Surprise, accidents actually increased at locations where red light cameras were installed

Among a new study's findings: "After cameras were installed, total crashes increased. The reason for this increase is that in general—whether cameras are present or not—there are more rear-end crashes than red light running crashes." The study also suggested that "red light cameras should not be implemented without an intersection-specific study of the intersection’s crash patterns and geometric characteristics." The researchers concluded that "the study did not show a definitive safety benefit associated with camera installation." The results were not surprising, because a prior VDOT study, to which we linked in a February post, reported that rear-end crashes increased after cameras were installed.

Photo Monitoring for Red Lights

I was reading this post on the SW Virginia Blog about the possibility of the General Assembly passing another red light camera law. Coincidentally, I saw this February 8 article where Delegate Leo Wardrup dropped his appeal of a general district court conviction for running a red light and causing an accident. Interestingly, I saw that Mr. Wardrup on February 6 voted yea for HB1778 which permits the use of photo-monitoring systems to enforce traffic light signals (the bill passed the House). Unfortunate timing I guess.