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Pasco County News | Breaking News

So much for the ‘revenue enhancement’ argument

Posted Feb 1, 2011 by Tom Jackson

Updated Feb 1, 2011 at 08:15 PM

Intersection fatalities drop where cameras monitor red-light scofflaws. So says a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, confirming what a majority of motorists suspected all along.

The reduction is not insignificant, either. In 14 large cities where red lights were in place during 2004-2008, traffic deaths tumbled by nearly a quarter.

“Red light cameras are working,” said institute president Adrian Lund. “There are hundreds of people who are alive because some communities had the courage to use this method of enforcement.”

Writing in “The Driver’s Seat,” a Wall Street Journal blog, Joseph B. White notes optimistically an apparent spillover effect:

IIHS researchers looked at accident data from 99 large U.S. cities. Of those, 14 had installed red light cameras between 2004 and 2008, but didn’t have such systems between 1992 and 1996. Another 48 cities didn’t have red light cameras during either period.

The researchers found that the rate of deadly crashes linked to motorists who ran red lights dropped for both groups of cities, but the rate of deaths fell faster in cities with red light camera systems. The researchers concluded that the rate of deadly red light running accidents during the 2004-2008 period was 24% lower in cities that used cameras than would have been expected without cameras.

The IIHS concludes that if red light cameras had been used by all large cities in that four year period, 815 lives could have been saved.

The Institute says its research found that all types of accidents at intersections decline when red light cameras are installed – suggesting that motorists are more cautious when they know their indiscretions could be caught on camera.

Clearly, enhanced revenues to the local governments that employ red-light cameras is only a side benefit. And, like so-called “sin” taxes, fines are paid only by drivers who violate red lights, putting the well-being of fellow travelers at risk.

This does not mean the anti-camera forces will curb their protests, or keep making noises about cameras increasing rear-end collisions. The research on that score is not conclusive. But even if it were, people generally walk away from rear-end smash-ups. T-bone collisions—an all-too-common outcome in red-light violations—kill and maim.

The IIHS study confirms what respecters of traffic controls have known all along. We say, the more red-light cameras, the better.