Red-Light Cameras Are Working In Amarillo

A few years ago several Texas cities jumped on the bandwagon and put up some red-light cameras. The cameras were viewed as a way to make dangerous intersections safer by letting the public know that they could get a ticket for running a red light even in the absence of an actual police officer. Since then it has become a hot political topic in the state. Two cities, Lubbock and Houston, installed the cameras but then took them down after only a short time. It makes me wonder if a few people with political power got ticketed.

But here in Amarillo the city commission stayed the course. They installed the red-light cameras in the five most dangerous intersections of the city, and never considered removing them. And it is working.  In the fiscal year that ended in September 2009 there were 69 accidents at those intersections. The following year the number of accidents had dropped to 41 -- a forty percent drop. That's a huge effect, and it can be directly contributed to the red-light cameras (because the number of accidents at intersections without the cameras remained constant for both years).

In addition, the cameras have brought in about $2.1 million since being installed in 2008. The money not going to pay for the cameras operation has gone to improve traffic safety and to fund regional emergency rooms and services (which is exactly what the city said they would do with the money).

To put it bluntly, the red-light cameras have been very successful in preventing accidents (which is why they were installed). And less accidents means less deaths and injuries. That's a very good thing. Maybe it's time to consider installing the cameras in other city intersections -- at least the really busy ones.

Red Light Cameras Save Lives

I have posted on red light cameras several times in the past. And as regular readers may remember, I've always been in favor of them. I think anything that can prevent people from running a red light is a good thing. And since it's just not cost effective to put a policeman at every dangerous intersection, the next best thing is a red light camera.

Here in Amarillo, we have five red light cameras in operation -- at five of the most dangerous intersections in the city. And it looks like they are beginning to have some effect. When they were first installed, about 1500 offenders were ticketed each month. That has now fallen to about 1000 a month. Hopefully, it will fall a lot further in the future.

Even better, it looks like these cameras are saving lives. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety did a survey between 2004 and 2008 of the few cities that have had the foresight to install red light cameras. They found that the cameras have saved at least 159 lives. They believe if every large city had the cameras over 815 lives could have been saved. That may not sound like a lot of deaths to some people, but if the person saved is someone close to you it makes it look a bit different.

I know that some people claim the cameras cause more rear-end collisions. Maybe they do, but I'd rather have someone bump my car from behind than T-bone it at high speed from the side -- killing me or causing serious injury. I can understand that people get upset when they get a ticket from one of these cameras, but I don't feel sorry for them. Stop at red lights and you'll never have to worry about that (and you could be saving a life).

Here in Texas, some cities have removed their red light cameras -- probably because someone politically powerful got caught running a red light. I think that's wrong. We should be installing more of the cameras -- not removing them.

Cell Phones And Driving Don't Mix

Finally, someone is speaking out on the danger of talking on a cell phone while driving, and asking that the practice be outlawed. I can't believe it has taken so long. All anyone has to do is drive around for a few hours in any American city, and they will see driver after driver doing incredibly stupid and dangerous things because their mind is on the phone conversation they are having, and not on their driving.

The woman who was driving the car pictured above was killed because some fool was too busy talking on a cell phone to pay attention to his driving. This woman is only one of many victims of cell phone driving. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there are 2,600 deaths and over 12,000 serious injuries every year that are caused by driver's talking on cell phones.

And those could be very conservative numbers. There are 270 million cell phone owners in the United States, and the NSC estimates that 80% talk on their phone while driving. Where's the outrage? Are we only outraged by the dangerous things that we don't do ourselves?

Some states are mandating that drivers use "hands free" devices while driving and talking on their cell phones, but that has little effect on the problem. As NSC's chief executive Janet Froetscher says, "It's not just what you're doing with your hands — it's that your head is in the conversation and so your eyes are not on the road."

After examining more than 50 scientific studies, the NSC has reached the conclusion that driving while talking on a cell phone (even hands free) makes the driver four times as likely to be involved in a traffic accident. That figure is comparable to driving while drunk!

We have made drunk driving a crime and continuously wage campaigns against it. But amazingly, most of us don't seem to be worried at all about the 216 million drivers who are every bit as dangerous as the drunk drivers. That strikes me as being very stupid.

If we're going to wage war against the drunk drivers (and I have no problem with that), shouldn't we also outlaw talking on a cell phone while driving, since they are just as dangerous?

The Governor's Highway Safety Association and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety both agree with the NSC that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous and based on the research should be banned.

How much more evidence is needed? How many more lives must be lost? Isn't it time to act?