‘Little value’ in red light cameras, but ‘only for now’

There would be “little value” in installing red light cameras around the municipality, for now.

That's according to a staff report that will be discussed Monday at the Halifax Regional Municipality's transportation committee.

The cameras are designed to take a picture of any vehicle that has entered an intersection once the light has turned red. Vehicles already in the intersection will not trigger the technology.

If it's determined a vehicle ran a red light, a ticket would be mailed to the registered owner.

According to the report, Halifax is allowed to install red light cameras, but under the province's Motor Vehicle Act, tickets can only be issued to the actual person driving a vehicle, not the registered owner.

“We can put up a camera, but you're not going to write a ticket that can legally stand up,” explained Dartmouth Centre councillor Sam Austin, who is on the transportation committee.

In 2007, Nova Scotia Legislature passed an amendment that would allow the vehicle owner, rather than the driver, to be ticketed. It was never proclaimed into law.

However, last year the province announced it was developing a new Traffic Safety Act which would replace the Motor Vehicle Act.

“When the new legislation officially comes in, apparently we will then have that power to ticket the owner of the vehicle based on the car being spotted where it's not supposed to be,” Austin told NEWS 95.7's The Rick Howe Show.

But for now, the reports says “provincial legislation is currently inadequate for the municipality to use the images for the purpose of issuing tickets.”