THERE will be fewer red-light cameras watching motorists on North Shore roads following a $23million expansion of the province's camera enforcement program.
But drivers who make a habit of lead-footing it at the three worst crash locations face a much higher chance of getting a caught.
Under the new program, digital cameras will be ready to snap licence plates of drivers who run red lights at three intersections: Marine Drive and Taylor Way, Marine Drive and Capilano Road and Main Street at Mountain Highway.
Those are among the intersections with the worst crash records on the North Shore, according to ICBC.
The bottleneck at Marine Drive and Taylor results in 135 averages crashes annually. The nearby intersection of Marine Drive and Capilano Road clocks an average of 104 crashes a year. On the other side of the North Shore, the intersection at Main Street and Mountain Highway nets an average of 104 accidents a year.
In the previous red-light program, equipment was in place to snap photos of offending motorists at eight different intersections on the North Shore.
But that program relied on 30 film cameras being rotated around 120 provincial locations. To process a ticket, someone actually had to climb up and retrieve the film.
The new program uses digital cameras that can send photos of guilty motorists' licence plates electronically to police. Signs will be prominently placed warning drivers the cameras are in place.
According to ICBC, the new 140 provincial locations for the cameras are based on an assessment of where the technology would be most useful in reducing serious crashes.
In the old intersection program, red-light cameras resulted in 20,000 tickets and revenues of about $3.3 million each year. Under the new program, the province expects to hand out 33,000 tickets and generate $4 million in fines, which are distributed to municipalities.
Drivers caught on candid camera will get a $167 fine, which can be reduced by $25 if it's paid within 30 days. A map with locations of all the redlight camera locations can be found on ICBC's website at www.icbc.com.
