Drivers in and around the Sacramento area have 10 new reasons to be more cautious when driving through lit intersections.

Starting this week, Sacramento County will increase its effort to curb the running of red lights by photographing offenders at intersections.

“The purpose of the program is to target blatant red light runners and ultimately reduce crashes at intersections,” said Richard Carlson, a Sargeant with the Sacramento County Sheriff?s Department.

Since 1997, there have been between 500 and 600 injuries due to red light running at county intersections every year.

A side impact collision, called a “T-bone,” is one of the most dangerous accidents possible, Carlson said.

Until March 25, drivers may only receive warnings, but after that, violators will get the full fine.

When this grace period ends, violators will find a $270 ticket in their mailboxes along with black-and-white photographs of themselves and their vehicles, instead of warning notices.

Sac State Nursing major Margaret Macnitt said she felt the $270 fine was too high, but added, “But I?m new to the area, so I drive very cautiously through intersections.”

The cameras will be placed among 30 intersections in unincorporated Sacramento County. The list of proposed intersections includes: Arden Way and Watt Avenue; Butano Drive and Watt; El Camino Avenue and Watt; Marconi and Watt; Fair Oaks Boulevard and Watt; Howe Avenue and Hurley; and Howe and Sierra Boulevard.

Cars passing through the intersection while the lights are yellow, although extremely dangerous, will not set the cameras off, Carlson said.

“The cameras are only triggered when a car passes over the nearest white limit line or crosswalk line at an intersection after the light goes red,” he said.

The underground sensors trigger the camera that snaps pictures of multiple drivers and multiple cars at an intersection, Carlson said.

“There is no need to photograph the passengers in the car”, said Macnitt.

Two CHP officers will be assigned the detail of deciphering the photographs and issuing citations, said Kelly Barage of the California Highway Patrol. One officer is assigned to the north area of the county, and one to the south area.

CHP officers will compare the photographs taken by the red-light cameras with photographs of the driver on file at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

For vehicles without a front license plate, the County is looking into implementing an additional system that will photograph violators? vehicles from the rear as well, Carlson said.

If the pictures match, a traffic citation will be sent out to the violator. But even if a driver is caught by a red light camera, there is a good chance the violator will avoid a fine. If the owner of the vehicle was not driving at the time of the violation, the County will have the owner report the name and address of the driver on the back of the citation, and a new citation will be sent to them at that time, said Carlson.

“I believe that?s fair, the concept is to stop people from running red lights,” said Sac State Senior, Ranier Guzman, a BioScience major.

In court, violators may refute the proof in the citation, but citations will not be issued unless officers can identify the drivers, said Carlson.

The county program will be similar to a red light enforcement system in the city of Sacramento.

“We are using the same vendor as the city, which pulls and develops the film daily,” Carlson said.

“There are three cameras installed now, and 10 will be installed by the end of the year,” Barage said.

There has been a dramatic decrease of 50-60 percent in red light running with the new implementation, she said.