Blowing through red lights in Warminster is about to get more expensive for drivers.
The Warminster Police Department has announced next month it anticipates activating two new automated red-light cameras at heavily traveled intersections.
The cameras will be located at Street and York roads and Street and Jacksonville roads, according to a police press release. Warminster will be the fourth Bucks County community to activate the controversial traffic enforcement program.
Construction is currently underway and the township expects to initiate a 60-day warning period for drivers in mid-November before tickets are issued, the release said.
More information regarding the specific warning and enforcement schedules will be released as implementation progresses.
Pennsylvania allows red light cameras in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and municipalities with at least 20,000 residents and an accredited police department. The primary goal of the program is improving public safety, not generating revenue, according to the release.
The automated camera technology will identify and photograph vehicles that enter an intersection after the traffic signal has turned red. The photos are sent to trained officers who review and verify the violations and issue a ticket in the mail.
Drivers have an opportunity to challenge the violations and accompanying fine.
Under state lawdrivers are fined $100 fine, but the penalty is civil violation meaning it does not result in points on a driver’s record or a criminal conviction.
Available studies suggest the red-light cameras do improve intersection safety and help prevent serious motor vehicle crashes.
Drivers running red lights and ignoring traffic controls appears to be the most common cause of vehicle accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway safety, a nonprofit traffic safety group. The agency found in2024, more than 1,100 people in the U.S. were killed and more than 141,000 people injured in crashes involving drivers running red lights.
One 2020 National Institute of Health analysis found that red light cameras are associated with a statistically significant reduction in crash outcomes, and red light violations.
Researchers found the camera systems are associated with a 20% drop in total injury crashes, a 24% drop in right angle crashes and a 29% drop in right angle injury crashes. But they also found red light camera use associated with a “statistically significant” 19% increase in rear-end crashes.
Opponents of automated red light cameras argue that traffic cameras are a distraction and they fail to address underlying problems including poor traffic engineering, design and planning at intersections.
Last year Bristol Township activated four automated Red Light Cameras at Bristol Pike and Green Lane, Bristol Pike and Edgely Road, Veterans Highway and Wharton Road and Veterans Highway and Western Avenue..
Warrington Police was the first Bucks town to implement red light cameras at Bristol Road and Route 611 and Route 611 and Street Road. The department issuedmore than 9,700 violations in its first year and police approved 78% of violations flagged by cameras, according to police.
Bensalem also activated cameras at Street and Knights roads and Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway in 2024. In its first year police sawa 67% decrease in violations at the intersections dropping from more than 10,000 the first three months to 3,500 in the most recent three months. The number of accidents at the intersections also dropped 17%, police said.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: A new Bucks County town is activating red light cameras. Here's where
