AUBURN – A driver runs a red light nearly every half-hour in the Twin Cities, based on early red-light camera results.

Digital cameras positioned near five Lewiston-Auburn intersections were activated on Dec. 3, said Don Craig, director of the Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center. Since then, they have captured an average 50 drivers per day, about 10 at each site. That’s about five times as many as Craig was expecting.

The number of pictures has caused a backlog at local police departments, he said. Each photograph is reviewed, then matched to license plate records from the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Lewiston and Auburn police so far have mailed about 250 warnings, Craig said.

“They’re getting to the rest as quickly as they can, but this is the holidays and they’ve been busy with other things,” Craig said. Both cities expect to be current by the end of the week, he said.

“Then, we’re hoping to see those numbers start going down,” Craig said. “If people figure they’re being watched, we hope that affects their driving.”

Cars entering an intersection under a red light and going faster than 12 mph trigger the radar camera. It takes two photos, one just before a car enters the intersection and a second photo moments later, when the red-light runner is in the middle of the intersection. The photos show the car’s speed, the location and the time and date the pictures were taken.

That information is mailed to the car’s owner, with a note from police warning that the fine for running a red light is $126.

“That’s about all we can do,” Craig said. “We can offer warnings and hope they take the point.”

Maine law doesn’t allow police to issue tickets based on photo-radar systems. The information from the local study could be used to encourage legislators to allow police to give out tickets and fines based on images captured by cameras.

But that won’t happen until the six-month study is completed, Craig said. “We’re all in this to make things safer. We’re more interested in seeing if this convinces people to slow down and stop at lights.”

Lewiston and Auburn are the only Maine communities participating in the red-light camera study. The Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center pilot program is being paid for through a $40,000 federal highway grant.

“I would suspect that it’s not just a Lewiston-Auburn problem, but a Maine one,” Craig said.

Red-light cameras in Lewiston-Auburn

Date activated: Dec. 3

Locations: 5

Average number of violations: 50 per day