THE ISSUE   In the first six weeks of red-light camera use in Westmont, more than 540 citations have been written — at $100 each.

OUR VIEW   The citations are excessive, because many of these violations involve minor infractions that don’t risk public safety.

Looking for some attention? It’s going to cost you about $100.

No, this isn’t a promotion for one of those controversial Craigslist ads. It’s what the Westmont Police Department will fine you for violating the village’s traffic laws.

The Village Board in August approved installing red-light cameras at Cass Avenue and Naperville Road. They videotape motorists who either run the red light or make a right-hand turn without coming to a complete stop. These motorists are sent citations through the mail and fined $100 each.

Municipalities making use of red-light cameras claim they are needed to increase safety on public roadways. RedSpeed Illinois, a Lombard-based company that sells and maintains the cameras, promotes the devices as a way to create a “halo effect” in town. This means that motorists who know the location of one red-light camera will drive more safely through the entire community for fear of being videotaped at another intersection.

Westmont police recently released information about how many motorists have been fined in the first six weeks of the cameras being used. Of the 542 violations cited, 284 went to motorists who ran the red light.

Fining such motorists is legitimate, so the red-light cameras serve a valuable function in this sense. But sending citations to many of the remaining motorists for making an illegal right-hand turn is hard to accept.

Studies conducted on red-light cameras show that most citations are sent for not making a complete stop before turning right at a red light. Slowing down your car and rolling through an intersection is often called the “Chicago stop.”

Not stopping completely before making a right-hand turn can be risky, but it’s not the safety hazard that these fines are making it out to be. If the videotape shows there’s no other traffic approaching and, thus, no chance of causing an accident, where is the risk to public safety?

In fact, some often-cited studies show the presence of red-light cameras cause accidents rather than prevent them. These occur when motorists stop abruptly when they learn of the camera and are rear-ended by the car behind them.

Police officers whose towns use these cameras have said privately that this issue is more about money than it is about safety. Westmont should reserve the $100 fine for violations that truly involve danger.