RED-LIGHT CAMERAS ARE A CASH COW, AND THAT'S ALL THEY ARE!

To LAPD and the LA city council, to all the other police departments and city councils that are using and touting red-light cameras, and to the red-light camera companies: When are you going to admit that you want those red-light cameras, not because you are concerned about accidents, death and injury, but because they are a lucrative cash cow for you?

TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS DECLINED AT HOUSTON INTERSECTIONS WITH RED-LIGHT CAMERAS AFTER TICKETING CEASED

Grits For Breakfast
May 13, 2011

After Houston voters rejected red-light cameras in a city-wide plebiscite, the camera operator predictably claimed that red-light violations increased at the intersections where cameras remained but ticketing ceased. So it's ironic, to say the least, to learn that auto accidents at those same intersections went down 16 percent overall in the months since voters shot them down. Makes you wonder about the statistics from the camera operator, huh?

Among the explanations given was that "unusually dry weather during recent months has made driving conditions safer." That's possibly true, but what does it tell us? That the weather is a much bigger factor in accidents than red-light cameras to the point that its effects swamp those of government enforcement efforts to ticket red-light runners.

The main reason people don't run red lights isn't fear of a ticket, it's self preservation and respect for the norms of the road. Sometimes when it rains, roads are slicker and more people might unintentionally skid through an intersection, but red-light cameras won't stop that; they only prevent intentional red-light running by drivers who see the camera and make a conscious decision not to run the light. If road conditions are the key factor, in other words, red-light cameras were a waste of time to begin with. Or, if it's true the cameras were the main factor influencing driver behavior, according to this data they were doing more harm than good, likely increasing the number of rear-end accidents as has been the case in numerous other cities.

In all, this is a telling outcome, and a satisfying coda to Houston's much-ballyhooed red-light camera debate.

In a followup story, the Chron reports that accidents in Houston citywide have declined 13% over the same period. The reasons offered are the weather and the economy. Fewer people with jobs means fewer people driving to work, poor people have less money for gas, etc.. Either way, it's clear there are factors affecting driver behavior much more than strict enforcement of traffic laws.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Grits for Breakfast is the private weblog and nom de plume of Scott Henson, a former journalist turned opposition researcher/political consultant, public policy researcher and blogger. ‘Welcome to Texas Justice: You Might Beat the Rap, But You Won’t Beat the Ride’ is its motto.