WP: D.C. Red-Light Cameras Fail to Reduce Accidents

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/03/AR2005100301844.html

The District's red-light cameras have generated more than 500,000 violations and $32 million in fines over the past six years. City officials credit them with making busy roads safer.

But a Washington Post analysis of crash statistics shows that the number of accidents has gone up at intersections with the cameras. The increase is the same or worse than at traffic signals without the devices.

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.

"The data are very clear," said Dick Raub, a traffic consultant and a former senior researcher at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety. "They are not performing any better than intersections without cameras."

[Occulus]

1. Oh, but they make money in fistfuls.

If I have an analog odometer and a stoplight with a camera, can I make a successful claim that no, I did NOT know how fast I was going, exactly?

[AndyTiedye]

2. They Cause People to Slam on the Brakes When the Light Turns

They have to, since the other trick they do when they install cameras in a lot of places is shorten the yellow.

This sort of thing obviously can lead to more rear-end collisions.

[Trillo]

3. This has been in the news many times over the years.

The "experts" quoted are either not experts or they're lying for some reason. Why would they lie?

[yellowcanine]

4. Part of the reason this is true is that the cameras are installed at

locations based on where they are likely to produce the most revenue - not whether or not it is a high accident intersection. Furthermore, running red lights is only one cause of accidents in intersections. At many intersections, another big cause is people rear ending other cars who have stopped for the light or are stopped to make a left turn. There is no simple solution but one huge problem in D.C. is that the lights are poorly located (often to the side rather than out over the intersection) and the intersections themselves are poorly designed. Many times left turn lanes are lacking, so through cars either rear end cars making a left turn or pull out into the right lane and get creamed by a car they didn't see. The lines marking the entrances to intersections are often missing or misplaced (too far into the intersection or too far back). There is no consistency so drivers unfamiliar with that intersection make mistakes. D.C. is just a horrible place to drive, especially for visitors, and the accident rates reflect it.

On edit: One of the worst stretches for badly designed intersections is Michigan Avenue between the Maryland line and Children's Hospital.

[LynneSin]

5. They said in Delaware it's been increasing accidents

because the person will slam on the breaks when the light changes to red thus causing a rear-end accident