Red Light Cameras...Some Good News

[Coot]

It seems that this red light camera fuckwittery is being handed a near fatal blow (http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/01/174.asp).

Red light camera programs in at least 19 cities across the country are likely to be shut down this year following actions taken by courts and legislatures in the past two weeks.

State legislatures threaten programs in Virginia, where 7 cities use the technology; Texas, where one city uses stoplight cameras; and Utah, where there are no cameras, but a strong push to install them. The courts threaten the programs in eleven North Carolina cities and could prompt significant refunds for ticketed drivers in California, where 39 cities use the technology.

Following a state of Va. Dept. of Transportation study (http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/01/117.asp) showing red light cameras increased overall injury accidents, a Virginia House of Delegates committee killed legislation required to continue camera usage in the state by a 15-6 vote.

<li> The cameras are correlated with an increase in total crashes of 8% to 17%.

<li>The cameras are correlated with an increase in rear-end crashes related to the presence of a red light; the increase ranges between 50% and 71%.

<li> The cameras are correlated with a decrease in crashes attributable to red light running, and the decrease is between 24% and 33%.

<li> The cameras are correlated with a decrease in injury crashes attributable to red light running, with the decrease being between 20% and 33%.

<li> The cameras are correlated with an increase in total injury crashes, with the increase being between 7% and 24%

How can red light cameras, intended to reduce accidents at problem intersections, be responsible for an increase in accidents? Well, it's not terribly difficult to ferret out, if you have the facts. Cities generally contract with Lockheed Martin to install the systems and pay LM a percentage of the take from the cameras for their services. In turn, LM surveys the city and determines the prime locations for the cameras.

Oddly, LM doesn't seem to look for accident rates or even total number of accidents at intersections...they look for busy intersections with a steep downhill grade and a short yellow light interval. If you're in the profit business, it would stand to reason you would look for the areas of highest profit potential.

Once word gets out that certain intersections are targetted, the local drivers do the unthinkable, they hit the skids at the first sign of yellow, while the driver behind them is either anticipating following them through or making a much more liesurely stop at the light. The idea of increasing the yellow interval at problem intersections, which is the likely action to take if you're really interested in decreasing accidents and fatalitites, probably wasn't a part of these geniuses' calumny with respects to these upstanding citizen drivers or their respective communities.

Here's an albeitly onesided piece (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/078ftoqz.asp) on the subject, though he does eventually get to the heart of the subject.

Let it be known, that I am not adverse to the concept of automated traffic enforcement. I am adverse to collusion between cities and companies like Lockheed Martin for the primary purpose of revenue generation. I'm also supremely confident that you don't need the likes of Lockheed Martin to come up with a system of traffic light enforcement that would be both benficial and fair, because I have devised just such a system without much effort (hey, it's your professional discipline and fairly simple to do. -ed)...but that would violate many of the tenets of both government and corporate America...as it's practiced today.

[Steve]

I've always like the model used in some German cities, where there are signs installed that warn drivers of radar-activated cameras. NO excuse for speeding on the following stretch of highway and NO reason for anyone to slam on their brakes.

Too bad a similar approach couldn't be taken in the U.S. but that'll never happen until things such as red-light cameras are installed and used for law enforcement purposes, not revenue generators.

[ethics]

Great post, Coot, but one question. How does a red light camera induce accidents?

[Biker]

Inattention on the part of the drivers. Yellow light hits, driver nails the brakes, and the idiot behind him isn't paying attention and slams into the rear of the car. In other words, the driver behind was ALSO thinking of running the yellow and was following too closely.

[ethics]

AH! Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for explanation.

You know what's interesting? There WAS no yellow light in FSU. I mean there was but it meant a different thing. A traffic light in SU went from green to red.

[Sir Joseph]

It's not like that in NYC, at least from what I can tell.
They used to have older style cameras, but they recently put in new ones. I don't think LM did it, as the cameras were placed on intersections that really needed it. None of the intersections that I'm aware of has short yellow lights and the one that is the start of the expressway, people already know to slow it down as the "don't walk" flashes and start to stop on the yellow.

[Stiofán]

There are actually two methods which will deter accidents (side impact type which are the most deadly in an intersection), one of which Coot mentioned. Increasing the duration of the yellow ligt by as little a half second would give double the side impact reduction the camera was intended to do. The biggest help though is so simple you'll kick yourself for not thinking of it. build in a extra delay of 1-2 seconds before cross traffic gets a green light after current traffic gets a red. Most cities, believe it or not, have no delay whats so ever.

There was never any need to have photo enforcement except to increase revenue, and many city traffic engineers have admitted as much. This was purely a revenue generating move, and now intoxicated which the money, our elected officials who are supposed to be working for the public's interest, have refused to do the right thing and get rid of them. Believe you me, they've known about this problem for a long time.

[Sir Joseph]

They started to do that here with some intersections, the cars can't go for a second or two, but pedestrians can cross. This of course eliminates some "hoping to make a left turn right away so I don't have to wait until all the others go" moves as well as reduces auto-person conflicts.