Based on accident data compiled over a three year period, roughly 1 in 7 accidents (957 out of 6,684) within the City of Rocky Mount involve a left turn or a right angle accident at or adjacent to a signalized intersection. While these collisions only represent 14% of the total accidents, they account for approximately 26% of the injuries (570 of 2,152) 10% of fatalities (1 of 11), and 48% of the estimated property damage ($4.25 million of $8.9 million). Given manpower limitations, one countermeasure that provided a great deal of promise to combat this problem was the use of automated enforcement.

Recognizing the potential of this technology to address red light running in our area, the Rocky Mount City Council approved the selection of PEEK Traffic of Sarasota, Florida to assist the City in establishing a local SafeLight Camera Program on April 23, 2001. Once approved, the City provided PEEK with a list of intersections considered potential candidates for automated enforcement. Based on the violation data obtained provided by PEEK, the accident data for each of the intersections, citation experience, the potential impact of compliance at adjacent intersections, and the frequency of citizen complaints, the City selected six (6) approaches across five (5) intersections for Phase 1 of the SafeLight Rocky Mount program.

Cameras at 2 of the 5 locations (George Street & Hill Street, Wesleyan Boulevard & Stone Rose Drive) were activated on September 9, 2002 for the purposes of issuing warning citations and finalizing the operational and administrative procedures associated with the program. Over the following 3 weeks, 457 incidents were recorded and resulted in issuance of 285 warning citations. Following successful completion of the 21-day warning period, the City of Rocky Mount authorized PEEK Traffic to begin issuing citations on September 30, 2002.