Are Missouri Cities Putting Up Red Light Camera's To Make Extra Money?
Red-light cameras are put up to take a picture of a car’s license plate if the driver runs a red light. These cameras are popping up in Missouri cities like wildfire as officials theorize that if drivers know they’re being watched, they’ll be less likely to run the lights. Most municipalities point to research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claiming that red-light cameras improve motorist safety. But do they work? Or is it just another way for struggling municipalities to make more money from Missouri traffic tickets?
A recent study at the University of South Florida concludes that red-light cameras significantly increase auto accidents. “Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections,” said lead author Barbara Langland-Orban, professor and chair of health policy and management at the USF College of Public Health. The report cites other major research projects including comprehensive studies from North Carolina, Virginia, and Ontario, all of which reported cameras are significantly associated with increases in auto accidents, as well as accidents involving injuries. A study by the Virginia Transportation Research Council also found that cameras were linked to increased crash costs.
The project also concluded that other studies claiming that red-light cameras reduced the frequency of crashes or injuries contained major “research design flaws,” such as incomplete data or inadequate analyses, and were conducted by researchers with links to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS, funded by automobile insurance companies, is the leading advocate for red-light cameras.
Langland-Orban also cites a 2001 paper by the Office of the Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives, reporting that red-light cameras are “a hidden tax levied on motorists.” The report concluded cameras are associated with increased crashes, the timings at yellow lights are often set too short to increase tickets for red-light running, and most research concluding cameras are effective was conducted by one researcher from the IIHS. Since then, studies independent of the automobile insurance industry continue to find cameras are associated with large increases in auto collisions.
In fact, Union City, CA, Dallas and Lubbock, TX, Nashville and Chattanooga, TN, and Springfield, MO, have all been found guilty of shortening the yellow light cycles below what is allowed by law on intersections equipped with red-light cameras. Those local governments appear to be more interested in collecting ticket revenue than increasing motorist safety.
As an experienced Missouri auto accident lawyer, it is my hope that our local red-light camera systems are focusing on motorist safety and not money. Running a red light is a serious issue, and is an example of reckless driving, which is a form of negligence that can lead to serious injury and even wrongful death of innocent people. After reading these studies it appears that lengthening yellow lights, whether coupled with red-light cameras or not, would be much more effective at reducing the occurrence of Missouri auto accidents around red lights.
