Red-light camera catches collision involving Missouri lawmakers

– State Reps. Mike Colona and Michele Kratky were driving together in St. Louis on Monday and were involved in a minor accident.

The cause? Someone ran a red light and collided into the driver’s side of Colona’s vehicle. The collision was captured on a controversial red-light camera.

“Red Light Camera’s [sic] can be good for things other than deterring people from running red lights,” Colona wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “We are ok, but this video helped me convince the insurance company I was not a fault. Technology at it’s best.”

Colona’s crash, and the accompanying video, come as lawmakers prepare to debate House Bill 1557, which would specify that any person found to have committed a traffic violation based solely on evidence obtained from an automated traffic enforcement system – a red light camera – shall have no points assessed on his or her license. The bill would add new regulations and require cities to get approval from the Missouri Department of Transportation to use them before adopting the enforcement technology.

Controversy has risen in some cities regarding the constitutionality of red-light cameras. On Thursday, the Ellisville, Mo., city council banned them entirely citing constitutional concerns.

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