Survey: Red-light cameras reduce wrecks (Florida)

I believed that most communities promised that the photo evidence could NOT be used for anything, other than the citation. Maybe FL is different.

If it is an intersection accident, there is a very good chance that someone ran the light so the camera would have a record of the infraction. Also, a lot of these units record 24/7 and only the infractions are marked. The police could review what the camera saw even though no infraction was recorded.

"Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood said all seven intersections in Daytona Beach with cameras saw major, double-digit reductions in crashes. He said side-impact crashes stayed the same."

If there are that many accidents, people in Florida should just stop driving.

But wait! There's more!

"Crammond also said that rear-end crashes had decreased at the camera-monitored intersections, based on information provided by the Florida Department of Transportation. Crammond gave these numbers: 11 rear-end crashes in 2007; 4 in 2008; 5 in 2009; nine in 2010."

It's hard to make sense of anything written in the article. It goes from saying crashes were reduced, to how many tickets were issued and dismissed. It's all over the place.

Agreed, not professional quality article. Very little data, mostly informal collection, unclear objective. And with all those tickets written, it's difficult to believe the cameras are only breaking even.

BTW, I find most local newspaper articles are poorly written these days, some even atrociously so.

I'm no fan of "safety" cameras by any stretch, but I gotta tell ya, with those large signs warning motorists that the intersection ahead is monitored, I don't have ANY sympathy for the idiot ticketees. By the same reasoning, I don't think it's the cameras that have made those intersections safer, I think it's the mere THREAT of the cameras that have made drivers more aware.
Hey, whatever works.

Phil

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/03/3166839/report-crashes...

http://www.news-press.com/article/20130106/NEWS0119/30106003...

http://www2.tbo.com/news/south-tampa/2013/jan/04/4/crashes-d...

It's hard to tell where they got the numbers on this one, but if they set out to write an article to sell people on ticketing cameras, they will make the numbers look favorable for it. The only positive thing I saw in the article was the brief mention they gave to the state representative who introduced a bill to ban the cameras.

Simply stating accidents, tickets or what have you without showing # of vehicles per day changes or any number of other factors which could mislead someone in to believing the cameras were responsible for something when in fact they are not.
If they don't give all the information there is a usually a good reason why.

When I see this.

The reporters for the Herald seldom do a good job of reporting. That is my opinion. Your opinion may differ.

I have removed several comments in this thread that I felt violated the personal attacks and bickering guidelines in the forum rules.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/28855

~Angela