

Even in its current limited rollout phase, the new red light cameras in London, ON have been paying immediate dividends.

The city began its red light installation process with an initial four-camera batch in mid-June. Since those became operational, London has issued 205 traffic light violations, a figure that amounts to a 46-ticket increase over the same period of time in 2016. Red light cameras are activated when, as their name suggests, a driver has entered an intersection after a light has turned fully red—not amber, and not during a left turn where the car entered the intersection while the light was green.

At this point in time, three more cameras have been added, with an additional three on the way this fall. Every ticket deriving from red light camera footage results in a $325 fine. If fines are paid for all of the tickets that have been issued thus far, it will generate approximately $66,000 in revenue for the city of London. Shane Maguire, manager for London's red-light program, is confident that they will be.

"I haven't seen each individual infraction, but as part of the testing, it is very black and white—clear cut—that the vehicle entered the intersection when it was red," said Maguire.

While the use of the red light cameras—which have also been introduced in eight other Ontario municipalities including Toronto, Kitchener, Hamilton, and Ottawa—has certainly made it easier to catch and punish traffic light violations, it will still take some time before London can know if drivers are truly being discouraged from committing those violations in the first place.