Drivers in Baton Rouge who run red lights might want to think twice about doing so next month. By mid-to-late February, the Baton Rouge Police Department will have installed red-light monitoring cameras at five of the worst intersections in Baton Rouge. “The new red-light monitoring program’s goal is to improve the safety of the motoring public by lowering the number of accidents at our intersections,” said Ingolf Partenheimer, East Baton Rouge Parish’s city traffic engineer. Partenheimer said the fine for first-time offenders will be $116 and each subsequent violation will be $167. The program, Partenheimer said, will have no cost for the city-parish. Baton Rouge will receive a percentage of the violators’ fines, while the contractor, American Traffic Solutions, will get paid the rest. “The hardest part of getting the new red-light monitoring program up and running was how to get around the city ordinances,” Partenheimer said. He also said the old city ordinance called for ticketing motorists in the intersection when the light was red. The revised ordinance now says if a motorist enters the intersection when the light is red, they would get a ticket. “It’s a great idea because a lot of accidents that happen are because cars are running red lights,” said Grace Aluko, kinesiology sophomore. The first monitoring camera was installed to test the program at the intersection of Sherwood Forest and Coursey boulevards. ATS plans to put in the next sets of cameras at the intersections of Airline Highway and Old Hammond Highway, Louisiana Highway 19 and Blount Road and at the Essen Lane and College Drive interchanges on I-10. “They should be put up for public safety as well as make sure the camera can tell 100 percent the person broke the law,” said Andrew Carson, history senior. “But if the camera is not 100 percent accurate, you have to give the driver the benefit of doubt.” Partenheimer said Baton Rouge is not the only city in Louisiana implementing red-light monitoring cameras. He said Jefferson and Lafayette parishes and the cities of Zachary and Baker already have their programs up and running or are in the process of installing it.
—-Contact Louis Pelletteri at lpelletteri@lsureveille.com