Which Valley speed cameras nail the most drivers?

PHOENIX - Speed cameras on state highways stopped flashing for good on July 15th, but speeders and red light runners are not out of the woods on city streets.

In a three month investigation, ABC15 pulled numbers from around the Valley, to tell you which cameras ticket the most.

In Scottsdale, it’s the intersection of Hualapai Dr. and Pima Rd. on a dark curve just north of the 101. More than 25,000 people have been ticketed at that location since last January.

“As long as you don't speed, you're not going to get a ticket,” said Riley Spicer, who works nearby and said he has a lot of friends who have been ticketed by the camera.

In Paradise Valley, the one to watch out for is at Lincoln Dr. and Mockingbird Ln., with nearly 2,000 tickets between last January and this March.

“When you get the ticket in the mail, sometimes, maybe it was worth it, being late to work,” said George Gossett, who said he has been ticketed several times. “Can't get no more being late to works, write-ups.”

In Phoenix, the hot spot is 53rd Ave. and Indian School Rd., with more than 8,000 tickets between last January and this May.

“Everybody talks about that one,” said Gossett. “That's the one I'm dodging, right there.”

In the East Valley, a camera at Arizona Ave. and Ray in Chandler ticketed more than 16,000 people since the beginning of last year.

“People are getting ticketed for the littlest things,” said Erick Colon, who lives and drives in Chandler. “These computers and accuracy-- who knows how accurate they really are and what the tickets are based upon?”

The camera that flashed the most is near Tempe Town Lake at Rural Rd. and Sixth St., with 33,707 tickets between January of last year and this May.

As the sun set, ABC15 counted flashes every 15 minutes, as cars sped through the intersection near Arizona State University.

“I've never had so many problems of almost being run over,” said John Burnett, who frequently drives through the highest-flashing Peoria intersection at 83rd Ave. and Union Hills Dr. “I've had my vehicles rear-ended because of lights like this one. It's dangerous.”

Although police say there was a huge drop between this year and last, due to education and yellow light adjustment, the camera’s flash resulted in a total of 4,067 tickets between last January and April of this year.

“I lost a best friend of mine years ago, when they first started putting the cameras in, because he stopped for the light, the guy behind him didn't,” said Burnett. “So he got killed.”

But knowing the top locations around the Valley doesn’t mean you are off the hook, because there is no telling where the mobile cameras will catch you.

These numbers do not cover all city streets.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Mesa Police Department did not send ABC15 the numbers we repeatedly asked for in public records requests.

The Glendale Police Department numbers were not available by the time this story published. Gilbert, Apache Junction and Pinal County do not have photo enforcement cameras.