A Red Light Camera (RLC) is an automated system that detects and captures images of vehicles entering an intersection in spite of the traffic signal indicating red (during the red phase). It is designed to work in tandem with other Vision Zero methods and strategies, including road design changes, public education campaigns and traditional police enforcement. The RLC program is focused on altering driver behaviour to decrease red-light running and increase safety.
Images are reviewed by Provincial Offence Officers and then tickets are issued to the owner of the vehicle regardless of who was driving. Upon conviction, the only penalty is a fine – no demerit points will be issued nor will the registered owners’ driving record be impacted.
Site Selection
Locations are selected through a data-driven approach that considers collision data.
In selecting RLC sites, a two-staged process is used based on best practices and provincial guidelines.
Stage 1: First, an initial screening of all signalized intersections to identify and prioritize sites based on the following data:
- Killed or Serious Injury (KSI) collisions involving pedestrians
- Killed or Serious Injury (KSI) angle collisions
- Killed or Serious Injury (KSI) collisions involving cyclists
- Angle collisions
- Pedestrian collisions
- Cyclist collisions
- Requests from the Toronto Police Service and the public
Stage 2: Once the sites were prioritized, a manual review of the site was conducted which included the following considerations:
- Necessary regulatory signage
- No obstructions or impediments to the RLC system
- Adequate boulevard space to accommodate the RLC system
- No construction conflicts
