Chattanooga Red Light Cameras A Flop (But Not Financially)

The Newspaper
by The Newspaper

Since their installation in December 2007, red light cameras in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have failed to decrease the number of collisions at the locations where they are used. The UK-owned firm LaserCraft operates automated ticketing machines at six city intersections, splitting the revenue generated with the city. Officials claim the two primary objectives of the program are saving lives and decreasing the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities caused by speeding and red light running. Instead of a decrease, the total number of accidents at these locations increased six percent from 143 to 152, according to the city’s own data. At most of the locations, there was little or no change in accident frequency following the installation of cameras. The only significant change was seen at Fourth Avenue and East 23rd Street where ten accidents in 2007 jumped sixty percent to sixteen in 2008.


A report issued by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research in September likewise found no demonstrable benefit to camera use after a preliminary review of accident data from a number of cities, including Chattanooga ( view report). The report cited a note of caution from the work of engineer Dale Gedcke when reviewing such accident reports.

“First, the number of accidents reported before and after red light camera installation is so small that the statistical uncertainty in those numbers obscures any trend,” the report stated. “Second, there are so many confounding variables (weather, day of the week, traffic flow, construction projects, etc.), that it is extremely difficult to extract the true effect of red light cameras without removing the effect of those confounding variables.”

The Tennessee Center for Policy Research suggested that, since photo enforcement has failed to prove effective, a far better alternative to the use of red light cameras would be to lengthen yellow intervals at intersections with a high number of accidents. A state law that took effect in January in Georgia mandated an extra second of yellow at red light camera intersections. As a result, violations dropped up to eighty percent in compliant cities, enough that officials in seven cities are looking to drop the use of cameras entirely.

Instead of longer yellows, however, Chattanooga was caught in March 2008 with shortened warning periods at at least one location. A municipal court judge ordered the refund of 176 red light camera tickets issued at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Pine Street because the yellow was illegally short.

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  • Vento97 Vento97 on Apr 29, 2009
    Side-impact collisions are usually worse than rear-enders. If the former go down and the latter go up, it may still be worth it. (This message sponsored by the Insurance industry...)
  • Morrisonla Morrisonla on May 08, 2009

    We are no longer at the point where these cameras are encouraging safety, we are to the point at which the city wonders how much revenue they can bring in, by adding. Sure, I am completely against them, because in order to appeal the ticket you have to go through so much work, just for them to say you still have to pay it. I feel as though if the police does not catch you running the light, well, their loss. There are many things that go on in today’s society that The thing that makes me mad, is that what if one of my parents decides to drive my car to the grocery store and in doing that, they make a poor choice, run a red light… who gets the ticket? … ME! That is ridiculous, just because it is MY car. I don’t think so. I think these cameras should be monitored, and then a police officer should be watching the screen from a distance, watch the person run the light, or do whatever illegal action they do, and pull them over. Someone is more likely to accept a ticket from a human than from a computer. Red light cameras are a good idea but a horrible concept. They are money makers. Watch this news video, newsy.com has where it is said the city of Atlanta made 1.3 million dollar off of ONE intersection camera… http://www.newsy.com/videos/red_light_revenue/ http://www.pressleypress.com/blog/?p=310&cpage=1#comment-528

  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
  • EBFlex The best gift would have been a huge bonfire of all the fak mustangs in inventory and shutting down the factory that makes them.Heck, nobody would even have to risk life and limb starting the fire, just park em close together and wait for the super environmentally friendly EV fire to commence.
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