Love 'em or hate 'em, traffic cams changing driver behavior in C.R.

CEDAR RAPIDS - Speed cameras on Interstate 380 in Cedar Rapids haven't slowed everyone down, but Trisha Reichenbach said they certainly changed her.

Reichenbach, 23, has racked up 14 citations and more than $1,000 in fines since the cameras started rolling. Now she uses cruise control every time she takes the busy freeway.

“Since I've started receiving the notifications, I don't speed anywhere anymore,” Reichenbach said.

It appears many other drivers have followed suit, according to the latest camera data. Violations recorded on northbound I-380 at Diagonal Drive have dropped by 52 percent in the first four months, according to statistics from camera vendor Gatso USA.

“I drive it every day myself, and I've really seen a big change,” said Lt. Jeff Hembera, the commander in charge of the traffic division. “One of the goals of the program was to change driver behavior, to slow people down, especially in those areas. In that respect, it's worked.”

More than 38,000 tickets have been issued since March 2, adding up to $970,570 in revenue for the city. Vehicles have been caught from every single state.

Former Linn County Attorney Harold Denton has been busted. So was a vehicle owned by the Cincinnati Reds.

The cameras catch 14 speeders for every one red-light runner. About 93 percent of all citations have been for speeding.

Debate about the controversial cameras continues to rage, with many drivers expressing disgust. Police were never more aware of the negative feelings than in early August, when one of the I-380 cameras captured a man waving his middle finger out the window.

The speeding car photographed did not have a rear license plate, making it impossible to issue its owner a ticket. Police said the man would have been pulled over immediately if noticed by an officer.

“These things have gotten people's attention,” Police Chief Greg Graham said then. “It's inflamed some passion, and I get that.”

More than just about anyone, Reichenbach has reason to be angry. The Cedar Rapids native found five citations in the mail one day, and they kept coming in waves.

She was caught several times as she drove her boyfriend to work, and a couple of times a friend had borrowed her car and was cited, she said. For most of the tickets, she was clocked about 15 mph faster than the speed limit.

Reichenbach, a single mother, hasn't paid any of the fines yet, and she's not sure how she will. She said she is frustrated by all the tickets but also accepts responsibility.

“I haven't ever caused an accident in my life, but I very well could have because of my speed,” Reichenbach said. “It makes you watch it, but then again, I'm not happy that I've got all those fines.”

Some drivers said they've changed their routes to avoid the cameras, including Christina Larsen, 40, of Cedar Rapids. She had two speeding tickets in 18 seconds one day in April on Second Avenue SW.

“I stay out of downtown,” Larsen said. “I work downtown, but I try to stay out of downtown, because I don't want to deal with it.”

Sarah Bracht-Wagner, 20, of Marion, said she was caught speeding at Edgewood Road and 42nd Street NE, so she started taking I-380 instead. It took a few more tickets there before she started slowing down, she said.

“I have to budget a lot of my stuff, even dinner, so I can pay for it after they get me,” Bracht-Wagner said. “I think the prices are ridiculous.”

Lissa Burrows, 28, of Cedar Rapids, said drivers are slowing down on I-380, but only where the cameras are installed. She's seen some near misses, she said, as drivers notice the “Photo enforced” sign and hit the brakes.

“I have an issue with speeding, and I know I speed, but I don't slow down unless I know there's a camera coming up,” said Burrows, who's received two tickets. “It's become more of a distraction to my driving now than anything else.”

Police said there is an easy way to avoid the cameras; obey the traffic laws. Hembera said drivers should have a clear expectation now.

“People who drive through those intersections know that if they speed or run the red light, they're going to get a citation,” Hembera said. “There's no question. It's gonna happen.”

By the numbers

As of October

• Total citations: 38,327
• Number of red-light citations: 2,470
• Number of speed citations: 35,857

The money

• City gross: $1.6 million
• Owed to Gatso: $619,230
• Revenue: $970,570

Status of tickets

• Issued (approved, but not mailed): 1,642
• Payment pending(mailed and waiting): 11,674
• Contested (awaiting court date): 296
• Not liable: 2,891 (2,628 warnings, 263 tickets dismissed. Of the dismissals, 239 were for speed and 24 for red-lights.)
• Paid: 20,641 (53.8 percent of the total)
• Bad debt (forwarded to collections): 3,167
• Undeliverable (returned to sender after two tries): 663

The hot spot -  I-380 at Diagonal Drive

• June 12 to July 11: 2,685
• July 12 to Aug. 11: 2,762
• Aug. 12 to Sept. 11: 1,705
• Sept. 12 to Oct. 11: 1,267