Traffic Cameras Mean More Rear-Enders

Tort Law

Posted Oct 29, 2007, 10:33 am CST
By Martha Neil

Just as authorities thought they would, traffic cameras encourage motorists to put on the brakes rather than speed through intersections on red lights.

But, in an unintended consequence, they also significantly increase the number of rear-end accidents, reports the Miami Herald. As some motorists slam on the brakes, fearful of being ticketed in a borderline situation, others, not expecting the sudden stop, don't follow suit quickly enough, the newspaper explains. Thus, a study by the Federal Highway Administration and the Virginia Department documented a 12 percent increase in rear-enders at Northern Virginia intersections where cameras enforced red-light violations.

Although proponents of cameras contend the number of such accidents decreases as motorists become used to this new enforcement technology, the study says that isn't so. Meanwhile, simply extending the time that the traffic light stays yellow helps reduce violations and accidents. However, that solution isn't necessarily popular with towns that see red-light tickets as a revenue source, the Herald says.

Ironically, the safety issue has pitted some towns in Florida, which like the concept of installing cameras at intersections, against the state Department of Transportation, which doesn't. As a result, state-controlled intersections with more serious problems may lack cameras while locally controlled intersections with relatively minimal red-light issues are camera-equipped.

And that may not be good news for motorists, according to Debora Rivera, a DOT traffic operations engineer in the region that includes Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. ''Look, the evidence is mixed—at best—as it relates to total crash rate reduction,'' she says. "And it's generally agreed that rear-end crashes increase with these devices.''

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