State College Borough Council discussed purchasing cameras that will be placed atop traffic lights to increase safety Friday.
"We're very interested in better enforcement through red light cameras," council member Elizabeth Goreham said.
The cameras will be placed on traffic signals at busy intersections throughout the borough if purchased, Goreham said.
The cameras will not run all the time, however.
Sensors are placed in the road itself and trigger the camera when a car enters an intersection illegally.
"They will only record images when a violation occurs," State College Police Chief Tom King said.
These sensors also help decrease accidents by controlling the traffic itself.
"These cameras can even delay the red light on one side of the intersection until cars that are in it get all the way through," she said.
Similar cameras have been very successful in Maryland and Virginia, King said.
"Some municipalities have experienced up to a 50 percent reduction in accidents," King said.
Traffic citations also increase drastically, causing motorists to drive safely just to avoid tickets, he added.
These citations help foot the bill for the cameras, said council member Thomas Daubert.
However, most of the motivation behind red light cameras comes from a concern for drivers and pedestrians, Daubert said.
"It's nice to go into something knowing you can pay for it, but the primary reason is for safety," Daubert said.
However, privacy is equally important as safety, he added.
"As long as it can't be used for anything else, no 'big brother is watching,' " Daubert said.
Traffic safety is one of the larger problems dealt with in the State College area.
During a College Township meeting Thursday, King reported an increase in traffic citations within the township, including State College.
"Traffic citations are up 10 percent from this time last year. We're up to about 1,000 citations," King said.
Driving safety is plaguing in the area, he added.
"Traffic accidents just go up every year," King said. "This year is the same."
