Lights, camera but no more action
City's red-light cases on hold until appeal
Friday, March 7, 2003
IAN MCDOUGALL
TORONTO SUN

The city will put the brakes on red-light camera court hearings until it can appeal a ruling by a justice of the peace that the photos are inadmissible in court.

The head of the works committee, Councillor Brad Duguid, said yesterday that city prosecutors will adjourn hearings on the tickets pending an appeal.

"We're getting legal advice," Duguid said. "We'll also ask that the charges not be thrown out but delayed."

A ticket was thrown out Tuesday at the Sheppard Ave. court when a justice of the peace ruled that the photos are not admissible because they do not clearly show the location where they were taken.

Several other tickets were dismissed immediately after, and Duguid said yesterday the city was anticipating another 30 to 40 of the $190 tickets getting tossed out.

"In my layman's opinion it looks like a wacky decision," said Duguid who's a strong supporter of the cameras.

Adjournments could affect about 800 outstanding tickets that might go to trial between now and May, said Mike Brady, who runs the city's red-light project.

Brady said the city estimates only about 400 will actually go further than the disclosure stage.

The city will also talk to the attorney general and ministry of transportation about getting the regulations governing red-light cameras changed, Duguid said.

In the meantime, the cameras will continue to operate, he said.

Meanwhile, phones at the offices of Pointts, a paralegal agency that fights traffic tickets, were buzzing with calls about the red-light tickets after Tuesday's decision, said company founder Brian Lawrie.

"They've received a number of inquiries from people who have already paid the tickets," Lawrie said. "(But) once you've paid, that's it."

Lawrie, a former Toronto cop, said the red-light cameras haven't been the cure for traffic safety that some might think.

"We've had problems with red-light cameras ever since they were introduced," he said. "This is a politician's solution to a policeman's problem."

The devices were first introduced in San Diego about 15 years ago and led to a new traffic problem as people started slamming on their brakes to avoid getting snapped, he said.

"It vastly increased the accidents on the approach to the intersection," he said. "An automated device sitting at an intersection is not the way to do it."

Since the program started in November 2000 as a two-year pilot project, the cameras have issued about 22,000 tickets.

Duguid said his works committee will get a report on adding photo radar to the electronic arsenal in April.