Congratulations Richmond, you just got your first red light camera! You’ll find it at the intersection of Elkhardt and Hull street
Congratulations Richmond, you just got your first red light camera! You’ll find it at the intersection of Elkhardt and Hull street – luckily its about as far from the city-proper as humanly possible – but it’s there!
CBS 6 ran their story on the issue last night – take a look at their video here:
So, do you feel safer yet? We’ll you might want to slow down a bit, cause the numbers don’t really back up the safety argument.
Red light cameras actually increase your chance of getting in an accident. A 2007 study by the VA Transportation Research Council showed a significant statistical increase of rear end accidents, as well as a number of other intersection-related accidents.
Consistent with the findings of a previous Virginia study (Garber et al., 2005), this study finds that cameras are associated with an increase in rear-end crashes (about 27% or 42% depending on the statistical method used as shown in Tables ES1 and H1) and a decrease in red light running crashes (about 8% or 42% depending on the statistical method used as shown in Tables ES1 and H2). This report also shows that there is significant variation by intersection and by jurisdiction: one jurisdiction (Arlington) suggests that cameras are associated with an increase in all six crash types that were explicitly studied (rear- end, angle, red light running, injury red light running, total injury, and total) whereas two other jurisdictions saw decreases in most of these crash types.
But it gets better, folks! A 2011 study released by the U.S. PRIF Education Fund found the relationship between cities and the private vendors providing red light cameras can sometimes be dubious. When using these camera systems, profit is often put above safety, according to this study, and the people who lose the most are the citizens:
The most problematic contracts require cities to share revenue with the camera vendor on a per-ticket basis or through other formulas as a percentage of revenue. In other words, the more tickets a camera system issues, the more profit the vendor collects. For example, Suffolk County, New York, diverts half of the revenue from its red-light camera program to camera vendor Affiliated Computer Services.
Conditional “cost-neutral” contracts also contain provisions that link payments to the number of tickets issued, although payments are capped. Under these contracts, cities pay a monthly fee to a camera vendor. In the event that ticket revenues fail to cover the vendor fee in any given month, however, cities may delay payment ñ giving vendors an incentive to ensure a minimum level of citations are issued.
If you still needed another reason to hate on red light cameras, here’s a bit of a conspiracy theory for you – these tickets are rarely contested. An Orlando Sun article looked at the area’s red light camera tickets and found this interesting trend – people just pay them and move on, accepting the Sky-net like authority of their robot-traffic overlords.
Red-light cameras, which generate millions in ticket revenue for Florida cities, have snared more than 45,000 drivers at intersections in the Orlando area since July 1, when a modified state law took effect designed to make appeals easier. Fewer than 150 people have contested their tickets during that time, according to supervisors of red-light camera programs in Apopka, Edgewood, Maitland, Ocoee, Orlando, Orange County and Winter Park.
“When they get a [violation] notice in the mail, most people will say, ‘I’m a good driver. I’m certain I stopped,’ ” Dreasher said. “But after they see the video evidence for themselves, and after they think about it for a while, they still might not like it but they usually change their minds.”
Proponents like Dreasher say red-light cameras have reduced crashes and changed driving habits. He pointed out that few drivers get a second ticket.
But critics – especially those on the losing end of a challenge — contend the appeal process is stacked in favor of local governments, who appoint and pay hearing officers. They also cite the added cost of losing an appeal – as much as $250 in some cities – as a key reason why few motorists have opted to fight the $158 red-light camera tickets in Central Florida.
I’m not too keen to live in a world so easily monitored by third-party cameras, splitting revenue with a city and cashing in on people late to work. If this one new red light camera is the last red light camera, I’ll be a happy Richmonder. But if the city sees a revenue spike, or even a safety spike from this new project, it might not be long before we see these lights on every intersection.
