Recently, several red light cameras have been installed in the area. The police claim that their purpose is to prevent accidents and save lives, but most folks suspect the real reason is to generate revenue. A recent news article supports that premise.
CBS news in Los Angeles made a study of accidents at intersections where red light cameras were installed. The police claim a 34% reduction in accidents. But unlike the police statistics, which just counted accidents from people running red lights, CBS included ALL accidents, including rear end collisions when a driver tried to stop to avoid the camera generated ticket.
In analyzing the accidents at 32 intersections and comparing a period of 6 months before cameras to the 6 months after camera installation, they found that accidents actually increased at 20 of those intersections. For 3 intersections, the number of accidents remained the same. It was only 9 intersections that showed a decrease. In fact, at three intersections, the number of accidents tripled during the study period.
If you are going to LA soon, you might want to avoid the intersections on this map.
By the way, the cameras generated $4 million for the city. Most contracts for red light cameras involve a third party contractor who installs and maintains the cameras for a cut of the action. What is unknown is how much the contractor made from the cameras.
I wonder how long it will be before someone tries to use the argument that the cameras were the cause of his accident and injuries, especially if he was rear ended by the car behind? Morris Bart, are you paying attention?
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