I read with interest the article the week before last about the use of red-light cameras in the City of Auburn, and in particular comments attributed to Mayor Pete Lewis about me.

To begin with, I have the utmost respect for Mayor Lewis, and we’ve worked well together on a number of regional and state issues as they impact the citizens of Auburn. Mayor Lewis has been a strong advocate for his city. However, I do take exception to his characterizations and personal attacks in what should be a reasoned policy discussion and debate.

The use of photo enforcement and red-light cameras was created by the Legislature as a pilot program. The intent of a pilot program is to test the use of a tool, measure its effectiveness, and ultimately, make a rational, informed decision as to whether it suits the citizens of this state to continue the program, expand the program, or end the program. This is, plain and simple, a Legislative decision that Legislators will decide on behalf of the citizens of Washington state. Any suggestion that the Legislature or any individual Legislator has no right to either monitor a pilot program like this or to engage in dialogue with the public and elected officials is misguided and unproductive.

As a member of the Legislature, the Chair of the Public Safety Committee in the House of Representatives, and a 25-year police veteran myself, it is my responsibility to study and review all available data to guide my decisions as an elected official. The truth is, the jury is still out on red-light photo enforcement. There are several pending issues concerning red-light cameras, and it is premature to close debate. First and foremost, there is a significant amount of conflicting data as to whether or not red-light cameras are increasing or decreasing the incidence of accidents and injuries in Washington. I’ve seen studies that would tend to support the use of red-light cameras as well as studies that suggest that red-light cameras are either providing no safety benefit, or, in fact, actually increasing the rate of accidents.

Second, the experience with red-light cameras in other states has been almost uniformly negative. Fifteen states now have either severely restricted or banned their use. Many other states and local municipalities are in the process of enacting regulations to ensure the safe and uniform use of red-light cameras.

The third issue that concerns me – and this may be the most important one of all – is a pattern of misuse of these devices which has increased both accidents and injuries in other states. This is caused by the intentional reduction of yellow-light times to increase revenue. In states where yellow-light times have been reduced to as little as 1.7 seconds, there was a significant increase in accidents and injuries at these intersections. Motorists either stomp on their brakes the second they see a yellow-light or hit the accelerator to try to clear the intersection before the light turns red, increasing accidents and injuries in all categories. The sole purpose of the reduction of yellow-light times in these other states was to increase revenue. Cities have now begun to reduce yellow-light times in Washington, and this is unacceptable.

I will introduce legislation once again this session seeking a modification to the pilot program that will ensure the safe use of these cameras while the public policy debate continues. It’s very simple. States that have enacted legislation which controls yellow-light times at intersections where photo enforcement is being used have seen their accident rate drop by a much as 80 percent. I am working with legislators in other states where these provisions have been implemented and am currently drafting a bill that will reflect those protections. This is not an unreasonable step to take, pending the final decision on whether Washington will keep this program, and ultimately, whether citizens wish to allow cities the continued use of this law enforcement tool.

Some issues

There are a host of other unresolved issues concerning not only the use of red-light photo enforcement, but also the intent of the Legislature in the levying of fines by municipal jurisdictions, as well as oversight of the private companies who have been given contracts to run these devices in our state.

I’ve spent my career in the pursuit of public safety as a commissioned law enforcement officer, finishing my career as the Commander of a 15-city Homicide/Violent Crimes Task Force. Now, as an elected member of the House of Representatives, I am tasked with analyzing the results of the red-light camera pilot program. I respectfully disagree with Mayor Lewis’s suggestion that this is none of my business.

I sincerely hope that the reporter who wrote the story simply got Mayor Lewis on a bad day, and that we will continue to have a good working relationship and get back to work on this and many other issues to the benefit of the citizens of the City of Auburn, and the 31st Legislative District.

Rep. Christopher Hurst represents the 31st Legislative District, is Chair of the House Public Safety Committee and worked as a police detective for 25 years. He can be reached at hurst.christopher@leg.wa.gov or by calling 360-786-7866.