Red light cameras are popular and influential in the regulation of traffic law control. In the United States, each year 260,000 crashes and 750 of the crashes that are fatal result from a red light run. Depending on what side you stand on, red light cameras are up for debate.
Many people feel that traffic cameras provide a means for local government and big corporations to make profitable gains off taxpayers.
Privacy concerns alarm taxpayers as to the use of red light cameras. Again, the common issue is money. Then there is the topic of safety using the red light cameras. Red light cameras assist with the decrease in traffic related accidents, speeders, and reducing the amount of red-light runners.
Red Light Camera are Here to Stay in Solana Beach, California
Solana Beach stands firm in not dropping the red light cameras as opposed to many other cities in California. Without the inference of public opinion, San Diego’s city council unanimously voted to renew its contract with Redflex Traffic Systems for photo ticketing. Experts of Safer Streets LA, studying the case noted that the contract is of no merit concerning safety and wasteful financially.
Furthermore, while collecting information in Solana Beach, experts say where cameras where installed at locations that previously had no red light collision issues are not effective. To add to the problem, an issuance of over 25,000 tickets, despite after ten years of traffic safety in the area. Jay Beeber, an executive director of Safer Streets LA, found that rear end collisions increased at red light camera intersections but did not reduce any motor accidents at locations that are either photo enforced or citywide.
Photo Enforced Violations are Extremely Expensive
The apparent price difference between neighboring counties creates a bigger uproar with the decision to renew the contract. Del Mar pays $1578 monthly and Solana Beach pays $2386 an alarming 51% more, which cause reason to question the effectiveness of the red light cameras.
A common cause of more than half of the $500 tickets that Redflex issues in Solana Beach are from drivers who make rolling turns. The violations come from drivers who are turning right on red at the popular intersection of Solana Hills Drive and Lomas Santa Fe Drive but rarely an accident occurs. In fact, Beeber’s additional studies show that not one accident has happened since 2001.
The Australian owned company, caught in a scandal of bribing public officials in Chicago, Illinois, and Ohio, including California led to the cancellation of business relationships with municipalities around the country. Then laws passed in Orange and Laguna Niguel in 2011 banned red light cameras. Newport Beach, Anaheim, Murrieta also joined to vote to ban red light cameras at the ballot.
The following cities have let go of red light cameras and no longer use them as regulating traffic control are:
- Belmont
- Bell Gardens
- Berkeley
- Burlingame
- Cerritos
- Compton
- Corona
- Costa Mesa
- Cupertino
- El Cajon
- Davis
- El Monte
- Escondido
- Emeryville
- Fairfield
- Fresno
- Fullerton
- Gardena
- Glendale
- Grand Terrace
- Hayward
- Highland
- Indian Wells
- Irvine
- Laguna Woods
- Lancaster
- Loma Linda
- Los Angeles
- Long Beach
- Marysville
- Maywood
- Montclair
- Moreno Valley
- Napa, Oakland
- Paramount
- Pasadena
- Poway
- Rancho Cucamonga
- Redlands
- Redwood City
- Rocklin
- Roseville
- Rowland Heights
- San Bernardino
- San Carlos
- San Diego
- San Jose (photo radar are still present)
- San Juan Capistrano
- Santa Fe Springs
- Santa Maria
- Santa Rosa
- South Gate
- Stockton
- Union City
- Vista Upland
- Walnut
- Whittier
- Yuba City
- Yucaipa
Strategic enforcement is the best way to get drivers to comply with the law. However, it does take man-hours to bring that under control. Overall, many may see strengths in red light cameras by accurate decrease in yellow light times.
Technology allows us to forecast predictable driving behavior. Red light cameras reduce man-hours and reduce greater fatalities in large cities with traffic problems such as California. Implementing red light cameras at focused locations assist in making our communities safer.