Red-light-running is one of the most common factors in urban crashes and fatalities from them have risen in recent years. In 2016, more than 800 people died, an increase of 17 percent from 2012. One of the main reasons for the increase in the death toll is the decline in the number of programs in U.S. communities that use the automated technology to enforce the law.
“We know turning off cameras results in more crashes, injuries and deaths, so it’s important that camera programs succeed,” David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said in a statement.
As of July, 421 communities nationally had red light camera programs, down from 533 that had a program at any time during 2012. While new programs continue to be added, more were discontinued than were initiated, according to the institute. Commonly cited reasons for ending programs included a reduction in camera citations, financial issues, and community opposition.
The Insurance Institute recently completed an analysis of national fatality figures, which prompted it to partner with several other safety organizations to develop a checklist to help communities create and maintain successful programs.
“We developed the guidelines to help communities avoid the problems that have undermined programs in the past,” Harkey added. The checklist, which provides practical information and recommendations for planning, implementing and evaluating red light camera programs, including steps to help communities build and maintain public support, was released on Tuesday by the institute.
In announcing the release of the new guidelines, the organizations stressed that intersections are some of the most dangerous places on the nation’s roadways and that implementing automated enforcement technology properly can improve traffic safety and saves lives, as well as supplement law enforcement efforts.
Public opinion surveys, the institute noted, consistently show that people support red light camera enforcement, but when programs are poorly run, or are thought to be focused on generating revenue rather than on preventing crashes, support erodes.
Research in 2016 by the Insurance Institute indicated that ending camera programs increased fatal crash rates. The study compared crash rates in 14 cities that shuttered camera programs from 2010 to 2014 with those in 29 regionally matched cities that continued their programs. The fatal crash rate was 30 percent higher in cities that turned off cameras than it would have been if the cameras remained on, according to the analysis, which found that the rate of all fatal crashes at signalized intersections was 16 percent higher.
“As states and cities consider ways to reduce motor vehicle crash deaths and injuries,” Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said in a statement, “the new red light camera checklist will be a vital tool to reinvigorate waning programs, restart discontinued programs and revolutionize new successful programs.”