« Town without Pitney: Gene dies; Bill Gates: 'How I work'; Firefox extensions that leak |
Main
| 'Viral' Chevy contest ads; Veggie diets shed pounds? Md. red-light cameras boost accidents; XP on Macs »
April 6, 2006
Red light cameras boost accidents
Detour works for me: 
Study: Maryland county's red light cameras net $2.85 million, increase accidents. At Autoblog:
Anne Arundel County in Maryland has been running five red light cameras for five years, during which period they raised a fat $2.85 million in ticket revenue. Unfortunately, a comparison of accident statistics shows that the cameras have increased the rate of accidents.
Immediately after installation, the cameras sparked a 40-percent increase in rear-end collisions, and never looked back, with five-year increases in accident rates far exceeding a 10-percent increase in traffic.
Unfortunately, this is hardly an isolated phenomenon. TheNewspaper.com reports similar results in the state of Georgia, where the city of Duluth's one and only camera is forecast to generate a whopping $1 million next year, at the cost of a 21-percent increase in accidents. A study by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution showed red light cameras were linked to an increase in accidents, injuries and revenues across the state, although there is early indication that the rate of serious accidents in intersections is falling.
Critics charge that cities are at best trading one kind of accident for another, and that the proliferation of traffic cameras is really just a money generator, while advocates maintain that they encourage safer driving.
I imagine mustaches twirling, the villain saying, "We reduce broadside collisions, increase rear-enders and make a million bucks. Net gain, I'd say."
I think they may encourage "safer driving" in the guy facing the ticket, but not necessarily in the guy behind him, caught unawares when the lead car stops short.
There are more creative things machines could do to people who drive past them on red lights...
Posted by Sheila Lennon 
at 8:55 AM | Permalink
Traffic cameras are everywhere here, but it is a cash enrichment scheme. If you have a lawyer and take your case to court you can win. In DC they have had to pull them back, in No Va, they put them on hold. Where I live in Montgomery county they can hardly wait to put them up. Greedy you bet.
Posted by: Lou Josephs on April 7, 2006 11:50 AM
My theory is that red light cameras increase the *reporting* of accidents. If the two parties know that the accident was caught on camera, they are going to be a lot less likely to try and get away with not reporting it.
This theory is going on the assumption that many of these accidents are major enough that they would require reporting, but minor enough that there would be some financial incentive to settle the damage between the two parties vs. risking an increase in premiums. I don't know whether that level of detail is available, but I think it would be worth looking into.
- Brian
Posted by: Brian Jepson on April 7, 2006 12:47 PM
Traffic cameras are nothing more than a revenue generator for the city/county/state at the public's expense, whether it being our hard-earned money or our well-being. It's only disguised as "safety" to get the unsuspecting public's support. There are ways around it, though.
Posted by: eRock on April 10, 2006 9:16 PM
