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Chesapeake Residents: Are You Ready for Red Light Cameras?

If you live in or near Chesapeake, Virginia, you probably have an opinion about the new red light cameras that have been installed at the intersection of Battlefield Boulevard / Atlantic Avenue and Campostella Road (also known as Edmunds Corner). These cameras, the first red-light cameras to be installed in Chesapeake, are intended to improve safety in an area notorious for serious car wrecks.

Critics of the cameras contend that they are just a money-making scheme for both the Chesapeake police department and the private company that operates the cameras. However, it may be the private company that has the most to gain. When similar cameras were installed in Virginia Beach, officials there expected to bring in $350,000 a year in profits, but the total was much smaller.

What isn’t known is how much the private company, in this case Redflex Traffic Systems Incorporated, a Phoenix, AZ based company, stands to make from Virginia drivers. Redflex is providing the red light cameras and other monitoring equipment for free, and takes a cut of the fees collected from drivers caught running lights.

If caught running a red light, drivers face a $50 fee, which is being classified as a civil penalty that does not affect the individual’s driving record. For the first month, warning notices will be sent to drivers who run lights. After the one-month grace period, $50 tickets will be sent to drivers in the mail.

Evidence of red light running will include three pictures and video footage. The three pictures will be: one of the license plate, one of the car before the violation, and one of the vehicle after it has passed through the red light.

Drivers who receive a ticket will be able to go online to view a video of the offense. They then have the option of going to court to prove that they were not the person behind the wheel of the car when the accident happened.

More red light cameras are planned for Chesapeake. In fact, a city traffic engineer reports that there are 28 intersections under consideration. These include roads intersecting with Battlefield Boulevard like:

Will these cameras cut down on red-light running and related accidents, injuries, and fatalities in Chesapeake? That remains to be seen.

Need help from a lawyer after a crash in Chesapeake or elsewhere in Hampton Roads or the Tidewater region? Please contact our office today and one of our skilled Chesapeake car crash attorneys will go over the details of your case with you to see if and how we can help.

Weisberg & Zaleski, P.C.

112 College Place

Norfolk, VA 23510

Toll Free: (800) 690-0235

Phone: (757) 622-7740

Fax: (757) 533-9223




Michael S. Weisberg, P.C.
112 College Place
Norfolk, VA 23510
Phone: (757) 622-7740
Fax: (757) 533-9223
Toll Free: (800) 690-0235
Email: info@weislaw.com
www.weislaw.com