New red light enforcement cameras in Clarksville will begin issuing tickets Monday after sending out warnings to more than 3,000 motorists last month.
The cameras are set up at the three most accident-prone intersections in Clarksville. They’ve issued an average of 116 warnings a day over the last month. Compared with Murfreesboro, which installed six cameras last year, Clarksville has caught more than 5-times the violations with half the cameras.
Police department spokesman Jim Knoll says a majority of the red light violations occur early in the morning at Gate 3 on Fort Campbell Boulevard.
“Their peak period for certain lanes are usually around say 4:30 and 5:30. A lot of times that’s when people are going in to do their physical training out on Fort Campbell.”
Those soldiers in a hurry to get to PT will now get $50 fines through the mail after a police officer reviews the footage. The revenues will be split between the Clarksville Police Department for technology upgrades and Red Flex, the company that installed the cameras at no charge to the city. Clarksville has plans to add more cameras in the coming months.
Other cities using red light enforcement cameras include Knoxville, Gallatin and soon Mt. Juliet. A bill moving through the legislature would regulate the partnerships between cities and the camera companies. The bill also mandates increasing the length of yellow lights at intersections under surveillance from the state minimum of three seconds to five.
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Some cities have been accused of shortening the length of yellow lights to maximize the number of violations. A spokesman for the Clarksville Police Department says the yellow lights on the three intersections under surveillance meet at least the state minimum.
Sen. Tim Burchett of Knoxville is sponsoring the state legislation. It would prohibit contracting with red light camera companies if the fines are shared with the company that installed the cameras. An amendment requires a sign between 500 and 1,000 feet before the intersection informing drivers of the surveillance cameras.
Murfreesboro contracts with Trafficpax to operate its red light system, which became fully operational in July 2008. Recent figures for the six intersections show an average of 1,437 violations over the last three months.
February: 1,133 citations
March: 1,293 citations
April: 1,885 citations
In the first three weeks of June 2008, Murfreesboro issued roughly 400 warnings. Clarksville sent out nearly 2,400 over a similar period.
Clarksville intersections under video surveillance:
1) Wilma Rudolph/Trenton Rd
2) Wilma Rudolph/I-24
3) Ft Campbell Blvd/Gate 3
In Murfreesboro:
1) Memorial and Northfield boulevards
2) Rutherford and Mercury boulevards
3) South Church Street at Middle Tennessee Boulevard (MTB)
4) Northwest Broad at South Church
5) Northwest Broad at Northfield
6) Old Fort Parkway at Thompson Lane
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