PITTSBURGH \u2014 Drivers caught running red lights at three Pittsburgh intersections can now receive a $100 citation in the mail.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s Automated Red-Light Enforcement program began issuing citations Sunday after a 60-day warning period.<\/p>\n
The cameras are at Penn and North Dallas avenues in Point Breeze; Saw Mill Run Boulevard and Woodruff Street in Beechview\/ South Hills; and Anderson and East General Robinson streets on the North Shore.<\/p>\n
The city plans to install cameras at three more intersections later this year: South Negley and Fifth avenues; Chateau Street and the West End Bridge; and Browns Hill Road and Parkview Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Those cameras will have a 30-day warning period before citations begin.<\/p>\n
The cameras record vehicles that run red lights, including drivers who turn right without coming to a complete stop.<\/p>\n
A trained Pittsburgh police officer reviews the images and video to verify each potential violation before a citation is issued.<\/p>\n
The $100 penalty is a civil infraction and does not add points to a driver\u2019s license or insurance, according to the information provided by the city.<\/p>\n
For Rohan Ganguli, who lives in Point Breeze, the cameras could help address a dangerous intersection.<\/p>\n
Nearly a year and a half ago, he said, a driver hit him as he crossed Penn Avenue with his dog, then drove away.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom North Dallas Ave, somebody made a turn into Penn and hit me in the chest, flipped me in the air,\u201d Ganguli said.<\/p>\n
He said he suffered a cracked jaw and three broken ribs and spent four days in the hospital.<\/p>\n
Witnesses were too stunned to identify the vehicle, and police told him there was little they could do, he said.<\/p>\n
Ganguli believes the cameras could help deter drivers from going through an intersection after the light changes.<\/p>\n
He said he sees drivers try to make it through the light or turn after it has changed.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh says it selected high-risk intersections with histories of crashes and fatalities.<\/p>\n
From 2019 to 2023, the city recorded 759 crashes involving red-light running, resulting in seven deaths.<\/p>\n
Some neighbors told Channel 11 off camera they were unsure the cameras would change driver behavior.<\/p>\n
Nadir Raja, who lives near the Point Breeze intersection, said he has seen about two crashes a year that damage his fence.<\/p>\n
Raja said drivers need to know where the cameras are for the program to make a difference.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s goal is to have 21 operating red light cameras.<\/p>\n
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