IIHS Red Light Camera Study "Not Credible"

The Newspaper
by The Newspaper

[Editor’s note: My take on the IIHS study’s shortcomings can be found here]

The public relations arm of the insurance industry yesterday released a report claiming red light cameras are popular in big cities. About 24 hours after Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) had begun spinning this study to media outlets, only a handful had run stories. Editors at one daily publication told TheNewspaper that they passed on writing about a claim they did not find credible.

The IIHS report’s primary conclusion was that 66 percent of drivers in fourteen major cities supported red light camera use, and only 28 percent opposed it. The group hired OpinionAmerica Inc to conduct polling from February 19 through March 29, 2011. The firm randomly dialed numbers until it reached 222 landline customers in each of the large cities with an active automated ticketing program. This process created a pool of respondents significantly older than the general population. Nearly 64 percent of the survey respondents were over the age of 51, although only 30 percent of the US population falls into that age range, according to US Census Bureau data. Only 5 percent surveyed were under the age of 30, whereas 21 percent of the driving-age US population is under 30.

The findings are at odds with the actual results of referendum votes where upset citizens successfully petitioned to place bans on photo enforcement onto the ballot. Instead of proving to be a “vocal minority,” these activists secured an actual majority in fifteen out of fifteen ballot contests. In Houston, Texas 53 percent voted against red light camera use in November 2010. IIHS claims the same city supported cameras by 57 percent.

Similarly, IIHS insists Santa Ana, California supported cameras by 54 percent. This claim is implausible considering 73 percent of voters in Anaheim, a bordering city of equal size, prohibited the city council from ever installing red light cameras. According to IIHS, Toledo, Ohio cameras had 58 percent support. This is unlikely considering five Ohio cities — Chillicothe, Heath, Cincinnati, Garfield Heights and Steubenville — all banned photo ticketing.

The study claimed Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland supported cameras by 78 and 67 percent respectively. The only city in the area to have a vote, Sykesville, Maryland, rejected cameras by 61 percent.

The study claimed Garland, Texas supported cameras by 66 percent, but three Texas cities — Baytown, Houston and College Station have terminated red light cameras.

Photo enforcement companies are currently working in Washington state to block initiative votes from even appearing on the ballot, a sign that the firms believe they would lose the vote. Last year, 71 percent of Mukilteo residents voted to ban cameras. A copy of the IIHS report is available in a 350k PDF file at the source link below.

Attitudes Toward Red Light Camera Enforcement (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 6/30/2011)

[Courtesy: Thenewspaper.com]

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  • Kendahl Kendahl on Jul 01, 2011

    So their sampling technique produced a sample that was significantly older than the general population. Reminds me of the telephone poll that predicted Dewey would win the 1948 presidential election instead of Truman.

  • CJinSD CJinSD on Jul 01, 2011

    Serious pollsters analyze their results and weight responses to reflect demographic compositions of the regions they're polling. Sometimes this is used deceptively, particularly when the demographic trait used to weight responses is something whimsical, like political party affiliation, and other times it is a metric of actual fact, like age or race. This poll was flawed. The referendums weren't stand-alone polls. They were on ballots with state and national elections. More Californians than not are learning the realities of red light cameras, which are used for revenue generation only, carry absurdly high fines, lead to shorter yellow light cycles and dangerous behavior at intersections, and the IIHS is pimping to raise more drivers' insurance rates.

    • SimonAlberta SimonAlberta on Jul 01, 2011

      I agree with your post but I'll just pick a few words out of your last paragraph to comment on; ".....lead to shorter yellow light cycles and dangerous behavior at intersections......" This is really the whole issue in a nutshell. I'm referring to "dangerous behavior" NOT the shorter yellow light cycles. Let me make this clear....it is human beings with selfish and poor driving attitudes and skills that are the problem. They can put cameras every 50 feet on every road on the planet and there will only be tickets issued and revenue generated when ignorant drivers transgress. And NO...I am not a perfect driver by any means and, furthermore, I don't particularly support red light cameras either but.... I am just trying to point out that the constant whining about traffic rules and enforcement is starting to get old. Don't speed, don't run red lights, no wuckin furries! We recently had a visitor to our city wrote in to our local rag all sarky and complaining that a camera van nailed him for speeding up on the #1 Hwy through here and what a "poor welcome to our city" it was and how he wouldn't be coming back. Needless to say the comments section was full of pleasant messages of farewell to the asshat. Again, I'm laboring the point I know, sorry, but too many people on the roads are just not willing to accept responsibility for their actions and they look for any excuse to justify themselves. OK, rant over and sorry for going a bit off topic but I guess I'm getting close to geezerhood now and I no longer think the road is just for MY convenience and I guess I want everyone to think the same. LOL....wait, was that a flying pig??? (An aside...Ford of Britain once had a model nicknamed "The Flying Pig"...anyone remember which model??) Oh, and Happy Canada Day all and 4th of July too!!

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