Auckland's battle on red-light runners steps up with all cameras now monitored

Thursday, 17 January 2019

All 12 of Auckland's red light cameras are now being monitored simultaneously.

Auckland's new red light safety cameras are fully operational for the first time.

The step up came after it was revealed limited police resources meant only six of the 12 cameras were being monitored.

Mayor Phil Goff said the agreement with police to monitor all 12 cameras simultaneously would be a big deterrent for motorists considering running a red light.

'Within five years the number of cameras in place will increase to 42, helping change the culture that running reds is okay and there are no consequences,' he said.

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A statement issued by Auckland Transport and the mayor's office did not immediately make clear how police overcame the issue of being able to monitor only half of the cameras.

In a later statement to Stuff, police said the problem had been solved by staff becoming more flexible.

Auckland is in the process of rolling out 42 new cameras at a cost of $24 million, but it was revealed last year that police could monitor only six at a time.

The problem had been described as technology limits by police, but Stuff understands the full monitoring is being achieved without changes to technology.

The curb to Auckland Transport's efforts to crack down on red light runners has been the subject of high-level political lobbying.

Correspondence obtained by Stuff showed AT's chairman Lester Levy and its chief executive Shane Ellison sought intervention last May, by then-police minister Stuart Nash.

Mayor Phil Goff followed up with his own letter to Nash months later.

Police initially told Stuff last year it had an agreement with Auckland Transport to limit enforcement to six cameras at any one time, but when pressed said there was 'no formal agreement'.

'The enforcement of six Auckland Transport red light cameras is something police has done for many years,' it later clarified in a statement.

Superintendent Steve Greally, national manager for road policing, said in a statement that police and Auckland Transport had been working hard to get to this point.

'We are happy to support AT in this road safety venture. It will not only enforce risky driving behaviour but also act as a deterrent so people will stop gambling with their lives, and everybody else's, on the road,' he said.

Auckland Transport plans to turn on six more safety cameras in June, taking the number to 18.

The new cameras replace previous technology which a Stuff investigation in May 2018 found had not resulted in a single ticket being issued for nearly three years.