November/December 2019

PE Report
Colorado Targets Unlicensed Practice and Red-Light Camera Installation

A case of unlicensed engineering practice and red-light camera installation strikes again—this time in Colorado.

In August, the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers, and Professional Land Surveyors issued a cease and desist order to Redflex Traffic Systems for practicing engineering without a license in the state.

According to the document, Redflex Traffic Systems provided professional services to the city and county of Denver in July 2008 in violation of state engineering law. The Redflex Traffic Systems staff prepared design drawings for red light photo enforcement, which included design layout for intersection improvements with detailed construction notes and details about installation of related hardware and infrastructure. The firm has never been licensed to practice in Colorado.

If the company disregards the cease and desist, the state attorney general and Denver’s district attorney can take further legal action. An individual found to be practicing engineering without a license in Colorado can be imprisoned for up to a year on a first offense; a subsequent offense is considered as a class six felony, punishable by one year to 18 months in prison and fines from $1,000 to $100,000.

The Colorado case is similar to one in which the North Carolina engineering licensing board concluded, after an investigation last year, that the firm American Traffic Solutions Inc., violated the law when it installed red-light cameras and produced survey data without a license to practice in the state.

According to a December 2 article in the Port City Daily, the red-light cameras were built by American Traffic Solutions in 2009 and placed at 13 locations in Wilmington for the city. The firm issued a statement in June that it was in full compliance with the law. A Port City Daily article on September 14 reported that despite the North Carolina licensing board’s warning that the cameras violate state law, Wilmington’s Safelight program is up for renewal.

North Carolina law specifies that a corporation or business can’t practice engineering unless it is licensed by the state board and has paid an application fee. The firm is subject to the same responsibilities as an individual licensee, and this does not affect the requirement that all engineering or land surveying work done by the firm should be performed by or under the responsible charge of an individual licensee.