Two weeks from now, Raleigh could have its red light cameras back in place, despite voting not to do so just days ago. John Locke Foundation Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Fergus Hodgson writes about red light camera operations here, providing some very interesting data about their use around the country.
The National Motorists Association notes that there are many ways to increase traffic-light safety without prosecution of drivers. For example, research from the Texas Transportation Institute suggests that increasing the amber light by one second reduces collisions by 40 percent. In fact, they found that the average run-in occurs when the light has been red for half a second or less, while almost every right-angle crash occurs after more than five seconds.
So have cities taken this painlessly applicable finding and extended the amber-light timing? Au contraire. At least six U.S. cities have been convicted of shortening the yellow light to catch more people on the red. The Texas study found a one-second cut from international standards to increase violations by 110 percent.
