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WASHINGTON (AP) - Ann Sweet's daughter, two weeks from getting married, was killed when a semi-tractor trailer ran a red light. Since that 1997 accident, Sweet has avidly supported using cameras to nab red light runners.
Sweet submitted written testimony during a Highways and Transit subcommittee Tuesday and portions of her testimony were quoted during the meeting by red light camera proponent Judith Stone.
"I'm very optimistic about all of this," Sweet said this morning. "If we help just one more person to be careful, we're doing the job."
The committee debated the merits of the cameras with arguments on the fatalities caused by red light runners competing with charges that the cameras intrude on privacy.
Stone, president of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, told committee members an estimated 260,000 crashes are caused by red light runners every year, with more than 750 of them fatal.
She said that at several intersections where cameras have been used, violations and injuries have dropped.
'I seriously doubt anyone in this hearing room would ever question or oppose proven technology that would eliminate near-misses or midair collisions by airplanes,' Stone said.
Her arguments were countered by Rep. Bob Barr, R-Ga., who said the cameras could eviscerate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
Currently 30 cities use about 345 cameras at intersections, which snap photos of vehicles driving through red lights. Citations, usually the equivalent of a parking ticket, are mailed to owners tracked down through license plate numbers in photos.
In the District of Columbia, the cameras were installed after residents named aggressive driving and red light running as the major safety issues they'd like to see addressed, said Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District's delegate to the House.
Other cities like San Diego have rebelled against use of the technology, members of the committee heard yesterday.
In that city, a class action suit has been filed seeking the dismissal of 398 tickets issued with the use of red light cameras.
Witnesses gave two pictures of how the cameras are operating at local levels. Roger Hedgecock, a San Diego radio talk show host and former mayor, said the San Diego system uses private contractor Lockheed Martin to match photos of license plates with owners. The company has access to the state motor vehicle database.
Howard County Police Chief Wayne Livesay said his department signs off on every citation and the vendor is not given access to motor vehicle databases.
In both cases, the contractor is paid per citation, although Livesay said his office was considering paying its vendor a flat fee.
Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., said if the cameras are being used unfairly, those who object should 'fix it at the local level.'
'Yes this is a free country, but I remind all those who objected that this is a refereed freedom,' he said. 'We have to have respect for others.'
Sweet said about 150 people attended the hearing: committee members, witnesses and media.
She returned to Warsaw late last night.
"I'm very pleased with everything that was accomplished," she said.
While in the Capitol, Sweet, who has testified before state legislative committees, was interviewed by the major television news networks broadcasting her message nationwide.
