These cameras are good for a full stop

A Long Island motorist who blows through a red light at an intersection often winds up getting a ticket in the mail. It usually comes with a photo of their car taken by a camera high above and a demand for a hefty fine.

But those who disobey the Island’s vast number of stop signs rarely face any consequences. The familiar drive-like-your-children-live-here signs only underscore the unease residents have about the safety of the roads closest to home. And in our neighborhoods, stop signs are an important part of traffic safety. Failure to brake properly can lead to injuries and even death. Yet many motorists often ignore this most fundamental instrument of traffic control.

So the innovative approach of the tiny village of Saddle Rock in western Nassau County is a welcome effort to improve public safety.

The village of under 1,000 residents has installed cameras near stop signs to catch those who don’t brake. Violators are mailed tickets with $60 fines. As they enter Saddle Rock, a village encompassing about ¼ square mile, motorists are warned to beware of the all-seeing cameras. Newsday’s recent report about Saddle Rock’s initiative cited three cameras spotted on a pole monitoring three stop signs, at Emerson Drive near Byron Lane.

“The whole concept is to make my neighborhood more secure,” said Mayor Dan Levy. As long as drivers go too fast and ignore the rules of the road, it's the right approach. The idea seems sound, and is now being considered by other municipalities, including Roslyn Heights and Thomaston. 

But to be a truly successful model, Saddle Rock needs to be more transparent about its approach. Levy declined in a recent interview to disclose how much money the new system has taken in, the nature of the village's fuzzy relationship with the local vendor providing the camera system, and just how many car and truck owners have been slapped with fines.

We are also concerned with the lack of state law enabling local stop-sign camera systems. State law allows for ticket cameras at red-light intersections, on school buses and at highway work zones, but Saddle Rock’s new system apparently is working without any legal basis to operate. If the Saddle Rock experiment is to continue and be applied in other Long Island communities, state lawmakers must give them the ability to embrace this idea. State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola) says he's working on such a new law.

Red-light cameras at intersections are controversial. Many motorists have complained that the camera systems became a money grab by municipalities eager to find new revenue streams from fines that can well exceed $100. This doesn't strike us as the case here. But Levy must be open and forthcoming with details about his new stop-sign system, which would ease concerns and allow it to be a model plan.