Traffic Cameras Cause Serious Accidents

The Newspaper
by The Newspaper

Supporters of the use of photo enforcement around the country insist red light cameras and speed cameras are primarily designed to “save lives.” When faced with independent studies showing the overall number of accidents can actually increase where intersection cameras are installed ( view studies), supporters like Illinois state Senator John J. Millner (R-St. Charles) counter that the type of accidents caused by red light cameras is not worth worrying about. “This does save lives,” Millner said during a 2006 debate on expanding the use of red light cameras. “Will there be more rear-end accidents? Perhaps there may, but those typically aren’t life threatening. The T-bone accidents are. This saves lives.”

On Wednesday, a woman locked in the back of an Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) police car burned to death as a result of a rear end collision on Interstate 10 near Tucson. The Ford Crown Victoria models used by DPS are known to explode when struck from behind. Even though the cruiser was equipped with a special fire suppression system, it failed to prevent the fire. A similar sort of high-speed, rear end collision can happen on a freeway where speed cameras are used.

A preliminary examination of Scottsdale’s freeway camera program found a 54 percent increase in rear end collisions accompanied the 110,962 automated tickets issued in 2006. These accidents happened as motorists nearing the cameras panicked and braked suddenly to avoid receiving a citation. They were then struck from behind by motorists who failed to react in time to the unexpected maneuver.

A similar panic reaction caused a serious injury accident in Victorville, California, also on Wednesday. According to the Victorville Daily Press, a driver afraid of earning a $426 ticket slammed on the brakes during a yellow light at Bear Valley Road and Seventh Avenue. This driver stopped in time. The driver immediately behind also stopped in time after applying the brakes at full force. The third vehicle behind was driven by a woman who did not stop in time. Her minivan slammed the second vehicle into the first. The woman’s injuries were so serious that she had to be taken by helicopter to the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

In Singapore, The New Paper reports that a speed camera on Loyang Avenue near Pasir Ris Drive is causing accidents.

“When they realize the camera is there, they jam their brakes,” one resident explained to The New Paper.

That is precisely what caused a large truck carrying soil to lose control on May 2. The skidding vehicle slammed into the center divider and overturned. The driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

In the UK, a pair of sudden braking accidents caused by speed cameras were caught on a BBC news video ( watch video on YouTube, accident at the 1:56 mark).

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  • Carlisimo Carlisimo on Jun 07, 2009

    Not really; China executes government officials when it'll end a controversy and make the government look like it was on the right side. Where are the studies on fatalities at intersections with and without these cameras? We know minor accidents go up, but we've never offered an effective rebuttal to the assertion that red-light cameras reduce serious accidents. This thread isn't one either.

  • Jerome10 Jerome10 on Jun 08, 2009

    Good. That means North and Wells and North and Halsted in my hood will now be totally safe intersections since these cameras were installed last week. Now I can sleep soundly. Thank you Mayor Daley. I'm glad I'm safe from getting T Boned while I'm trying to avoid pothole after pothole in our shittyass roads. What do you even do with the $75 city sticker and outrageous parking tickets you rape your citizens with? Grrrr.....Great city. The politics ruin it.

  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
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