The number of traffic tickets produced by the 3A speed cameras has created a bottleneck in the traffic courts, and has forced the police to raise the enforcement threshold, Israel Police Traffic Commander Moshe Edri today told the Knesset Economics Sub Committee on dealing with road accidents.
Edri said the police department is aiming to again lower the enforcement threshold to “create deterrence.” Edri added that the average wait between the offense and court hearing is 227 days.
The police hope to shorten the process, while streamlining payment collection. Among other things, Edri asked the committee to advance the amendment to require ticket recipients to pay in full before appealing to the court.
According to Edri, the police today are quickly integrating video cameras in police cars and undercover police cars. He said, “Filming the violations and showing them to the drivers significantly reduces their motivation to appeal and significantly increases their motivation to pay the ticket.” Filmed violations that make their way to court usually end in a conviction.
With regards to the 3A camera system, Edri said that the police department is aiming to complete phase 1 of installing the cameras, which will include the installation of dozens more operative cameras by the end of the year, and, while immediately beginning preparations for phase 2, which will double the number of cameras to nearly 300.
Alongside the focus on speed violation enforcement, there has been a reversal in the downward trend in traffic accidents over the past four months. The biggest jump was in accidents involving pedestrians, which are up 49%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 11, 2014
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