The Fredericton Police Force is creating a policy where the owner of vehicles reported to be violating the Motor Vehicle Act would receive a letter.
“It's an opportunity when we don't have evidence to support a charge in court, if an officer isn't right on scene,” said Chief Leanne Fitch of the Fredericton Police Force.
Fitch says it will be more effective to rely on first-hand accounts from those on scene.
“We're able to have a license plate and we can just send a letter to the registered owner saying that on such and such a date and time, your vehicle was observed going through a red light,” said Fitch.
Safety expert Gary Howard says while the letters will send a good message, it will also be open to interpretation.
“You may be getting reports that are very subjective of 'this person was driving too fast.' Well what does too fast mean?” said Howard.
Motorists are also concerned that some information may not be reliable.
“You don't know who has made the call, it could be your neighbour or somebody you're ticked off at,” said Linda Howe.
“It’s only too easy to do that and there could be pranksters, so the cynical side of me says 'Not a good idea, an awful lot of paperwork," said Stephanie Roy.
But Fitch says the system will have a thorough process.
"Obviously we wouldn't do this without being certain of the information,” she said.
While final details are still being worked out, the new system is expected to be up and running early in the new year.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
