New Brunswick to allow red-light, speed cameras as of April

New Brunswick aims to allow municipalities to install red-light and speed cameras starting in April.

Legislationpassed in 2021 set the stage to allowthe systems,as well as licence-plate readers, to be used to enforce traffic laws.

Late last month, the provincial governmentreleased draft regulations for consultation. They would go into effect April 1.

Spokespersons for the cities of Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John all say their communities are reviewing the regulations.

"Red-light cameras could potentially play a role as part of a comprehensive strategy to improve safety for motorists and residents of our community, however, city staff have not made any recommendations to council at this time," City of Saint John spokespersonErin White said in an email.

Bathurst and Miramichi spokespeople say those communities have no plans to use the systems at this point.

Moncton Coun. Shawn Crossman has lobbied for the cameras for years, saying he sees far too many people running red lights.He said he would be in favour of both red-light and speed cameras.

"It's time that we start holding people accountable," Crossman said in an interview.

Checked against database details

An automatedlicence-plate reader can compare the plate of a vehicle to a database to check if a vehicle is stolen, has expired plates or is registered to a suspended driver.

Red-light cameras could be used to ticket the owners of vehicles that run red lights, while speed cameras can issue tickets for vehicles going above posted limits.

Under the law, a police officer wouldreview the photo. If a violation is deemed to have occurred, a ticket and photo would be mailed to the vehicle's registered owner.

The system tickets the vehicle owner because it may not be able to prove who was driving. Nopoints are lost if the owner is convicted.

"Use of this technology has proven to reduce motor vehicle accidents and injuries and other jurisdictions, and I'm confident that passage of this bill will achieve the same outcome for our province," then-minister of public safety Ted Flemming said in May 2021.

In Toronto, city staff have previously told CBC that the city recorded a25 per cent reduction in the number of angle collisions, or T-bone crashes, that resulted in deaths orserious injuries.

Various studies in the United States have indicated red-light cameras reduce angle collisions, but some have shown an increase in rear-end crashes as people brake for red lights.

Former Fredericton councillorStephen Chase told CBC after the New Brunswick legislation was introduced that he wanted the province to share any fine revenue.

"It's not an insignificant cost and it does have to be paid for," Chase said in May 2021.

GeoffreyDowney, a spokesperson for the province'sDepartment of Public Safety, didn't directly say if the province wouldshare fine revenue with communities .

"Currently, there are no municipalities with these devices installed, therefore no agreement for fine sharing has been made to date,"Downey said in an email Tuesday.

Crossman said he doesn't view the cameras as a tax grab.

"If you want to run the red light and you want to block intersection, be it a civilian vehicle, be it a City of Moncton vehicle, be it a Codiac Transpo bus, there is a price to pay for breaking the law and unfortunately it's a user pay system," Crossman said.