Safety Camera Enforcement

Safety Camera Enforcement & You

The City of Fife understands that you may be upset over the use of photo enforcement traffic cameras at some of our intersections. We hope the research below will not only give you a better understanding of the program, but also help spread the seriousness of running red lights.

• More than two people are killed  each day by drivers running red lights in the U.S., according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. AAA’s report concluded that 28% of crash deaths were occurring at signalized intersections and caused by drivers running red lights. Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows that drivers running red lights resulted in 928 deaths and an estimated 116,000 injuries in 2020.
  
• All proceeds from fines go to the Public Safety Fund to be used specifically on safety enhancement projects. The City of Fife’s red light enforcement program makes the city’s streets safer by monitoring busy intersections, providing a disincentive (fine) for drivers to run a red light. The City of Fife is committed to managing the program responsibly and fairly to meet the goal of improved safety for residents and visitors. The City’s Public Safety Fund helped to pay for new sidewalks and lighting along Freeman Road and 70th Avenue East as well as new sidewalks along 62nd Avenue East.
• All Fife intersections use standard timing for yellow lights. The timing of signals is set by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which uses speed and intersection design features to set appropriate and legal timing. This timing is tested and approved by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
• Red light cameras are not meant to surprise drivers. The cameras are placed in plain view and are clearly marked with signage.
• A general authority law enforcement officer reviews every infraction and has discretion in determining whether to issue a ticket. Fife’s red light cameras take two photographs of your vehicle only if your car enters the intersection after the light has turned red. In addition, the cameras do not take pictures of the driver or occupants.
• A red light camera enforcement ticket is considered a non-criminal offense. This means you cannot go to jail for running a red light monitored by a camera and it does not become part of your driving record.
• According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as of March 2023, over 335 cities in the U.S. rely on red light cameras to reduce accidents at dangerous intersections. In Washington State, cameras also are used in:
  • Bellevue
  • Bremerton
  • Federal Way
  • Lake Forest Park
  • Lakewood
  • Lynnwood
  • Moses Lake
  • Mountlake Terrace
  • Pasco
  • Puyallup
  • Renton
  • Seattle
  • Spokane
  • Tacoma
  • Wenatchee

Camera Locations, Collisions, & Infractions by Year