Others believe they are meant to record drivers running red lights.
But not so fast, says city officials.
Although the cameras are connected to some traffic lights in town, they are incapable of recording vehicles in order to issue traffic citations, said Joe Ferriell, Eaton's assistant city manager.
"These are strictly for traffic control to get traffic flowing through the city," he said.
The cameras were mostly paid for by a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation for a new construction project.
The cameras are used to determine when to change traffic lights from red to green on side streets at some intersections, officials said.
They work similar to motion detectors.
"It says, 'Hey, I need a green,'" Ferriell said. "I need a green light here, start through the cycle and switch the light."
City officials said the video cameras do not record drivers and their driving behaviors, and drivers do not have to worry about receiving citations in the mail for speeding or other traffic violations.
"There's no video camera. There's no DVD. There's absolutely no image kept or copied," Ferriell said.
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