Traffic

The City of Sherwood operates a Photo Red Light Enforcement Program (PRLP) to deal with one of the most hazardous moving violations, disobeying an intersection red light. The PRLP works when the system detects a car that does not stop on a solid red light and then captures a photograph.

The PRLP does not capture those drivers that enter the intersection against a yellow light, only those that enter against a solid red light, the most egregious offenders.

The PRLP does not issue the citations to the drivers. All “suspected” violations are reviewed by a City of Sherwood Police Officer who must agree and then issues the citations, which are processed the same as any other citation issued, except they are mailed. The fine for a photo citation is the same as any hand delivered citation for the same offense. 

 

Traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of deaths in America.

The above fact is not lost on the City of Sherwood Police Department. As your police department we are responsible for traffic safety in the community and we take a multi-faceted approach to maintaining traffic safety in Sherwood.

Following the nationally accepted 3 pronged approach that includes Engineering, Education and Enforcement, the police department utilizes the following methods to enhance traffic safety;

  • The use of traffic surveys to identify problem areas and determine the best response and use of resources.
  • We respond to traffic safety complaints from the community. In addition to our own surveys, we routinely get calls from citizens who request extra patrols in certain areas due to traffic violations like speeding and stop signs.
  • The use of traffic education and non-enforcement tools like radar trailers, pre-determined grace periods and educational flyers or pamphlets. These are used to educate the community about specific problems we are seeing and/or new laws that have been enacted.

These methods very often lead to improved engineering, enhanced education and/or focused enforcement.

Finally, the City of Sherwood Police Department does issue citations to violators of the law. In keeping with our philosophy of no-nonsense policing, we believe that if a person violates a traffic law, they should reasonably expect to receive a citation. We believe that traffic safety comes from behavior modification, which is accomplished by holding violators accountable.

Our police officers have the discretion to issue warnings, which is what happens 60% of the time, if they feel that by doing so they can accomplish the primary goal of all traffic enforcement, which is voluntary compliance.

Questions regarding traffic citations please contact Sherwood Municipal Court.

 

Myths of Photo Red Light Enforcement