Red light camera

A red-light camera in use in Beaverton, Oregon, USA

Main article: Traffic enforcement camera

Red light cameras are devices which are designed to take a snapshot of a vehicle that illegally goes through an intersection where the light is red. Red light cameras help to enforce traffic laws by automatically photographing vehicles disobeying stop lights. The system continuously monitors the traffic signal and the camera is triggered by any vehicle entering the intersection above a preset minimum speed and following a specified time after the signal has turned red. There are estimates of 5,000-6,000 photo enforced red light cameras and speed cameras currently operating in the U.S. There are 9 different companies that operate cameras in the U.S. and industry analysts project the number of locations to grow between 10-20% per year as the U.S. catches up to much of Europe, Asia and Australia. Fines for violations in the U.S. are regulated at the State and City level and range from $50 in North Carolina up to $390 in California. Many red light camera programs provide motorists with grace periods of up to half a second. Depending on the particular technology, a series of photographs and/or video images show the red light violator prior to entering the intersection on a red signal, as well as the vehicle's progression through the intersection. Cameras record the date, time of day, time elapsed since the beginning of the red signal, vehicle speed, and license plate. Tickets are typically mailed to owners of violating vehicles, based on review of photographic evidence.

Studies

In the United States, a number of government-sponsored studies have addressed the question of whether, on balance, red-light cameras produce a safety benefit. A U.S. study , for example, found that red light cameras led to a decrease in right-angle crashes and an increase in the number of rear-end collisions. The total number of collisions remained essentially unchanged. The study applied estimates from a 1997 study of the cost of accidents based on severity to conclude the cameras yielded a positive overall cost benefit from a reduction in more expensive right-angle injury collisions.

A 2005 Virginia Department of Transportation study of the long-term effect of camera enforcement in the state found a decrease in the number of right-angle crashes, but an increase in rear-end crashes and an overall increase in the number of accidents causing injuries . The report recommended further study of the issue to determine whether the severity of the eliminated red light running crashes was greater than that of the induced rear-end crashes. The department released a more extensive evaluation of the data in 2007 which showed that the overall number of accidents at intersections with red light cameras increased in four of the five cities using the technology. Fairfax City reported a 7% drop in the overall number of accidents and a 5% drop in injury accidents while overall the state's cameras were correlated with a 29% increase in overall accidents and an 18% increase in injury accidents . This study also notably found that red-light violations decreased by 94% at one Fairfax County intersection, after the advent of a 1.5 second longer yellow-light cycle.

A 2004 Texas Transportation Institute study found, "crashes decrease with an increase in yellow interval duration and a reduction in speed limit." After 1.0 second was added to the yellow signal timing at test intersections, accidents dropped by 35 to 40%. This compares with a 6.4% reduction for "area-wide officer enforcement of intersection traffic control devices... during the time of the enforcement activity" .

A 2005 study of the Raleigh, North Carolina red light camera program conducted by the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University compared "before" and "after" red-light camera intersection data and found right-angle crashes dropped by 42 percent, rear-end crashes dropped by 25 percent and total accidents dropped by 22 percent .

A 2005 meta analysis compared the results of controlled before-after studies of red light cameras in the United States, Australia and Singapore. "Five studies found that use of red-light cameras cut the number of crashes in which there were injuries. In the best conducted of these studies, the reduction was nearly 30%."

Usage

As of May 2009, red light cameras are used in more than 400 communities in the United States. Major cities that use red light cameras include Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC and Baton Rouge.

Some states have chosen to prohibit the use of red light cameras. These include Nevada, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Mississippi with other states, such as Louisiana considering a ban. In some states such as Wisconsin, the ban comes from decisions by the state supreme court declaring that type of device unconstitutional.

Some countries in other parts of the world that use this technology extensively include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Malta, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, India, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Issues

While many public officials support the use of red-light cameras, various groups and individuals oppose them. They believe that the use of these devices raises legal issues and violates the privacy of citizens. They also question the effectiveness of red light cameras and if they really help traffic safety. In many locales, the cameras are not set up to identify the vehicle driver, raising owner liability issues. However, in a few U.S. states (including California), the cameras are set up to get a "face photo" of the driver; this has been done because in those states, red light camera tickets are criminal violations, and criminal charges must always name the actual violator. In California, that need to identify the actual violator has led to the creation of a unique investigatory tool.

At some intersections where red-light cameras have been installed, it has been determined that the duration of the yellow signal was illegally shortened,. In Tennessee, 176 tickets ($8,800 in fines) were refunded to drivers caught in the first 0.9 seconds after the signal turned red when it was discovered that the length of the yellow signal timing had been reduced by that amount.

In some areas, red light enforcement cameras are installed and maintained by private firms such as Affiliated Computer Services., American Traffic Solutions, Inc.[12], and Redflex Traffic Systems[13]. Many people disagree with this privatization of a police function. In Texas, red light violators caught by a red light camera are served with a civil citation rather than a criminal citation. The civil infraction (civil fine of $75, no traffic points) conflicts with the same criminal infraction (fines of $1 to $200, and traffic points). A December 2008 lawsuit in Dallas County challenging a private company's right to hand out citations just because they're operating the cameras was dismissed in March 2009.