Inquiring Legislators Want Answers About County Red Light Camera Program

Legislator Rob Trotta speaks at Miller Place press conference about reporting of red light camera statisticsSuffolk County Legislators Rob Trotta, Leslie Kennedy and Tom Muratore want to know why the county’s annual Red Light Camera Program Report does not include statistics on incidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists at red light intersections. Standing at the red light camera intersection of Miller Place Rd and 25A, Trotta slammed the program and called attention to two fatality’s, a pedestrian and a bicyclist, that occurred at the site. 

Trotta, a fierce opponent of the county’s red light program, wants to know if  Nelson & Pope, the engineering company that creates the Red Light Camera Program Report, was directed to withhold statistics that were included in its 2010, 2011 and 2013 reports. According to Trotta the engineer at Nelson & Pope said,“he was told ‘a few years ago’ not to include them.” The legislators have three questions they are demanding answers to: Who directed Nelson & Pope not to include information, why the data has been excluded and finally has the county violated  NYS Motor Vehicle & Traffic Law, section 111 - b4, 2m 1-4 which stipulates municipalities submit a report annually which includes the aggregate number, type and severity of accidents reported at intersections where a traffic-control signal photo violation- monitoring system is used and the number of violations recorded at each intersection where a signal system is used…”

Trotta stated, “Anybody who is hit by a car on a bicycle or a pedestrian are not being reported to State and that’s required by law. The vehicle and traffic law specifically states that the reports have to be complete and processed up to Albany by June of the year after it closes. If they don’t, if they’re not complete these are not, these are actually crimes for submitting false instrument for filing. And that’s when you knowingly send something to the State when you know the information is wrong.” 

Trotta is calling for an investigation. He has called on NYS Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to open an investigation into the county’s underreporting of accidents for 2014-2015. “There are multiple reasons why this program should be shut down immediately and I am aghast that we are doing nothing and we are lying to the public by not including the pedestrians and the bicyclists.”

The red light camera program which generates $32 million in revenue for Suffolk County was the subject of a public hearing at the county legislature earlier this month with some legislators proposing to conduct a review and a suspension of the program until the review is completed.