The A-3 automatic speed and traffic light camera system will begin operating next week, following the trial period during which drivers who were caught on camera were sent warning tickets. The camera system will be initially operational in eight locations and will produce hundreds of citations a week. At the same time, the court system is preparing to deal with the masses of drivers wishing to appeal speeding tickets, or that were summoned to court after their picture was taken while driving at excessively high speeds, or driving through a red light.
Traffic courts have added three more judges to their staff in preparation for the start of speed camera operations. At the same time, the Attorney General is preparing to steeply increase the penalty for speeding and for running a red light.
The decision to make penalties more severe was made several months ago jointly between the Israel Police traffic division and the Attorney General, and refers to "red cases," which the Police claim are, "offenses that endanger the public, regardless of whether the outcome of the specific occurrence caused harm".
According to the new guidelines, in the case of photographs of vehicles caught travelling at especially high speeds which were not specified the Attorney General's office has instructed that the driver's license be revoked for an extremely long period of time, and for the driver even to be given a suspended prison sentence. The Attorney General's office has instructed that a driver's license be revoked for at least three to six months for running a red light. The implementation of the new automatic system next week is expected to bring about a sharp rise in the number of red cases.
"Comprehensive enforcement reform"
In a response to a "Globes'" request, the court spokesperson said, "The A-3 system is part of a comprehensive enforcement reform set by the Attorney General and the Police traffic division, and the courts are contributing to the reform in coordination with them. In an effort to meet expected demand, procedural changes have been made, including the adoption of a portion of the cases, which will streamline procedures and cut down the time necessary to handle cases. We do not know how many appeals we will receive, but we know that the number will increase due to changes in priorities in traffic enforcement and the focusing of the Police on serious offenses. New procedures have been written for red cases. All traffic courts in Israel are prepared to deal with these types of cases, and the judges and clerical staff have been instructed to give priority to them."
The traffic Police spokesperson declined to specify how many warning tickets were issued during the automatic speed camera system's three week trial period.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 29, 2012
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