Thursday, April 16, 2009

Sheriff To Discuss Red Light Safety Campaign Thursday

WHAT: Media opportunity

WHEN: 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16

WHERE: Intersection of Pine Ridge and Airport-Pulling roads (parking will be in the Sports Authority parking lot)

SYNOPSIS: Collier County Sheriff Kevin J. Rambosk will discuss CCSO’s “Red Means Stop In Any Language” safety campaign and the activation of Collier County’s first red-light cameras.

Collier County commissioners voted in favor of red-light cameras as a traffic safety enforcement tool in April 2008. American Traffic Safety Solutions was selected as the vendor in February, and now the first cameras in the county are in place at the intersection of Airport-Pulling and Pine Ridge roads.

Representatives of the Collier County Department of Transportation and Collier County Code Enforcement, which are partners with CCSO in the effort to keep signalized intersections accident-free, will also be available to answer questions.

Red-light running is a dangerous practice. In 2007 there were 132 crashes related to red-light running in Collier County. Nationwide, more than 1,000 people are killed and over 180,000 people are injured each year due to red-light runners. These crashes cost motorists a collective $14 billion annually, according to the National Highway Safety Administration.