I know you’ve seen these inconspicuous
little buggers on top of stoplights, on street corners, and in your
nightmares. They record your movements through traffic with the
flicker of a flash, causing paranoia that could lead to a citation in the mail,
with a photo of you disregarding the law. A smile planted on your
face as you cruise through a stoplight is all the evidence they need.
Red light cameras are made to deter
running red lights. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety (IIHS), in 2007, almost 900 were killed and nearly 153,000 were injured
in crashes that involved red light running. About half of the deaths are
pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red light runners.
The IIHS has reported huge decreases in red light running in several cities in
which the cameras were used. Since they’re working, the cameras have
been installed in more major intersections.
Some drivers ask if this is an invasion of
privacy. Nope. Driving is a regulated activity on public
roads. When you receive a license, you must obey the laws of the
road, which contains nothing to prevent local governments from documenting
violators. According to an article appearing in the Atlanta Journal Constitution,
the city of Lilburn, GA issued about 1,500 citations in January 2008. The
citations dropped by 80 percent to around 300 in January 2009, after a new
Georgia law mandated a longer yellow light duration. The extra second on the
yellow light may have reduced the problem of red light running for the driver,
but it almost worked too well for the city. Red light cameras were no longer
issuing enough citations to keep them "profitable" and as a result,
Lilburn and four other cities in the same county suspended their red light
programs.
The red light camera system looks like
it’s here to stay, for mow. For more info on how they work, visit: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/red-light-camera1.htm
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