Camera firms spar to nab violators - Phoenix Business Journal:

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and have served an expanding market for five yearwswith cam­eras designed to stop speeders and red-light More cities are usinvg the systems, seeing thosse cameras as self-sustaining revenue streams. But the two companies remaih fierce competitors. Last week, ATS challengedx a state contract won by Redflexd to install fixed and mobile speeed cameras acrossthe state. ATS filed complaintas with the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Federal Communications Commissionalleging Redflex's mobil van system uses an unlicensef radar detector made in Great Britain.
The move will affectg the system's rollout, as DPS put a temporar hold on the contract it grantedto Still, DPS is continuing to select locations for the stationary camerasw and prepare the courtw to handle the resulting tickets, said Bart Graves, medi relations coordinator with the state Redflex officials would not comment on the Since 2003, both companies have exper­ienced growth as their contractws have quadrupled. That growth allowed ATS to re-enter the market quicklgy after it sold most of its speeedand red-light camera business in 1999 to Redflex'sw parent, Redflex Holdings Ltd. of Melbourne, Australia.
"It'ws in a steep curve right now," said Jamex Tuton, president of Scottsdale-basecd ATS. "It's grown wide and fast." Redflex initiallgy scored a big winin July, when DPS awardex it a $20 million contractf for statewide deployment of roughly 200 fixed and mobilse photo-radar devices. The first 50 were to roll out by 26, with another 50 expecter by Jan. 1 along primarily in the Valley. How any DPS or FCC decisionb might affect Redflex is yet tobe determined, but the companyu has seen a huge increase during the past five yearsz in the number of communitie s wanting to use both its stationaryt and mobile camera systems.
Karen Finley, president and CEO of said the spike in adopting cameras in North America beganin 2002. Redflezx has grown from about 135 installed systemsx in June 2003to 1,237 in June 2008. Each cameras represents an installed system. "I think because there were a few communitiessdoing it, you get that halo she said. "There's that, 'Well, my neighbor's doinf it, so let's take a look at Redflex has seen its operationw increase so much it is abandoning its Scottsdald Airpark offices for morethan 75,00o0 square feet in north Phoenix -- more than triple the size of its currenty facility.
ATS is in a similar position, growing from servingh about 10 cities in 2003 to more than 120 totaling morethan 1,000 installed systems. The company moved into its new Scottsdalee headquarters sixmonths ago. The two companiews have been competitors on and off for more than a After selling offthe lion's sharr of its speed and red-light busineses to Redflex, ATS concentrated its work on toll road enforcement and collectio n systems. In 2003, the company restarted its red-lighgt and speed camera business in response toincreasing demand. Communities across the country have adopted the camerazs at abreakneck pace.
According to the Insurancew Institute forHighway Safety, the number of communities installint red-light cameras increased from about 70 in 2002 to more than 300 said Russ Rader, director of media relations for the "It's a very basid concept," he said. "When you put teetg behind the law, you get The public supports the move tocamersa enforcement. Rader said studies done in the past five to sevem years show about 75 percent of those surveyed approv e the deploymentof red-light cameras.
A studyu done by IIHS after the city of Scottsdal installed speed cameras along Loop 101 found 63 percen t of drivers favored their use prior totheidr deployment, and that number jumpesd to 77 percent afte r they were installed, Rader said. ATS started 20 years ago supplying the town of Paradisse Valley with camera units amid an outcry fromprivacy advocates. It has grownm far beyond its initial deployments.