Traffic Cameras Are Not About Safety

February 17, 2011 by Alex
Filed under: Traffic Cameras

Traffic cameras pushers like to claim that Automated Ticketing Machines are about safety…and that’s certainly how they try to bill the revenue-generating machines to a safety-conscious public. In fact, you might have even heard that there are a few studies that claim to show that accidents are reduced with the use of Automated Ticketing Machines. However, some have raised concerns about the funding for those studies, that they are conducted by people that benefit from their use and that their methods don’t stand up to scientific scrutiny.

There are a variety of studies from different sources that show that they either fail in their mission to make intersections safer – and in many cases safety is actually reduced when Automated Ticketing Machines move in!

Here are links to some of the studies:

From the Urban Transit Institute, Transportation Institute North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University Study executive summary, “The results do not support the view that red light cameras reduce crashes. Instead, we find that RLCs are associated with higher levels of many types and severity categories of crashes.”
The City of Grande Prairie Administrative Report found that after a full year of use, cameras generated $1.2 million in revenue along with a 126 percent increase in injury collisions.
Colorado: Accident Data Ignored in Red Light Camera Expansion – Aurora, Colorado wants more red light cameras despite lack of demonstrable safety benefit.
An analysis published in the journal of the Florida Public Health Association argues that, contrary to common assumptions, the use of red light cameras leads to increases in insurance rates and injury accidents.
From the Virginia Transportation Research Council report, “The cameras were associated with an increase in total crashes… The aggregate EB results suggested that this increase was 29%… The cameras were associated with an increase in the frequency of injury crashes… The aggregate EB results suggested an 18% increase, although the point estimates for individual jurisdictions were substantially higher (59%, 79%, or 89% increases) or lower (6% increase or a 5% decrease).”
From the Texas Transportation Institute report, “It is also likely that there is a point of diminishing returns where further increases in enforcement effort bring little additional safety benefit,” and, “If the frequency of violations is excessive, the violations are most likely caused by congestion, dense traffic streams, or conditions that make it difficult for drivers to stop.”
The number of traffic accidents doubled at locations where red light cameras were installed in Peoria, Arizona, according to data released at a city council study session.
At a Baytown, Texas intersection, looking at a period eighteen months before the installation of cameras compared to the same period afterward, the total number of collisions grew by 11 percent.
Texas: Red Light Cameras Boost League City Accidents – A look at preliminary accident data shows no improvement at red light camera intersections in League City, Texas.
From Gardena, California Chief of Police Inter-Department Memo, “Our research in Gardena has revealed there is no significant traffic safety impact as a result of the use of the red light cameras.”
From the Washington Post Article, D.C. Red-Light Cameras Fail to Reduce Accidents, “Three outside traffic specialists independently reviewed the data and said they were surprised by the results. Their conclusion: The cameras do not appear to be making any difference in preventing injuries or collisions.”
From KSDK.com NBC 5, Washington, Missouri putting the brakes on red light cameras, “Over a period of three years, citations dropped; but accidents did not see a big dent in the numbers, according to Chief Hahn.”
Documents from San Diego that prove cameras were deliberately placed at short-timed intersections – view city documents
From the Chicago Tribune, Red-light cameras: First 14 installed in suburbs show mixed results, “If improved safety is the goal of red-light cameras, then it is a mission largely unaccomplished for the first crop of area suburbs that raced to install the devices after they became legal in 2006, according to state data.”
From Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care report on Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, “RLC do not seem to prevent traffic collisions at this monitored intersection. Alternative means of injury prevention must be investigated.”
From the Los Angeles Times, Red-light cameras haven’t improved safety, L.A. city controller says
From Science Daily, Red-Light Cameras Increase Crashes, Florida Researchers Find, “The rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don’t work,” said lead author Barbara Langland-Orban, professor and chair of health policy and management at the USF College of Public Health…Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections. If used in Florida, cameras could potentially create even worse outcomes due to the state’s high percent of elderly who are more likely to be injured or killed when a crash occurs.”
Two More California Cities Reject Red Light Cameras