PHOENIX – Motorists speeding on Arizona highways face the prospect of getting citations generated from photo enforcement cameras starting as soon as September, now that a company has been picked to run the system.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano says that the program is all about traffic safety and that any new state revenue is a bonus. But some critics contend her approach undercuts her stated goal.
The Department of Public Safety said Thursday that Redflex Traffic Systems, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., won the contract and that the company should have 50 fixed and mobile cameras in operation by the end of September and a total of 100 by January.
The law authorizing the program mandates $165 citations for violators but bars courts from reporting violators to the state.
That means speeders caught by cameras won't risk getting points that could lead to license suspensions, revocations or higher insurance premiums.
“You remove a very significant financial penalty that can be every bit as important as the state sanctions for penalizing violations of the law,” said David Snyder, vice president and general counsel for the Washington, D.C.-based American Insurance Association.
An Arizona Automobile Association spokeswoman said the motorist advocacy group is troubled by the lack of scrutiny the photo enforcement program got before being approved by the Legislature; the fact that net revenue goes into the state general fund instead of being targeted for road-related purposes; and the “masking” of the citations themselves.
Napolitano said this month: “I think the idea is that people will be more inclined simply to pay the tickets if they're not getting points, at least for the first go-around, and they'll understand that there is a significant financial impact to this, and that will itself be a significant deterrent to speeding.”
The Arizona Trucking Association hasn't yet taken a formal position on the photo enforcement provision, but the “masking” of citations is a concern, said Karen Rasmussen, president and chief executive of the association.
“Our drivers are out there and our members want to know if our drivers are speeding, because we don't want them speeding,” she said.
