Legislator: Red-light camera program will end Dec. 1 in Suffolk County
A Suffolk legislator News 12 spoke with says the program did not get the green light to be renewed.
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Suffolk County is putting the brakes on its red-light camera program after 14 years. It will be out of commission on Dec. 1.
"I get too many tickets. Turning on red when it doesn't say no turn on red," says Ben Leibstein, of Babylon.
Leg. Kevin McCaffrey says lawmakers did not renew the program beyond Dec. 1.
"This program needs to be redesigned about safety, not revenue generation," says McCaffrey.
As News 12 has reported, Suffolk County has about 100 red-light cameras. The tickets are about $115. The program has generated around $39 million each year for Suffolk County.
According to AAA, red-light cameras can increase the number of rear-end crashes when people stop short to not run a red light. But News 12 was told cameras can reduce the number of T-bone crashes at intersections.
"We have seen studies from the insurance Institute for Highway Safety that found that after cameras were removed, injury crashes went up,” says Alec Slatky, with AAA.
That did hold true in Suffolk. According to a county report published in 2022, rear-end collisions went up 45% since the program started in 2010.
And while some drivers say it’s a cash grab, others say safety first.
"I think it's for safety, so I'd be against it ending. Every day, you see people blowing through red lights, running through stop signs like they're not even there, so I'm all for it, " says George Retaleato, of West Babylon.
The red-light camera program may be stopping for now in Suffolk, but it's continuing in Nassau.
