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posted by martyb on Friday July 20 2018, @03:36AM   Printer-friendly
from the but-they-do-work-to-raise-ticket-income dept.

Phys.org:

Red-light cameras don't reduce the number of traffic accidents or injuries at intersections where the devices are installed, according a new analysis by Case Western Reserve University.

Touted by supporters as a way increase public safety by ticketing drivers who continue through red lights, the cameras actually shift traffic patterns: More drivers tend to brake harder and more abruptly, increasing fender-benders and other so-called "non-angle" collisions.

"Once drivers knew about the cameras, they appeared to accept a higher accident risk from slamming on their brakes at yellow lights to avoid an expensive traffic citation—thereby decreasing safety for themselves and other drivers," said Justin Gallagher, an assistant professor of economics at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve.

Accidents didn't decrease, only shift.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @05:16AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 21 2018, @05:16AM (#710280)

    In my city, it seems like the traffic lights are pretty well adjusted.

    The ones in the city just West of me though has the damndest lights. They turn green for no-one on side streets. Stay green for the longest time on little streets no one is much on, while blocking off major streets.

    I will go down a major four lane street at 3 AM and get stopped about every third light on little side-streets... for nobody!

    Its wear and tear for me, and air pollution from uselessly burned fuel.

  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Saturday July 21 2018, @07:07PM

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Saturday July 21 2018, @07:07PM (#710541) Journal

    It's politics. Count on it. The local businesses probably believe making travelers wait longer in front of their stores generates more business. Gas station owners want you to burn more gas, and local law enforcement is hoping to nail travelers with big fines for the thinnest of violations.

    Screwing travelers has been on the rise in recent decades. Lot of cities got on the bandwagon for imposing much higher sales tax rates specifically for motel rooms, rental cars, and anything else a traveler would be much more likely to need.

    It's not new. Screwing travelers has a long tradition dating back to before the robber barons of the Middle Ages. One of the chief things an empire did was remove most of the roadblocks, tolls, delays, and crap that the locals would use to fleece travelers. In modern times, a private road system arose in the early 20th century to serve travelers as badly as they could get away with. Some refused to post clear markers so travelers would get lost and have to burn more gas and time, and when signs were present, it was to direct them on roundabout routes. The AAA organized to fight back against those shenanigans by publishing maps and guides. And then the federal government stepped in and cleaned things up with the introduction of the numbered highway system in 1926. Today, just look at such things as cities fighting against the completion of an interstate highway within city limits. I have heard that Alexandria, LA delayed I49 as long as they could, mainly because one of the local politicians had an interest in a restaurant on the old highway.