Nassau County Traffic Safety Board Director Chris Minstron said Thursday that the county’s red-light traffic program has helped improve traffic safety with a reduction in accidents of 60 percent in the 76 locations in which red-light cameras are located.
“Our goal is traffic safety,” Minstron told members of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce at the Inn at Great Neck. “That’s what we’ve been successful with.”
Minstron said the county’s program has been voted the No. 1 red-light camera program in the country and differs from some municipalities in focusing on safety rather than giving tickets and collecting fines.
Since the program began four years ago, the cameras have taken more than 1.3 million snapshots of drivers passing through 76 red light cameras, he said.
But, he said, out of those 1.3 million, only 470,000 violations have been issued to drivers.
“We look at how we can not give the violation,” Minstron said.
“I don’t agree with our neighbors in New York City,” he added.
Minstron said he believed the red light camera program, along with safety education programs, was an opportunity to remind drivers of the rules of the road.
Unlike New York City and other municipalities, Nassau County takes a video rather a photo of motorists passing through a red light, Minstron said. The footage is then reviewed by a worker at American Traffic Solutions to see if a violation did occur, Minstron said.
Drivers who are given a traffic violation are able to view the video of the incident on Nassau County’s website, Minstron said.
He said this allows him to show people why they were mailed a violation.
Minstron said signs are placed near the red light cameras to notify motorists of the camera’s presence in an effort to keep the program “up front and honest.”
“I want to make sure nobody can accuse Nassau County of not being honest,” he said.
Minstron said that American Traffic Solutions, which reviews the vidoes and mails out violations, receives about 20 percent of the profits from the camera every year to help pay for operational costs.
He also attributed the drop in accidents to the implementation of several safety education programs such as Buckle Up New York and the state’s Child Passenger Safety Program.
“We want to remind people that we’re thinking of them,” Minstron said of the safety programs.
Minstron presentation was coordinated by Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum (D-Great Neck).
“The chamber was looking for someone from the county and I thought Chris would be a great guy,” Birnbaum said.
