Is this the end for red light cameras?

I hope the authorities remove them all based on public opinion or poll. those devices are some ridiculous attempt to pull more money from people.
it's not like you RUN a red light to get a ticket, no you just try to cross the intersection when it's still orange and get caught in the middle when light turns red (can't even see it anymore often).

cash cows yes, safety devices? I don't think so. I would be interested in seeing those safety report from before and after for each and every intersection or spot they got installed ...

The National Motorists Association claims that the accident rate increases after red light cameras are installed: http://blog.motorists.org/red-light-cameras-increase-acciden...

This article was posted on January 8th, 2008.

It reports “quotes” from 5 studies and, using these quotes, concludes that cameras increase accidents.

I like to read the full study and see what the abstract and/or conclusion parts of the studies say. None of them seem to provide much support for opponents of Automated Traffic Enforcement on their face. Note that the studies are old – implying that the National Motorists Association was unable to find any damning recent studies.

1). A Long Term Study of Red-Light Cameras and Accidents
David Andreassen
Australian Road Research Board
February, 1995
This study is quite old. Its conclusion says:
“The original choice of the RLC sites must be questioned. Three-quarters of the sites had initial annual frequencies of two or less reported ‘adjacent approaches’ accidents. Low frequency sites are not good candidates for testing the effectiveness of accident countermeasures.
The results of this study suggest that the installation of the RLC at these sites did not provide any reduction in accidents, rather there has been an increase in rear end and adjacent approaches accidents on a before and after basis and also by comparison with the changes in accidents at intersection signals.
There has also been no demonstrated value of the RLC as an effective countermeasure.”

2) The Impact of Red Light Cameras (Photo-Red Enforcement) on Crashes in Virginia
Virginia Transportation Research Council
June 2007
The study abstract says:
“These results cannot be used to justify the widespread installation of cameras because they are not universally effective. These results also cannot be used to justify the abolition of cameras, as they have had a positive impact at some intersections and in some jurisdictions. The report recommends, therefore, that the decision to install a red light camera be made on an intersection-by-intersection basis. In addition, it is recommended that a carefully controlled experiment be conducted to examine further the impact of red light programs on safety and to determine how an increase in rear-end crashes can be avoided at specific intersections.

3) The Red-Light Running Crisis: Is It Intentional?
Office of the Majority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
May 2001
This was decidedly not a “study” and what it did was try to discredit other studies which claimed that Automated Traffic Enforcement reduced “overall” collisions by pointing out that “rear end” collisions had increased.

4) Investigation Of Crash Risk Reduction Resulting From Red-Light Cameras In Small Urban Areas
Mark Burkey, Ph.D. & Kofi Obeng, Ph.D.
North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
July 2004
The conclusion of this study does not seem particularly damning. It said
“Our findings are more pessimistic, finding no change in angle accidents and large increases in rear-end crashes and many other types of crashes relative to other intersections. We did find a decrease in accidents involving a vehicle turning left and a vehicle on the same roadway, which may have been included as an angle accident in some other studies. However, given that these left turn accidents occur only one third as often as angle accidents, and the fact that we find no benefit from decreasing severity of accidents suggests that there has been no demonstrable benefit from the RLC program in terms of safety. In many ways, the evidence points toward the installation of RLCs as a detriment to safety.”

5) Evaluation of the Red-Light-Camera-Enforcement Pilot Project
Ontario Ministry of Transportation
December 2003
The numbers generated in this study were not based on accidents before and after implementation. They were based on “expected” accidents and actual accidents.

I don't know where you live, and what your traffic laws say, but this is clearly not the law in New York State. In NYS, as long as you enter the intersection while the light is yellow, you can continue through, even if it turns red while you are in the intersection, without receiving a ticket.

Take a look on-line for videos of RLC violators - you will see it isn't just people who get caught in the intersection when the light changes. There are many outrageous, dangerous examples of people in cars, trucks, buses, and other vehicles that blatantly run lights long after they have turned red. I've seen it personally - more than once, I've had some guy following behind me, and when the light turns red and I stop (at a normal pace...) he swings into the left-turn lane to pass me and blow through the light.

if they generate 10 tickets per month, they are still "good" revenue.

yeah I learned driving in Europe with same rules, once you are in intersection even though it's red you can stay there and attempt to leave it once it's safe (at earliest convenience)... but no, not in NJ!

I've got a red light ticket ($80) for "running a red light" in Newark, NJ like a year ago... now I drive over there like an idiot, doing a hard brake stop whenever I see the yellow light coming up ahead of me... it's just stupid ... I can believe it can cause more collisions (e.g. sleepy driver behind you rear ending your car) than helping to avoid them by red light runners ... kinda like it doesn't add up if you look at the big picture ...

Be sure to look in the rear view before doing that, an $80 ticket is cheaper than the deductable for repairs.

with RLC/speed POI, I can be well prepared even I go to areas I am not familiar with. Always maintain reasonable speed whenever POI alerts sound, I do not remember I had problems on this.

Maybe L.A. will be doing away with them but the Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama says he's going to double the number here. I'm also seeing them in other cities in the Southeast that did not previously have them.

Here in Kingsport, TN, there has been two more cameras added. They went into operation yesterday. They are red light cameras but one or both of them is also a speed camera. I really don't like those things and the thing I don't like most about them is some faraway company is making money from them. The city gets half of the ticket. I think I would feel different about it if the city was the soul investor and maintainer of the cameras. I just don't feel good about that.

Arizona got rid of the freeway cameras last year. The various municipalities still have their redlidght cameras and radar vans. Actually there are more and more redlight cameras going up in various cities as they are an easy way for the cities, especially smaller out of the way towns, to generate some much needed money...from out-of-towners/visitors.