Revenue or Safety?
While the effectiveness of photo enforcement is questionable, one thing that is undeniable is the amount of cash they generate. Many municipalities generate thousands and sometimes millions from these machines, the party that always wins is the camera vendor. Below is evidence that we have found that photo enforcement really is all about the money.
Washington Deploys Work Zone Cams Despite No Worker Fatalities
Apr. 27, 2009 TheNewspaper.com - ArticleExcerpt:
"The men and women who work on our state and local highways are often working in and near traffic, and we want everyone to go home to their loved ones at the end of their work day," WSDOT Secretary Paula Hammond said in a statement.
According to WSDOT's own statistics, however, they do go home safely each night. Ninety-nine percent of "work zone" accidents in the state only affect drivers and their passengers, not workers. Washington's findings mirror those of national statistics that show automobiles pose far less of a danger to highway workers and that the latter are most frequently killed while operating their own equipment. Even so, no highway worker has died on the job in Washington in the past seven years.
"Pedestrians, flaggers and roadway workers account for only one percent of these injuries or fatalities," the WSDOT website admits. "Most deaths and injuries in work zones are caused by rear-end collisions."
Cities Upset That Increasing Yellow Light Time Length Reduces 'Revenue'
Mar. 24, 2009 TechDirt.com - ArticleWith the news that Mississippi has passed a law banning traffic light cameras because it's an invasion of privacy, it's worth looking a bit to the east, where some cities in Georgia are taking down their red light cameras not because of privacy issues, but because a new law required them to increase the length of time that a light is yellow by one second -- and that's decreased red light violations so significantly, that red light cameras have become "too expensive". This is what critics of red light cameras have said from the beginning: it's always been about the revenue, rather than the safety. If you want safety, all you need to do is increase the length of yellow lights, and you have fewer people running red lights and significantly fewer accidents. But... if revenue is your goal, then you do things like decrease the yellow light timing -- which is what a few cities have been caught doing.
Garfield Heights Mayor Thomas Longo looks at traffic cameras for money to fix budget deficit
Mar. 28, 2009 Cleveland.com - ArticleArticle Excerpt:
Longo said the cameras will improve traffic safety, but he conceded that money prompted the proposal.
"You really don't want to say we did it for finances, but really we are," he said.
The traffic cameras have generated money from fines everywhere they are used, he said.
California: City May Dump Cameras Over Insufficient Revenue
Mar. 6, 2009 TheNewspaper.com - ArticleExcerpt:
The Upland, California City Council is expected to vote Monday to stop using red light cameras because the program has not only failed to improve safety, it has also failed to generate sufficient revenue. In a memorandum to the city council, Upland Police Chief Steve Adams recommended canceling the city's contract with Redflex Traffic Systems, the Australian company that has been issuing tickets on Upland's behalf since November 2003.
"The monthly revenue from the service has not covered the salary and benefits of those who review and issue potential violations," Adams wrote. "Redflex also desires to eliminate an $8,900 credit per month, which has allowed the system to remain financially neutral at best."
Upland's problem began in 2001 when the company that is now doing business as ACS was caught manipulating pavement sensors in a way that boosted the number of tickets issued in San Diego. At the time, the vendor was being given a monetary award for each red light citation the company generated. The state legislature responded to the scandal with a law banning compensation of the private company operating red light camera programs "based on the number of citations generated, or as a percentage of the revenue generated." To avoid upsetting local governments, contracts signed prior to January 2004, like Upland's, were grandfathered. The law only applied to new contracts.
Virginia: How Shortened Yellow Yielded Greater Profit
Jan. 8, 2009 TheNewspaper.com - ArticleVDOT decided to increase the yellow timing from 4.0 back to 5.5 seconds. The impact was immediate and dramatic. Average monthly violations dropped from 250 to between 20 and 30 per month -- a 90 percent decrease.
6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit
Mar. 26, 2008 National Motorists Association - ArticleShort yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection.
Some local governments have ignored the safety benefit of increasing the yellow light time and decided to install red-light cameras, shorten the yellow light duration, and collect the profits instead.