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1788 messages, Last post on Nov 14, 2009 at 3:43 PM
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Another town may see the light. Isn't it amazing how quickly elected officials reverse themselves once profits are taken out of the picture? from: http://www.newschannel9.com/news/cameras_976863___article.html/mayor_red.html Red Light Cameras Coming Down March 26, 2009 - 5:01 PM John Pless The city of Dalton is making a move that will make a lot of drivers very happy - city leaders want to get rid of those red light cameras. Mayor David Pennington says they don't make his city any safer, and now they are costing more money than what they bring in to the city with tickets. The camera's that catch drivers not completely stopping at red lights in Dalton have made a lot of drivers see red when they get the $75 ticket in the mail. The camera operated systems have been promoted as making streets safer and reducing crashes. But in Dalton, we've discovered the numbers don't show it. Mayor David Pennington said, "Does it really enhance the public safety in a community? We see no evidence that it does." Mayor Pennington says at one intersection, Waugh Street and Thornton Avenue, the number of crashes increased after the red light cameras were installed. "Because of rear-enders, and maybe some of it is some people when they see the sign and suddenly thought hey, there's a traffic camera here and they slam on their brakes and then somebody rear-ends them," he said. Besides having no safety benefits the city is now losing money on the camera systems, before taking into account the number of man hours it takes to process the pictures and mail out tickets. The equipment is not cheap. The city of Dalton pays Laser Craft, the company that installed these cameras, about $25,000 a month under the terms of the lease. The number of tickets issued has been declining. In February last year 586 tickets brought in just under $44,000. This February the number of tickets fell to 125, bringing in just under $9,400, nowhere near the $25,000 the mayor says he pays Laser Craft. Same for January, where 397 tickets in 2008 shrank to 203 tickets this year bringing in just over $15,000... about $10,000 less than the cost of the machines. So now the mayor wants to get rid of the red light cameras, which makes most drivers very happy. "Sometimes when you're in the middle of a yellow light you know, that's when they take their picture and stuff. Yeah, Id like to get rid of 'em, save a little money for us you know," one driver said. Tickets for rolling stops far outnumber the number of hard stops at the downtown cameras. That's where a driver approaches, slows down to a near stop, then proceeds if traffic is clear. Mayor Pennington said, "Instead of paying the money that it costs to have cameras at the intersections, are we not better off with a policeman that patrols a high-crime area?" Money better spent the mayor says, since red light cameras do not improve safety. The mayor will recommend the Dalton City Council take action to get rid of the red light cameras in the coming weeks. Other cities in suburban Atlanta have already taken their cameras down. |
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Democracy at work here too folks, slowly but surely  from: http://www.kbmt12.com/news/local/41785612.html Beaumont Puts Brakes on Red Light Cameras News KBMT Story Created: Mar 24, 2009 at 6:21 PM CDT Story Updated: Mar 25, 2009 at 10:58 AM CDT The City of Beaumont has put the brakes on red light cameras. Council members Tuesday voted on a measure calling for the abandonment of a red light camera ordinance. This past year, the city has discussed the issue and held a public meeting to get input from Beaumont residents. According to city documents, Beaumont City Manager Kyle Hayes recommended today's vote to abandon the idea, saying he's seen conflicting studies on the effectiveness of the cameras. Councilman Alan Coleman was the only council member to vote in favor of red light cameras. |
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It would be just as incorrect to say that red light cameras ALWAYS make intersections safer as if would be to say that they ALWAYS make intersections more dangerous. This is a good study which provides real data: Safety Evaluation of Red-Light Cameras—Executive Summary This analysis, which was based on an aggregation of rear end and right-angle crash costs for various severity levels, showed that RLC systems do indeed provide a modest aggregate crash-cost benefit. |
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And from IIHS What safety benefits do red light cameras provide? Cameras have been shown to substantially reduce red light violations. Institute evaluations in Fairfax, Virginia, and Oxnard, California, showed that camera enforcement reduced red light running violations by about 40 percent.3,7 In addition to reducing red light running at camera-equipped sites, violation reductions in both communities carried over to signalized intersections not equipped with red light cameras, indicating community-wide changes in driver behavior. An Institute evaluation of red light cameras in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, found that after red light violations were reduced by 36 percent following increased yellow signal timing, the addition of red light cameras further reduced red light violations by 96 percent.8 In addition to reducing red light violations, cameras have been shown to reduce intersection crashes. In Oxnard, California, significant citywide crash reductions followed the introduction of red light cameras, and injury crashes at intersections with traffic signals were reduced by 29 percent.9 Front-into-side collisions — the crash type most closely associated with red light running — were reduced by 32 percent overall, and front-into-side crashes involving injuries were reduced by 68 percent. An Institute review of international red light camera studies concluded that cameras reduce red light violations by 40-50 percent and reduce injury crashes by 25-30 percent.10 Some studies have reported that while red light cameras reduce front-into-side collisions and overall injury crashes, they can increase rear-end crashes. Because the types of crashes prevented by red light cameras tend to be more severe than rear-end crashes, research has shown there is a positive aggregate benefit. A study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration evaluated red light camera programs in seven cities.11 The study found that, overall, right-angle crashes decreased by 25 percent while rear-end collisions increased by 15 percent. Results showed a positive aggregate economic benefit of more than $18.5 million over 370 site years, which translates into a crash reduction benefit of approximately $39,000 per site year. The authors concluded that the economic costs from the increase in rear-end crashes were more than offset by the economic benefits from the decrease in right-angle crashes targeted by red light cameras. Not all studies have reported increases in rear-end crashes. The Cochrane Collaboration (an international organization that conducts systematic reviews of the scientific literature on public health issues) reviewed 10 controlled before-after studies of red light camera effectiveness in Australia, Singapore, and the United States.12 Using techniques of meta-analysis, the authors estimated a 16 percent reduction in all types of injury crashes and a 24 percent reduction in right-angle crashes. The review did not find a statistically significant change in rear-end crashes. |
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Replying to: larsb (Mar 27, 2009 6:22 am) Either way, dead is dead, and it is the actions of the driver that does the killing. When will everyone wake up and rethink their stupid feelings of entittlement and need for control over others actions and realize that each person is responsible for their own actions and the consequences of them, and punish them accordingly? The general population should not suffer or be teathered to someone elses way of thinking because of the reckless actions of a few.
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Replying to: joepeterson56 (Mar 27, 2009 9:14 am) can you explain further on how I might die in another car by being hit by a car going 3 miles per hour? "Speed does not kill" is merely a mythical rallying cry for people who want to speed. It's not based in reality at all. |
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Mar 26, 2009 1:30 pm) When a person sees a policeman speeding, they do not know for a fact if that officer is on a call of a nature that requires a fast emergency response, that calls for no lights or sirens unless absolutely necessary or unavoidable. If you cut your finger and it got gangerene, would you just cut off the finger to save the hand and arm, or would you cut off the hand or arm completely? Same type of thinking as those kinds of statements. Get real.
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Speed costs money. Safety costs money. Safe Speed costs a LOT of money. What we do as a society depends greatly on these three simple facts. So, how fast do we want to go, and how safe do we want to be while we get there? |
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Replying to: joepeterson56 (Mar 27, 2009 9:21 am) I see a lot of WSP speeding around the area where there's a popular breakfast/brunch establishment. Maybe it just has a lot of emergencies. |
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Replying to: joepeterson56 (Mar 27, 2009 9:21 am) Since it was a large SUV and doesn't have lights and siren and it was on I75 where the State Highway Patrol takes care of things (somewhat), I doubt he was on an emergency run. We were 1 miles south of the rest area so if the driver had a "call of nature" they just missed their chance. >People who make blanket statements such as this one, due a lot of diservice to a lot of law enforcement people who don't deserve that kind of abuse I'm not sure which statement you're calling "blanket." The FOP tags on the license plates should be illegal; they are only license for misuse and avoiding following the laws which apply to everyone in our state unless they're on an emergency call, and for that they have lights and sirens. I've been tailgated, passed, cut off, in the last years by too many vehicles with those convenient FOP tags, to give your criticism a consideration. Also my wife has a friend whose husband is a policeman. The wife used her "get out of jail free" card 3 times in 6 weeks when she was stopped--speeding X2 and illegal left turn out of a business driveway X1 (left turn across several lanes of traffic, controlled by warning sign in business driveway showing no left turns). >People who make blanket statements such as this one, due a lot of diservice to a lot of law enforcement people who don't deserve that kind of abuse I expect them to follow the laws in the same way I expect elected people in Columbus and DC to follow the laws. I know I'm expecting a lot from the elected folk, but for policemen it's what they agree to as part of their oath. It's real. |
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