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Red-light cameras click into action

The 12 new digital devices are part of a police crackdown on dangerous driving

Motorists who run red lights have more chance of getting caught, after authorities doubled the number of cameras at traffic lights across the city.

Police and transport officials began erecting 12 new digital red-light cameras at strategic locations yesterday, as part of a fresh campaign in the war on Hong Kong's rising road toll.

The cameras will be rotated among 60 new locations, on top of the 51 road junctions already under surveillance. The cameras will be moved among the sites in conjunction with existing film cameras.

More than 6,300 tickets have been issued to motorists for running red lights in the first three months of this year - up by 325 from the same period last year.

'We are deploying these new state-of-the-art cameras at sites where red lights are being jumped the most often,' a police spokesman said yesterday. He said all sites have been identified by the police and the transport department as either potential accident black spots or locations where drivers frequently speed or run red lights. Some of the camera housing posts will be painted orange, in a trial scheme to strengthen their deterrent effect.

The new digital red-light cameras were unveiled along with eight automated, digital speed-enforcement camera systems, which are being rotated among 75 sites across the city.

Unlike laser and radar guns, which require manual operation, the camera units capture images of offending vehicles automatically.

According to police figures released yesterday, 47,777 speeding tickets were issued in the first three months of this year, compared with 50,386 for the first quarter last year.

Despite reports the cameras may add to congestion, several Hong Kong drivers yesterday welcomed the new road safety initiative.

Poon Ka-ho, a marketing manager who drives to work in North Point from his Causeway Bay home every day, said he did not think the speed camera would cause congestion.

He said the cameras would encourage drivers to be more alert about speeding.

Taxi driver Leung Fuk-kim was not worried.'We only lose about three trips per shift [because we] observe the speed limits. But it's well worth installing them. At least we have a good reason to explain to the passengers why we are driving more slowly.'

Police issued 393 fines and 67 summonses yesterday during a crackdown on traffic violations on Hong Kong Island. The operation involved 179 officers.

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