Newport News and Hampton are one of a few localities on the Peninsula with red light traffic cameras.
Traffic light cameras are aimed at reducing car crashes at busy intersections, said Kim Lee, spokeswoman for the City of Newport News.
In Newport News, the city has three intersections where the cameras are used, two at each intersection — at Mercury Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, Oyster Point Road and Jefferson Avenue and Denbigh Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue.
Lee said the reason for adding the red light traffic cameras at those particular intersections was originally because of the number of crashes and the city hasn’t made any changes to the red light traffic light program for several years.
Lee also noted the city does not plan on adding more cameras at this time.
So what happens if you’re caught on camera passing a red light?
You could get fined.
How much?
According to state code, up to $350 — it’s $30 in Newport News, authorities said.
In addition to traffic cameras, the city also has several blue lights at certain traffic lights to help officers see if the traffic light is red.
“Running a red light is a violation,” Lee said in a text message. “Drivers can get tickets for running red lights whether or not there is a blue light on top of the traffic signal. The blue lights do help police to know that the light is in fact red.”
It’s unclear how many traffic lights with additional blue lights are in Newport News.
In Hampton, the city also has 40 red light traffic cameras, said Fred Gaskins, spokesman for the city.
However, they are not for the purpose of tickets for people who run red lights but rather for monitoring traffic.
“We add them periodically,” Gaskins said.
Currently, they do not plan on adding any wholesale cameras in the future unless a camera would break nor do they plan on implementing a similar blue light traffic light protocol similar to Newport News.
At this time, the police departments of James City County and Williamsburg as well as the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office do not plan on adding red light traffic cameras nor do they plan on implementing a blue light at intersections.
So why don’t these particular localities have them?
“It’s very labor intensive when you have a red light program,” said York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Capt. Troy Lyons.
Lyons said anywhere from five to six years ago the idea to use traffic cameras was explored and projected to cost $75,000 just for the equipment, not including the cost of monitoring the footage and hiring a couple more deputies.
“It has not been a priority since then,” said Lyons.
“We do not have any red light cameras,” Stephanie Williams-Ortery, spokeswoman with the James City County Police Department, wrote in an email.
Williams-Ortery said she’s unaware of any future plans to add traffic light cameras.
“The City of Williamsburg does not have photo red light cameras and they are not under consideration by city staff,” said Lee Ann Hartmann, spokeswoman for City of Williamsburg.