CAMERAS CUTTING RATE OF CRASHES.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

Cameras that catch people running traffic lights cut down on crashes, a study released Thursday said.

The study of traffic lights in Oxnard, conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, comes as the Los Angeles Police Department is planning to install more cameras at the city's worst intersections.

The LAPD unveiled a camera at one of the San Fernando Valley's most dangerous intersections - Sherman Way and Winnetka Avenue - in January and have since written 656 tickets, each carrying a $271 fine.

``The cameras seem to be having a significant impact on red light violations,'' said LAPD Sgt. Dale Turner of the Valley Traffic Division.

City officials are so impressed by the technology, which costs up to $60,000 for each camera system, that they are set to install a second camera in the Valley at Laurel Canyon and Victory boulevards next week.

Although there are few statistics to highlight the program's effectiveness in L.A., police are impressed.

``It frees us up to focus on other serious traffic and law enforcement violations,'' said LAPD Officer Kurt Garcia, the photo red light coordinator in the Valley Traffic Division.

In Oxnard, where 11 of the city's 125 intersections have red light cameras, collisions dropped citywide since installation in 1997. At the intersections with cameras, injury crashes dropped 29 percent.

``As this study shows, red light cameras save lives,'' said Candysse Miller, the executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California, a media relations organization supported by the insurance industry. ``Their benefits are undeniable.''

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick said that getting the program off the ground in the city has taken too long and that the study is further proof that the enforcement works.

``Too many lives have been lost,'' she said. ``This study guarantees that we are going to have an effective program.''

The LAPD is basing its program on the one in Oxnard, and officials hope to install 16 cameras across the city by this fall.

``We hope to be able to reduce the numbers of crashes by the same amount if not more than Oxnard,'' Garcia said. ``Given the fact that we are losing more cops than taking them in at the LAPD, these photo red light cameras can assist us on focusing our attention on other violations, such as DUIs and speeding.''

The Insurance Institute found that 260,000 automobile crashes occur a year as a result of red light runners in the state - accounting for approximately 750 deaths.

``No one should die at a stoplight,'' Miller said.

Cameras are becoming more common in the state as Beverly Hills, Culver City, San Francisco and San Diego have tried them.

But the program has its critics.

``We're giving up a little bit of freedom for something that should be every driver's responsibility,'' said Juan Ros, the executive director of the Libertarian Party of California. ``This gives too much power to law enforcement.''

Police, though, see cameras as a cost-effective way to fight traffic violations.