Traffic Light Cameras: A “hidden tax levied on motorists”
About.com blogger Charles Montaldo has compiled some statistics and information that once again demonstrate the questionable effectiveness of red light cameras. His research demonstrates that red light cameras have a negligible effect on red light running, but instead increase minor vehicle accidents caused by hard braking in advance of the automatically enforced intersection. He also points out that the IIHS, the Insurance Industry’s research arm, is the leading source of statistics that support the use of red light cameras, and that red light cameras amount to nothing more than a push from the industry to trap drivers in higher premiums through increased crash and citation data.