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Government's revenue-raising justifications should never trump safety considerations.

Red-Lighting Photo Traffic Enforcement

By Ross Kaminsky on 1.20.12 @ 6:08AM

Government's revenue-raising justifications should never trump safety considerations.

BOULDER, Colo. -- Colorado State Senator Scott Renfroe is introducing a bill to ban photo traffic enforcement, including both speed and red light cameras, statewide. Sen. Renfroe frames it properly: "People need to be held accountable for their actions, but government should be about safety not revenue."

Many people are sympathetic to red-light cameras, assuming they cause fewer people to run red lights, a behavior especially dangerous to others. But that assumption also assumes that fewer red light scofflaws equates to fewer accidents at intersections. Perhaps surprisingly, a raft of studies appear to show that red light cameras may actually be increasing the number of traffic accidents: People afraid of the cameras often stop short, including when the light is yellow, causing the driver behind them also to brake suddenly, occasionally unable to do so in time and rear-ending the camera-fearing driver in front (and causing the same problem for the third car in this line of traffic). To be sure, those in favor of cameras have a couple of studies they quote supporting increased safety due to cameras.

I've never been sympathetic to speed cameras for a simple reason: Both here in Boulder and around where I used to live in Australia, speed cameras are put in places where there is little safety justification but where people are likely to be exceeding the speed limit, though not enough to have any implications for safety.

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Florida House Backs Down on Red Light Camera Fight

Florida House Backs Down on Red Light Camera Fight
Florida panel guts legislation that would have secured due process rights to vehicle owners accused by a camera.

The Florida legislature came close to banning the use of red light cameras last year. The state House voted 59 to 57 in favor of overturning the 2010 statute permitting the use of automated ticketing machines, but municipal and traffic camera lobbyists were successful in blocking the bill in the Senate.

This year, the anti-camera effort has returned, but a vote last Wednesday suggests photo enforcement opponents face an uphill battle. The House Transportation & Highway Safety Subcommittee voted 10 to 3 to gut the Florida Motorist Rights Restoration Act, which would have offered a number of protections for the owners of vehicles accused by a red light camera.

The measure would have required unannounced, third-party testing of the camera's accuracy every six months. Currently, there are no procedures in place for verifying the accuracy of a camera. The private, for-profit vendors who own and operate the machines self-certify the accuracy of their own products. The bill would have established a $500 penalty against any city or traffic camera vendor that issues a ticket from an inaccurate, untested device. The prosecution would also have the burden of establishing the guilt of the accused.

Subcommittee members were not interested. They stripped all of the motorist protections and replaced the measure with one that deals with rare cases of a vehicle owner filing an affidavit claiming someone else was driving the vehicle. The bill ensures the second recipient would get a "notice of violation" instead of a traffic citation carrying court costs.

Groups like the National Motorists Association supported the original version of the bill, although it wanted a provision mentioning speed cameras struck out.

"Short of a full camera ban, this act will at least help to curb the inevitable abuses that occur when government agencies focus more on revenue generation than on protecting citizens' rights," the group wrote in a message to Florida activists. "We support this legislation and encourage you to as well."

Camera opponents, nonetheless, were divided because of a line stating that photo radar devices would be subject to the testing requirement. Because speed cameras are not authorized under Florida law, the language would be seen by the court as the legislature's approval for their use, which is the very technique used by Tennessee lawmakers to bring red light cameras and speed cameras to the state.

Other legislation pending before the legislature would encourage longer yellow times as well as an all-out repeal of the red light camera authorization bill.

USA - Red Light Cameras Ticketing Drivers Who Stop at Lights

The first flash goes off and the vehicle isn't even over the white line. Faulty or Money Hungry?

Cities increasingly using red light cameras to ticket drivers who come to a full stop.

Cities around the country have begun dropping the use of red light cameras,which were once touted as the best way to stop drivers from "blowing through" red lights. Disappointed municipal officials invariably point to the systems' failure to generate the promised amount of revenue as the reason for the change. To keep from losing more clients, the red light camera industry's latest move has been to ticket drivers who stop at red lights to boost the number of potential violations.

Several years ago the industry significantly increased its yield by transitioning away from ticketing vehicles for running red lights. Instead, camera focused on right-hand turn lanes so they could mail citations to the owners of vehicles that make slow, rolling right turns on red. In some jurisdictions, right-turn tickets account for 90 percent of all tickets issued -- even though national and local data suggest the maneuver is not dangerous. In some cases, however, right-turn tickets failed to be profitable when the public refused to pay citations -- as happened in Los Angeles, California -- or because of legislative restrictions on right-turn citations -- as happened in Florida.

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USA - Red Light Camera Study Finds No Proof of Benefit

New Mexico: Report Finds No Proven Red Light Camera Benefit

Newspapers.com

Study shows red light cameras made no solid, statistically significant difference in crash rates in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

The city of Las Cruces, New Mexico commissioned a local university last year to come up with a report justifying the use of red light cameras in the community. After examining city-supplied data New Mexico State University (NMSU) researchers stretched to find something positive to say in a study released Tuesday.

"The trend analysis of the signalized intersections shows a reduction in the crash rates at certain intersections for certain accident types," Professors Hansuk Sohn and Paola Bandini concluded. "Even though the findings from the crash data are encouraging, not all the results from the trend analysis are supported by the statistical analysis."

Las Cruces began using automated ticketing machines at four intersections in 2009, although the state government ordered two of these shut down last March. The study compared the performance of the camera locations with six control intersections selected by the city that had no cameras.

Overall, the study found a decrease in accidents at two camera intersections, an increase at one and no change at the fourth. This compares to the control intersections where there were three decreases, two increases and one without any change. None of these changes, however, were large enough to carry definitive scientific weight. The researchers focused on the single intersection with the most positive result.

"Crash rate reductions at the LOTE intersection [Lohman Avenue and Telshor Boulevard] are statistically almost significant (or marginally significant) after the STOP operation," the report stated. "There are no significant changes in crash rates at all other intersections including control intersections."

The city council has been searching for a justification to continue with the automated ticketing program which was expected to yield $5 million in revenue last year. City leaders showed no concern about early signs that the program failed to live up to its promise of accident reduction. In November 2010, the council voted to continue the program despite overall negative collision data at the time. NMSU recommended further study be done, taking into account the number of tickets issued using data from Redflex Traffic Systems, the Australian company in charge of the program.

A copy of the study is available in a PDF file at the source link below.

  Assessment of Impact of City of Las Cruces Safe Traffic Operations Program (New Mexico State University, 1/3/2012)

Newspapers.com

UK - Are speed cameras frying your brain?

CALLS for research into the health effects of rays beamed from speed cameras and traffic lights are mounting.

Professor Richard Bramhall, Tunbridge Wells motorist Peter Gibby and Rusthall councillor Victor Webb are pushing for an urgent study to be carried out.

The trio want to discover if any damage is caused by the beams emitted.

Former RAF electrician Mr Gibby, 88, of Rydal Drive, has been alarmed by the significant rise in lasers picked up by his in-car detection device.

He said: "It is a horrible thought when you think of the rays that could be going through your body.

"It will be interesting to see if it is harmful for your body.

"They buzz when I'm approaching a speed camera, even in garages, and next to traffic lights."

Mr Gibby bought the Snooper SD715iS eight years ago after being snapped twice in a matter of months by a speed camera.

Since then he has never been penalised for speeding, but has noticed a significant rise in the number of rays being detected.

He added: "When I travel through Tunbridge Wells town centre, the device doesn't ever stop bleeping!"

Mr Webb shares Mr Gibby's concerns.

He said: "It seems odd if they haven't been tested.

"Often we are subjected to long periods of time next to the rays, when stuck in traffic jams."

Their worries have been backed up by Professor Richard Bramhall, secretary of the Low Level Radiation Campaign, who is unaware of a study into the possible dangers of the rays.

He said: "Purely from a layman's point of view, I would like to see what the lasers are spraying out."

When entering a speed trap, marked with white lines, a radar beam is projected on to a vehicle which tracks its speed.

If it senses the vehicle is above the limit then it takes two photos, within 0.7 seconds.

The first photo is usually a standard, everyday photo.

The second one is an infra-red picture to see through anything people have on their plates to hide their number.

High frequency radio waves are transmitted out and deflected back from objects in their path to gain information on driver's speed and direction.