Red Light Cameras: Lifesaver or Flawed Solution?

Motor vehicles that ran red lights injured a total of 113,000 people in 2009. Of those injuries 676 were fatal.

Of these fatal accidents, 46 percent were occupants of the other vehicle, 12 percent were passengers in the vehicle running the red light, 6 percent were pedestrians or cyclists and 36 percent were the drivers of the vehicle running the red light. In addition, 11 percent of people killed in red light running accidents were motorcyclists, 10 percent of those drivers were teenagers. 22 percent of drivers in fatal red light crashes were unlicensed and 25 percent had blood alcohol content over the legal limit of .08 percent.

This week, the Connecticut Legislature will consider a law regarding red light cameras. Basically, red light cameras are cameras that capture images of vehicles, including the license plate numbers, at intersections while the light in that direction is red. The result is that anybody who runs the light, makes an illegal right hand turn or performs some other traffic violation, will receive a ticket in the mail. The new law would not require towns to use red light cameras, but would give them the option
to do so.

As is the case with most controversial issues, there is strong support and opposition as it relates to the installation of red light cameras.

One side of the debate claims police cannot be everywhere at once. Certainty of enforcement is the only thing the cameras truly provide. It is obvious to almost any driver that red light violations will decrease if the certainty of enforcement is higher. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”) found that the occurrence of crashes, especially those that resulted in injury, dropped dramatically. In Oxnard, CA, where cameras were installed in 1997, a 29 percent reduction in accidents has been documented, including a 68 percent reduction in front-to-side accidents that resulted in injury. This was with only 11 of 125 intersections being equipped with cameras.

In another study, the IIHS compared statistics from fourteen cities that did not have cameras between 1992 and 1996, and then did have them from 2004 through 2008. The IIHS found that the combined per capita rate
of fatal red-light-crashes fell 35 percent. As fatal crash rates fell 14 percent across the
board over that time period, the IIHS estimates that a 24 percent decrease in fatal red light crashes can be associated with installation of red light cameras. The IIHS estimates that this saved 159 lives between 2004 and
2008.

The other side of the argument cites studies that have contradictory findings. The National Motorist Association found that many cities of differing sizes across the country had increased accidents at red-light-camera intersections. In Los Angeles, 20 of 32 such intersections saw increased accident rates, some tripling their accident rate. In Washington, D.C. accidents increased 107 percent, in Portland, OR by 140 percent, in Philadelphia by 10 to 21 percent. Smaller towns also saw increases including 83 percent in Fort Collins, CO, 14 to 30 percent in Corpus Christi, TX and even as high as 800 percent increase in rear end collisions in Oceanside, CA. Some cited statistics indicate the bulk of these accidents resulted in rear end collisions caused by a driver stopping suddenly to avoid going through a red light.

Currently, Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon,Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington allow the use of roadway cameras. The IIHS claims that two-thirds of the 89 percent of drivers that are aware of red light cameras favor their use.

Where do you stand? Do you support red light cameras and if so where and under what circumstances?

Richard P. Hastings is a Connecticut personal injury lawyer at Hastings, Cohan & Walsh, LLP, with offices throughout the state. A graduate of Fordham Law School, he has been named a New England Super Lawyer and is the author of the books: "The Crash Course on Child Injury Claims"; "The Crash Course on Personal Injury Claims in Connecticut" and "The Crash Course on Motorcycle Accidents." He has also co-authored the best selling book "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing- What Your Insurance Company Doesn't Want You to Know and Won't Tell You Until It's Too Late!" He can be reached at 1(888)CTLAW-00 or by visiting www.hcwlaw.com.