Like many other cities, Cleveland has deployed several red light cameras, that are designed to automate ticketing for people who run red lights at intersections.
It is readily apparent to everyone that these devices are there to generate revenue for the city, not encourage driver safety as most cities argue. But I had not seen actual data to back up this assertion until now. It turns out that there have been several studies that show that red light cameras actually increase the rate of crashes, instead of increasing public safety. For instance, an article on Science Daily [sciencedaily.com] cites a study performed by Florida researchers. Here is a quote from the article:
"'The rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don’t work... Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections.'"What's even more aggravating is that 6 cities have been found guilty of shortening yellow light durations [motorists.org], in order to increase revenue from red light cameras. The cities are Chattanooga, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; Springfield, Missouri; Lubbock, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and Union City, California. And you can bet that they're not the only ones who are guilty of this practice.
"Traffic fatalities caused by red-light running are not increasing in Florida and account for less than 4 percent of the state’s yearly traffic deaths. In contrast, more than 22 percent of the state’s traffic fatalities occur at intersections for reasons other than red-light running."
Picture of accident at intersection from Scoobyfoo's Flickr photostream [flickr.com].
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