Mobile photo cameras net 436 violations in eight-hour period on Nov. 26

Results released this week reveal that during an eight-hour period on Nov. 26, 2008, 42 mobile photo enforcement units participated simultaneously in Operation Border to Border, which was aimed at reducing pre-holiday collisions on heavily traveled interstates in Arizona.

During this eight-hour period, which began at 3 p.m. and ended at 11 p.m., there were a total of 505 photo enforcement activations, resulting in 436 notices of violations.

The mobile units were spread out across the state about 20 miles apart along Interstate 10 and Interstate 40 from border to border. During that eight-hour period there were only two collisions reported along those heavily traveled interstates. Only one collision involved injuries. During the same period last year, there were 29 collisions reported along those same interstates, including three collisions that involved injuries. There were no fatal collisions reported this year or last year.

On Sept. 26, 2008, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) began implementing the expanded statewide photo enforcement program at the direction of the Arizona Legislature. The law specified that 100 cameras be placed on highways statewide. By Feb. 1 of 2009, DPS will have a total of 40 mobile photo enforcement cameras and 60 stationary cameras in operation throughout the state.

Since Sept. 26, there have been 166,176 photo enforcement activations by the DPS program, resulting in 40,401 notices of violation. The highest recorded speed was 130 miles per hour. That occurred twice in two separate incidents. One incident occurred in the southbound lanes of State Route 51 at Bethany Home Road with the second occurring in the West Valley.

“Photo enforcement does not replace the highway patrol officer. It cannot pull over impaired drivers or aggressive drivers or distracted drivers. It can help slow people down, and that goes a long way toward preventing serious injury or even fatal collisions. As you can see, the results paid off during Operation Border to Border,” said Roger Vanderpool, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Submitted photo