Red Light Special

Many folks, including myself, have opposed the conept of red-light cameras on ideological grounds. Now, another intuitive reason to be opposed to red-light camera has come true in Washington:

The District's red-light cameras have generated more than 500,000 violations and $32 million in fines over the past six years. City officials credit them with making busy roads safer.

But a Washington Post analysis of crash statistics shows that the number of accidents has gone up at intersections with the cameras. The increase is the same or worse than at traffic signals without the devices.

Three outside traffic specialists independently reviewed the data and said they were surprised by the results. Their conclusion: The cameras do not appear to be making any difference in preventing injuries or collisions.

"The data are very clear," said Dick Raub, a traffic consultant and a former senior researcher at Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety. "They are not performing any better than intersections without cameras."

More statistical data supporting a resonable conclusion that individuals can come to on their onw. How many of us have seen accidents causued by people slamming on their brakes to avoid getting a red-light ticket? How many of us have seen accidents caused by a reduction in the time a signal remains yellow?

Perhaps this will convince the County Council to leave the the camera unplugged.