Red Light Cameras in Sachem Community

With 50 red light cameras scheduled to appear in Suffolk County, almost half have already been implemented. Many are located in or near the Sachem community.

"The roads of Suffolk County are some of the most dangerous in all of New York State and we have an obligation to do anything we can to make them safer," said Suffolk County Leg. Presiding Officer Bill Lindsay in a statement. "Red-light running cameras will make our roads safer by encouraging drivers to exercise caution at intersections and avoid running lights that are changing. Saving a few seconds by running a yellow light all too often can result in a terrible crash."

Lindsay said the motivation for installing the red-light running cameras was to increase the safety of Suffolk's roads. He dismissed the idea that raising revenue through traffic tickets was a motivation for the passage of the law, though the county will receive income from fines issued for violations.

"This is not about raising money, this is about saving lives," he said.

Nassau County's cameras brought in over $10 million in revenue from about 260,000 violations in their first year of operation.

According to the County, red light safety cameras monitor intersection approaches through advanced detection and imaging technology. The red light safety camera is only active when the traffic light is red. Vehicles crossing the stop line or entering the intersection after the light turns red are detected automatically.

How does it work? A video of the violation is taken and the camera takes two images of the vehicle progressing through the red light. Cameras record information including the date, time, time elapsed since the beginning of the red signal, and vehicle speed. The cameras photograph the vehicle from the rear – the driver is not photographed.

The county also said red light running is estimated to produce more than 100,000 crashes and an estimated 1,000 deaths in the United States each year. 

Sachem Patch obtained a document from the Suffolk County Office of Budget & Management with 31 operational red light cameras as of Oct. 15.

Locations (Multiple cameras in many spots):

-LIE South Service Road & Ocean Avenue (Eastbound and Northbound)

-Ronkonkoma Avenue & LIE North Service Road (Southbound and Westbound)

-Route 454 & Motor Parkway (Northbound, Southbound, Eastbound and Westbound)

-Route 454 & Suffolk Avenue (Northbound and Southbound)

-Johnson Avenue & LIE North Service Road (Westbound and Southbound)

-Johnson Avenue & LIE South Service Road (Eastbound and Westbound)

-LIE North Service Road & Motor Parkway (Westbound and Southbound)

-Route 111 & LIE South Service Road (Northbound)

-LIE North Service Road & Ocean Avenue (Westbound and Southbound)

-Sunrise Highway & Route 112 (Westbound and Southbound)

-LIE North Service Road & Old Nichols Road (Westbound and Southbound)

-Route 25 & Pidgeon Hill Road (Eastbound and Westbound)

-Route 25 & Holbrook Road (Eastbound and Westbound)

-Route 25 & Eastwood Boulevard (Eastbound and Westbound)

-LIE South Service Road & Route 112 (Eastbound and Northbound)

Construction incomplete, cameras onsite:

-Route 347 & Nicolls Road (Eastbound, Westbound, Northbound and Southbound)

-LIE South Service Road & Motor Parkway (Eastbound and Northbound)

-Commack Road & LIE North Service Road (Southbound)