Smile, you're on radar camera

Cameras that "catch" speeders and red-light runners are coming under heavy scrutiny by Washington lawmakers. Critics say they invade privacy and are used by local jurisdictions to make money by issuing traffic tickets. But law-enforcement officials say they save lives.

US Rep. Bob Barr (R) of Georgia, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, is concerned about the number of speeding tickets that will be issued per month when the District of Columbia Police Department expands its program to include photo-radar cameras to clock and fine speeders. The district expects to issue 80,000 tickets a month with the new technology, up from the 10,000 a year currently written.

Kevin Morison, a spokesman for the department, told The Washington Times that the 39 red-light cameras already mounted in the city have reduced the number of such violations by 55 percent. Since the red-light cameras were installed in 1999, the district has collected more than $12 million from 230,000 violations.

In San Francisco, red-light offenses are down 40 percent since cameras were installed, says Lockheed Martin IMS, which makes the equipment.