Houston study lauds red light cameras despite uptick in accidents
We all know we shouldn't mess with Texas. And Houston, Texans shouldn't mess around with statistics, because the folks running the show are going to come to any conclusions they want no matter what the statistics say. This is the easy part: a study of red light cameras in the city shows that accidents have actually increased at intersections with the cameras. These are the parts that are open to interpretation: most intersections only have one camera looking at one (out of four) directions of traffic, but the accident rate went up for traffic in the other three unmonitored directions; and, in the one monitored direction, "accidents remained relatively flat or showed only a slight increase." What do you make of that?
Mayor Bill White and the study authors say the city in general is experiencing a swell in the number of collisions, and claim that collisions at the monitored intersections haven't risen as much as the wider municipal rate. Yet they have no data to back up an increase in citywide collisions, and no year-on-year accident data at intersections (let alone an explanation for the uptick). White said that a 40-percent year-on-year drop in red light citations in the month of October shows the program is working and keeping drivers more safe. Critics say that the program is nothing but a cash register for city government. The study's authors plan to study insurance industry findings to come up with more substantive conclusions.
[Source: Houston Chronicle]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
notYou 4:37PM (12/30/2008)
Who cares as long as the municipality is making more money?
I mean, if they _really_ cared about preventing accidents vis-a-vis red light runners, they'd take people to jail (even for a minimal amount of time, like an hour).
Then you'd see profit, err - whoops, red light running dry up real fast.
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notYou 4:39PM (12/30/2008)
My first, First!, FTW! (grin)
Jake 4:42PM (12/30/2008)
Sounds like the mayor is trying to cook the numbers and citing guesses rather than data as if that shores up his point. In the article a city councleman called BS on the mayor. Seems kind of like a stupid thing for the mayor to go spouting off about until he has some actual data to go with his statistics.
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Yar 4:59PM (12/30/2008)
I know that in Dallas on the intersection of Lovers and North Central Expressway there is only a camera on northbound North Central, but there is a "Warning Photo Enforced" sign on every side of the intersection, regardless of camera location. So, throw that in to the mix.
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dukeisduke 5:10PM (12/30/2008)
Yes, that's pretty common throughout the Dallas area (put the "PHOTO ENFORCED" signs up in all four directions). That could account for the uptick in accidents in unmonitored directions.
Today I encountered an intersection on Rowlett Road in Rowlett, that had cameras up for *both* directions of travel on Rowlett Road. Cha-ching!
Kaveman 5:00PM (12/30/2008)
Accidents are probably being caused by people looking up to see which way the camera is facing
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jinushaun 5:01PM (12/30/2008)
Of course there are more accidents, because everyone is too busy focusing on the cameras instead of driving!
Everyone knows red light camera are there to make money, not to make the intersection safer. If they really cared about safety, simply extend the period between red and green lights. People will always drive through yellows, but at least you'll significantly decrease the chances of having someone run a red when another light has turned green.
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dukeisduke 5:13PM (12/30/2008)
Yes, increasing the yellow time, and adding a one-second "cool-off" period (where lights are red in all directions) has been shown to decrease accidents.
GOT 5:58AM (12/31/2008)
I've also heard that increasing "yellow-light duration" decreases accidents significantly. And I've heard that the typical practice of the power-that-be are FIRST, install red-light-cameras and SECOND, shorten the "yellow-light time".
In my book this is pure, 100% corruption. They will increase the risk of their people while pretending to protect them and uphold the law, when in reality it's all done for the dollar. Yet nobody does anything about it, because they are made to feel guilty because, after all, the law was broken!!! We are being adversely taken advantage of and seriously dupped.
naggs 5:35PM (12/30/2008)
at some point we as citizens have a responsibility to shoot these things
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Mobius_1 5:57PM (12/30/2008)
There's an argument to keep guns legalised in the US and A. :)
jim 7:02PM (12/30/2008)
"at some point we as citizens have a responsibility to shoot these things"
I like how you think....LOL
Joce03 7:37PM (12/30/2008)
In England, they dynamite speed cameras : )
naggs 12:49AM (12/31/2008)
...thermite...
class01 6:15PM (12/30/2008)
im here in houston, the thing that bugs me the most about the cameras here is the pact that they do not have signs up to let you know there is a camera there. to me that is wrong. they should have the signs up on all sides of an intersection no matter where the cameras facing.
there is a lawsuit against the city of houston because the company that installed the cameras were not licensed. so hopefully they do away with this BS
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Polly Prissy Pants 6:20PM (12/30/2008)
If you live in Houston (or any municipality) and vote for this kind of slimey mayor then you better not let one frickin complaint about gov't abuse or corruption cross your lips. You're either part of the problem or part of the solution.
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JP 7:43PM (12/30/2008)
I live in Houston and Mayor Bill White is a great mayor. Except for this red light camera BS he has really changed Houston.
Rufus 11:49PM (12/30/2008)
As another Houstonian, I can say that, with this one exception, Bill White has been wonderful.
JeepDad 6:55PM (12/30/2008)
When I grow up I want to be a politician specializing in statistics, I'll have about as much accountability as a weather forecaster.
The fact of the matter is, the cameras increase the coffers. Until the general public wakes up and decides they're paying too much "taxes" and that there are better ways to do "public policy" than tax and spend, we'll continue to see more and more cities perch them atop stainless steel poles. We get what we vote for.
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notYou 9:51PM (12/30/2008)
JeepDad: When I grow up I want to be a politician specializing in statistics, I'll have about as much accountability as a weather forecaster.
You could have shortened that to: When I grow up I want to be a politician because they have no accountability!
I mean, what politician ever got fired for _anything_? Blago's still picking Senators for crying out loud.