National Motorists Association Challenges Cities To Prove Red-Light Cameras Are Safer
7th January 2008
Read it. Especially all you cynical folks out there who think it’s all about enhanced citation revenue.
The problem appears to be that red-light cameras cause more people to slam on the brakes at the last second, leading to more rear-ender collisions. Plenty of studies have shown that if you really want safer intersections, the solution is rather simple: increase the length of time for yellow lights and include a pause after a light turns red before the cross-traffic signal turns green.
But that doesn’t make any money … for anybody ….
A big part of the problem is that red-light cameras are big money makers for municipalities, who share the revenue with the makers of the cameras — who have every incentive in the world to set the traffic lights to encourage more violations, rather than fewer.
Oh, say it ain’t so.