Red-light cameras at New Jersey intersections do indeed make most car drivers ‘see red’, but do the cameras make intersections safer as “Big Brother” proponents claim?
It turns out that the yellow lights are changing too quickly to red, according to a forensic video analysis of the red-light traffic cameras. Last year, the same issue was raised, leading to a temporary suspension of the program. It seems that many of the yellow lights are too short, some nearly a quarter of a second off time, which has led to illegal fining and ticketing of 30 percent of people receiving infractions.
Opponents of the red-light camera program say that governments are simply taking advantage of short-yellow lights intervals. However, government officials associated with the red-light cameras say that they are using the cameras for safety, and that the red-light cameras will be a solution to the running of red lights, which is a leading cause of motor vehicle crashes.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation performed an analysis on 24 intersections that have had red-light cameras in place for at least one year. It turns out that accidents actually increased from 577 to 582. In particular, rear-end collisions increased by 20 percent over the past year.
Evidently, people get nervous when there’s a yellow light at the intersection, because they are concerned about getting caught in an intersection in which a red-light camera could ticket them. So they make bad choices, such as stopping short, thus leading to the rear-end collision increase; or they speed up and take the light, but then get ticketed.
The good news? The study noted that the red-light cameras have decreased the amount of serious right-angle car crashes. Additionally, The Transportation Department study notes that over time, drivers do become familiar with driving under red-light camera supervision, and the number of tickets handed out then drops steeply.
There is push in the government to increase the length of time of yellow lights in New Jersey by one second to allow people more time to react at intersections. The jury is still out on this one.
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