Radley Balko’s Reason article explains how local governments install red-light cameras in ways that increase accidents because they are greedy for more revenue:
…the Florida Public Health Review published a research paper that concluded the cameras “actually increase crashes and injuries, providing a safety argument not to install them.” In particular, there has been a dramatic increase in rear-end collisions, suggesting that people are slamming on their brakes to avoid a ticket. Similarly, a 2005 Washington Post report found that after the city installed its traffic light cameras, collisions at the camera-equipped intersections went up rather than down. But the cameras brought the city $32 million in revenue. So rather than halting the program, the city chose to expand it. A number of researchers have shown that lengthening yellow lights at crash-prone intersections is much more effective at preventing collisions than issuing automated citations. (The North Carolina Urban Transit Institute, for example, came to that conclusion after an extensive study funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Other studies along those lines have been conducted by the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Transportation, and North Carolina A&T.) But lengthening yellow lights doesn’t add cash to city coffers, so few jurisdictions have considered it. …at least six cities have been caught shortening yellow lights after installing cameras at intersections, putting motorists in more peril while simultaneously picking their pockets when they unexpectedly run through red lights. …Until media reports and citizen complaints prompted a change in the law, motorists in Washington, D.C., who wanted to challenge an automated ticket had their claims heard not by a government court but by the same company that received a percentage of every fine collected. Such policies have sparked a backlash: As of December, 15 states and nine cities had banned automated citation cameras.
A couple of second delay between the onset of the red and the green on cross traffic also works well.
When approaching a light turning red with someone else on your tail, you have to choose between (a) a lower risk of collision going through the intersection under a light that has just turned red or (b) a much more likely rear end accident upon serious deceleration while being tailgated.
Attaching a sure ticket to (a) tips the scale severely towards option (b).
Not to mention that being rear ended may hurl you into the intersection anyway.
[…] almost always use them to collect more money rather than to promote safety. Indeed, there’s good evidence that they cause accidents, in part because governments shorten yellow lights in hopes of raping more […]
[…] almost always use them to collect more money rather than to promote safety. Indeed, there’s good evidence that they cause accidents, in part because governments shorten yellow lights in hopes of raping more […]
[…] If you’re interested, this post has more information about how red-light cameras make intersections more dangerous. […]
[…] If you’re interested, this post has more information about how red-light cameras make intersections more dangerous. […]
Notice, if you will, that “downrange” of these cameras, the lights are often sync’ed to change just as you near the intersection. Rather than setting lights to force a normal pace, they are frequently sync’ed 10-12MPH OVER the speed limit. Gets you for the light, or for speeding.
All this kills thousands each year, but the revenue is all their PRIORITY.
http://www.bhspi.org/ ( Best Highway Safety Practices Institute)
[…] If you’re interested, this post has more information about how red-light cameras make intersections more dangerous. […]
[…] also see it in little ways, such as the heroic actions of Jay Beeber, who single-handedly killed dangerous red light cameras in Los […]
[…] and speed cameras in every state in America. They don’t make roads safer (in fact, sometimes they do the opposite), they’re easily manipulated, sometimes used by the corrupt to up revenue. And, all of these […]
[…] and speed cameras in every state in America. They don’t make roads safer (in fact, sometimes they do the opposite), they’re easily manipulated, sometimes used by the corrupt to up revenue. And, all of these […]
[…] the way, this data from Chicago isn’t an anomaly. Radley Balko has reported on similar accident-causing scams all over the […]
[…] the way, this data from Chicago isn’t an anomaly. Radley Balko has reported on similar accident-causing scams all over the […]
Radley Balko also wrote the highly informative article in the WaPo about how Ferguson, MO cops basically preyed on low-income drivers, out-of-towners and small businesspeople (who in this locale largely happened to be black) writing endless tickets and citations to keep themselves and city government in clover.