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CityNews: Red Light Cameras Reduce Deaths But Increase Collisions, U.S. Study Suggests

The installation of red light cameras at intersection is proving to be a good news-bad news scenario, according to a study out of the U.S.

The good news is that the number of fatalities is down in spots where the cameras are posted, snapping photos of drivers that plow through reds and fining those lawbreakers. Accidents causing serious injury or death dropped seven per cent the University of Florida study found.

The down side is, in order to avoid a ticket many motorists are slamming on their brakes at the last second when the light changes in order to avoid the penalty, and that's increasing the number of collisions. Crashes causing property damage were up a significant 18.5 per cent.

"I would rather have a fender-bender than a T-bone collision. The T-bone collisions or the side collisions in the middle of the intersections, those are the ones that kill and maim people, and those have had a dramatic reduction," argues City Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker. He's the Chair of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee.

University of Florida researchers studied the effects of the cameras, including statistics from six Ontario municipalities that use the devices, and have concluded that the program needs tweaking. The state is looking at introducing them but there are concerns about the high number of elderly drivers there.

In Ontario red light cameras can be found in Hamilton, Ottawa, Halton, Peel, Waterloo, and Toronto, where politicians argue the reduced number of deaths and injuries warrants their existence.

One commuter certainly agrees. "I don't think it's going to take every red light jumper out of the mix, but it will take some. It will take a few," he said from inside his car.

"The results have been fabulous," said De Baeremaeker. "We are protecting our family members and the people we love. We're causing less accidents on the road. The Florida study throws out these facts and figures but they're just completely wrong as far as the City of Toronto's concerned."

In Toronto, specifically, the number of fatal and injury crashes dropped by 18.2 per cent while property damage-only collisions rose by 4 per cent.

Not all pedestrians at Don Mills Rd. and Eglinton Ave., an intersection that has a red light camera, were convinced the cameras are a good deterrent to aggressive driving however.

"If you watch, within five minutes you'll see people taking these corners going right through the lights," said Brent Walcot. "At some intersections I don't think it makes a difference."