DOT Puts Brakes on Red Light Cameras in South Brunswick

After approving an ordinance in February that would bring red light cameras to South Brunswick, the Township Council announced at Tuesday night's meeting that the township has been removed from the state Department of Transportation's pilot program.  

The original application for entry into the program would've placed the red light camera at the intersection of Route 1 and Henderson Road, but the council asked the state to change that proposal to install the camera at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 522 instead.  

"When we originally applied, the guidelines were that the intersection had to be engineered and fully functional for three years, and at that time Route 522 didn't meet the time frame requirement," said Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz. "So that's why we went ahead with Henderson Road. Subsequent data showed there were three times as many accidents at 522 and four times as many red light summonses. We felt it was best to try and change the location."

The township had 27 months from the time the original application was filed in 2009 to have the camera installed, so South Brunswick was removed from the pilot program once the camera was not installed at Henderson Road.

"The safety of the community was our number one concern," Schmalz said. "522 has four lanes, Henderson only has two, so if people had to jam on their brakes they had no place to go.  At least 522 gave people an avenue of escape. We just weren't comfortable with it being located at Henderson once we got the statistics."

In 2010 alone, there were 36 motor vehicle crashes at the Route 1 and Henderson Road intersection with seven of those accidents involving bodily injury.  During that same time frame there were 38 motor vehicle accidents at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 522 with four of those accidents involving bodily injury.

"We tried to change the location to where the reports showed us were the highest incidents of accidents," said Mayor Frank Gambatese. "The state didn't want to make that change."

Schmalz said that after collecting data, both in the state and nationally, results show a significant decrease in front-to-side, or t-bone, collisions but show an increase in rear-end collisions.  The trade off, however, is that injuries in front-to-side collisions are generally much more severe than those in rear-end collisions, according to Schmalz.

National statistics for intersections with red light cameras show a decrease in front-to-side collisions by about 40 percent, while they show an increase in rear end collisions at the intersections by 36 percent, Schmalz said.  

He also added that violations go down at the intersections, which have signs warning drivers of the cameras. 

At the time the proposal was approved in February, council members said they were tentative about the plan, but voted for it because they believed it could improve traffic safety.  Councilman John O'Sullivan voted against the proposal because he stated that he wasn't comfortable with bringing "big brother" into South Brunswick.

Council members expressed indifference during Tuesday's meeting to being removed from the pilot program.

"None of us felt comfortable with the camera at Henderson Road," said Councilman Joseph Camarota. "I'm fine with this, we tried. From a safety standpoint we had stats that showed what the better intersection for the camera was."

Schmalz said the township was in the process of filing a new application for a camera at the Route 522 intersection, but said it would be another couple of years before the end of the pilot program, at which point the state could approve the new application.