Preview

Red Light Cameras Pros And Cons

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
696 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Red Light Cameras Pros And Cons
Red light cameras are becoming a more common sight in the last decade. The debate on whether these cameras are improving the safety of drivers or just causing another financial burden to the states is still as strong as ever. These red light cameras are saving lives and not imposing unnecessary costs on states, but instead the cameras are saving states millions of dollars each year.
In 2007 it was recorded that each year 751 people die in crashes due to someone running a red light, which comes to 63 people each month. Not only the shockingly high number of deaths due to running a red light, the financial cost of red-light running crashes was $378 million. But due to the increase of red light cameras in 2011, there was 201 fewer red-light running
…show more content…
In 2012 there was a $27 billion reduction in costs because of the 8,445 fewer traffic fatalities. As well as, $559 million saved from the expenses of the 178 lives that were saved from the previous 2011 death count. In 2009, the Federal Highway Administration calculated the cost of a single motor vehicle fatality to be $6 million, and private insurance only pays 50 percent of the cost ("Fact Sheets," 2016). Not only in the United States are red-light fatalities decreasing, so are they in Australia which has reported having reduced casualty crashes by 25 to 30 percent from 2005 to 2009. In Austria, the amount of drivers that crossing through a red light has decreased by 4,500 since the same time in 2012. Canada has had a 15 percent drop in injury and fatality rates and 22 percent drop in severe collisions. England, Israel, and Scotland have also all reported a drop of over 15 percent each in their fatal accidents since installing red-light cameras ("Fact Sheets," …show more content…
Although, in a Tennessee city, six red light cameras were placed and collected data for 6 years from 2005 to 2011. During the 6 year period, three extra cameras were also placed and included in the study, Testerman was able to collect the data that showed 587 rear-end crashes and 125 right-angle crashes (2013). After reviewing the data he noticed that after the first 2 year period of increased rear-end collisions, that the rate of rear-end collisions actually decreased. The result shows that the cameras reduced injury crashes by 25 to 30 percent (Testerman, 2013).
Red light cameras will always be a contradictory topic due to the facts it does discourage drivers from speeding through a red light, but also causes more drivers to act quickly and thus increasing the possibility of being rear-ended. As researched and concluded by Alena Erke, “most studies find a decrease in the overall number of crashes. The largest decrease is found for right-angle collisions, which are the target crashes of RLCs” (Erke

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The first red light camera ticketing system was put in use in New York City in 1993. Since then, 24 states and the District of Columbia have installed red light cameras, while another 15 have banned automated ticketing systems that include red light and speed cameras. You generally don't find that kind of love-hate relationship without something murky going on, and murk is exactly what you step into when you ask this one simple question: Do red light cameras reduce accidents?…

    • 1936 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    There have been major accidents throughout the United States that have produced over 100,000 crashes and roughly 1,000 deaths in the past. In 1979 Ken Fishel was at the intersection of 436 and highway 50 when a woman ran a red light causing him to T-Bone the passenger side of her vehicle. Ken ended up with serious injuries consisting of whip lash and a mild concussion to the head. While the women escaped the accident with minor injuries this could been easily prevented (interview). To combat this problem the United States has placed Red light cameras at certain intersections across the states. Safety should always be the top priority on the road, and one way of limiting car accidents is for everyone to make sure they always stop at a red light. Since these cameras have been in place accidents and death tolls have decreased tremendously. The government should continue the use of red light cameras at intersections throughout the United States.…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Speed cameras are expensive to maintain though, this is the only con. When a speed camera is experiencing technical issues it can give inaccurate readings of the speeds of vehicles, and sometimes it won’t pick them up at all. Most speed cameras also have a limit of reading how fast a vehicle is traveling. If a car is traveling over a set speed the camera will not pick it up as it won’t have enough time to capture a picture of the vehicle. These cameras lead to a lot of dispute in court because a lot of the accused persons feel it violates their privacy. This is a violation in article 21 MD of declaration of rights which states the accused must have the right to face the accuser. The driver loses either way when they get a ticket from a camera, they are forced to either take time off work to go to court and fight the ticket or just pay a fine in cash. So either way the driver is losing. Drivers are at a huge disadvantage when caught by the red light camera as they don’t know for possibly weeks or months until the ticket comes in the mail. By this time it will be hard for them to fight the ticket in court so they are more than likely forced to just pay the fine. The camera manufacturers receive around 50% of the revenue generated by the cameras, as the government has no dealing with them. If a vendor’s camera needs maintenance the private vendor must come and fix the problem. These cameras are extremely effective, a report from a school zone reports that for 13 years they have had speed cameras in the school zone and zero accidents. Some court cases from the private vendors which have photo evidence have been…

    • 373 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    in total for all speeding related accidents costs people 40 billion dollars a year. $.24 dollars of…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Evidence of the number of fatalities of running red lights was found on MDOT (Mississippi Department of Transportation) website. “According to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 7,799 lives were lost from red light running between 2004 and 2013 across the nation.” I know the numbers are small compared to some of the other leading causes of death, but that number could be smaller or even non-existent if we just paid attention and slowed down. More evidence was found on MDOT’s website about the fatality numbers. “In 2013 alone, 679 people were killed and an estimated 127,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running.” This number shouldn’t be that high. Slowing down for a bus is not that hard or time-consuming it’s one of the easiest things you can do no and lives should be lost at all. These numbers should be a wake up call for you. It’s a topic that shouldn’t even be relevant to the world because of how easily avoidable it is. Just remember, next you see a bus at a stop stop your vehicle and wait because whatever event or place you have to go to can wait. No event is worth someone’s…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Have you ever been at a red light and been annoyed at how long you have been standing at it? Well, it turns out that on average, a person spends about six months of his or her life just waiting for those lights to turn green.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Stoplight Decisions are where someone goes to stop at a stoplight and there is where they make their decision, go right, left, or straight. You can go straight on green and at some turns you can turn right on red. Stoplight decisions are important because if you don’t pay attention you will be breaking the law, or seriously hurt or kill you or someone else. People that don’t pay attention will end up executing an illegal U-turn, run a red light, turn left on red, and much more. Everyone on the roads should take a test every couple of years that will make sure they know what they are doing. It’s unsafe out there and people need to make good stoplight decisions because it’s important that people do the right thing and not do anything…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To assist with this we look towards the science and technology facts and what type of impact they may have on our cultural and social priorities. Science has certainly factored in the development of this technology. Science has showed us the statistics of motor vehicle accidents and how such things like human error is to blame in approximately 94% of them. In 2015 alone, 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 were injured according to the NHTSA. This statistic alone warrants action, and these technological advances seem to be the answer. Unlike humans, these vehicles are always observing and can scan much greater areas simultaneously.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    An Institute study of urban crashes found that those involving drivers who ran red lights, stop signs and other traffic controls were the most common type of crash (22 percent). Injuries occurred in 39 percent of the crashes in which motorists ran traffic controls.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Red Light Traffic Cameras

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To better elaborate, in 2014, there was a study conducted by the Chicago Tribune, which found that red light traffic cameras overall have caused an increase in daily accidents by 5% (Kedmey, 2014). Although, 15% of all collisions that occur at right angles decreased 22% and all rear-end accidents increased (Kedmey, 2014). This increase, for the most part, has to do with individuals slamming on their brakes to avoid becoming a victim of a red light traffic camera…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A signification number of cases happen due to the fact that drivers break the traffic rules. For example, a lot of drives drive too close to the front cars. Also some drivers turn vehicles to another lane improperly. For the extreme cases, some drivers participate in car racing illegally or drink driving. Moreover, many passengers ignore the safety rule and refuse to wear seat belts. In case of accident, they can’t be protected and probably get wounded or even die.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A recent UNESCAP1 report revealed that the numbers of traffic accidents increases every year in the world and that these accidents kill around one million people and injures 23 million others. 85% of the fatalities occur in the developing countries. The Asia–Pacific region alone accounts for up to 44% of global road deaths, although it is currently home to only around 16% of the world’s motorized vehicle fleet. In the Kingdom of Cambodia, the growing number of vehicles together with the efforts made by the Royal Government of Cambodia to develop and improve the traffic infrastructures (in order to facilitate transportation and to develop the national economy thus alleviating poverty), leads to a dramatic increase of road traffic accidents of 15% every year. Traffic accidents can now be considered as the second largest catastrophe in the country after AIDS, killing 3 people and injuring many others per day, not considering damages and loss of public or private properties and the moral distress to society . I do believe that, with the combined efforts of various institutions, NGOs, private companies as well as the people themselves, traffic accidents can be reduced in a near future. On the occasion of the release of the First Annual RTAVIS report, I would…

    • 5008 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drinking and Driving

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Tens of millions of dollars are spent annually in court costs, rehabilitation, lost earnings, health care, and social programs all because of drinking driving accidents. This money comes directly out of the citizens' pockets in taxes and lost revenue. Transport Canada reports the minimum loss to society as a result of road accidents involving alcohol as $390,000 per fatal accidents, $310,000 per fatality, $12,000 per injury accidents, $3,600per injured victim.…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Drunk Driving Statistics

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In a study conducted by MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving), during the years 1999 to 2008 there were a total of 2,050,132 impaired driving accidents. The total cost of these accidents was an estimated $205.3 billion. That is approximately $6,221 per Canadian. Broken down annually, the estimated cost to Canadians is $20.53 billion, or approximately $622 per person per year.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Firstly, the costs of accidents caused by impaired drivers are staggering. The deaths, injuries, and property damages of these accidents all present a substantial amount of cost to Canadians. In a study conducted by MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving), during the years 1999 to 2008 there were a total of 2,050,132 impaired driving accidents. The total cost of these accidents was an estimated $205.3 billion. That is approximately $6,221 per Canadian. Broken down annually, the estimated cost to Canadians is $20.53 billion, or approximately $622 per person per year.…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays