Tentative Red-Light Camera Settlement OK'd by Redflex

On the heels of a similar settlement by American Traffic Solutions (ATS), Redflex Camera Systems has reached a tentative settlement on a class-action lawsuit over the company's red-light cameras in New Jersey, including those in Cherry Hill, Redflex officials said.

But, as with the ATS settlement, drivers ticketed in Redflex towns won't see much of the money—just $8.50 or $14 on the tickets, which cost drivers $85 in Cherry Hill.

The suit, which targeted citations issued in Newark, Edison, Cherry Hill, Englewood Cliffs and Stratford, began last summer and eventually grew to include roughly 260,000 tickets, about half of the number challenged in the similar ATS suit.

In Cherry Hill, plaintiffs David Spector, of Voorhees, and Henry Anderson, of Marlton, claimed the township's red-light cameras at Springdale Road and Route 70 didn't comply with state standards for a study on red-light timing at the intersection and didn't inspect the cameras every six months, as required by law.

The tentative settlement absolves both Redflex and the towns named in the suit, Cherry Hill included, of any wrongdoing, however.

“Redflex Traffic Systems is pleased to have reached a tentative settlement agreement that benefits our client cities and their constituents,” said James Saunders, Redflex's president and CEO, in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “We believe we would have prevailed on the merits of our case had we decided to move forward.

“Our focus for the last 25 years has been on public safety. This decision allows us to move forward with our New Jersey clients with a renewed and collective focus on making roadways safer across the state.”

Under the terms of the settlement, Redflex will cover the refunds to drivers, leaving the towns with no financial liability, officials said.

The issues that prompted the suit have since been resolved, Redflex officials said, and the red-light cameras themselves won't be affected by the suit or its settlement. Cherry Hill alone issued about 17,000 tickets in the first year of its red-light program, netting the township about $1 million in revenue.

The state, has, however, closed the pilot program and won't expand beyond the 76 red-light camera intersections current in operation, citing insufficient time to get any useful data from any new cameras during the statewide pilot program, which could end in December 2014.

While towns like Cherry Hill and Gloucester Township will continue to operate their cameras as normal, none of the towns that have expressed interest in recent months will be added to the roster, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials said.

“NJDOT safety engineers have determined that the current level of participation will provide the department with sufficient data to make an informed and responsible recommendation on the effectiveness of red light cameras in New Jersey,” NJDOT officials said in April.

At least one other Camden County municipality was willing to jump into the pilot. Pennsauken officials had approved a resolution allowing the township to enter the pilot program back in October of last year, targeting intersections along Route 38, Route 130, Route 70 and North Park Drive.