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HOW TO HELP ELIMINATE
DANGERS ON THE ROAD
[ AND KEEP INTERSECTIONS SAFE ]
RED-LIGHT SAFETY
April, 2015
INTERSECTION SAFETY
Every day in the United States, people take to the streets with
their vehicles, their bicycles and their feet. Getting there and back
safely depends greatly on a driver’s skill, courtesy and respect for traffic
laws. When these safeguards break down or go ignored, tragedy can
follow. Nowhere in our daily city travels is the threat greater than when
a driver runs a red light. Communities across the country acknowledge
this danger as a public concern and are taking measures to prevent it.
When you’re talking about
an intersection crash, you’re
talking about one of the most
dangerous types of crashes
that can occur.
– Darrell DeBusk,
This overview provides facts and information about the dangers of
red-light running and how it affects communities, large and small. It
also illustrates how red-light safety cameras serve as a public safety
benefit best measured in lives saved and injuries prevented, while also
providing other services to the community.
Knoxville Police Spokesman
Knoxville, TN News Sentinel
June 16, 2014
”
The Danger of Running Red-Lights
On average, traffic crashes injure or kill four people every minute
in the United States. These events are especially dangerous at
intersections. In 2013, an estimated 412,000 crashes at signalized
intersections resulted in injury or death.1 Red-light runners alone
caused an estimated 129,000 injuries and 696 fatalities that year.
The red-light running T-bone or angle crash is one of the most
dangerous types of traffic collisions. The impact pits one vehicle’s
front-end against another vehicle’s more vulnerable passenger
compartment. Compounding the problem is the red-light runner is
typically accelerating through the intersection to beat the red light.
An average of 694 people died in red-light running
crashes each year, 59 died each month, and 2 each
day from 2009-2013.2
In addition to causing fatalities and injuries, these collisions have major
financial repercussions for the community, including medical costs and
property damage, and they contribute to traffic congestion and related
inconveniences by disrupting the flow of traffic.
A single fatal crash cost society $6 million in 2009
dollars, which included costs to victims, families,
government, insurers and taxpayers.3
People run red lights for a variety of reasons, such as speeding,
distractions (eating, texting and talking to passengers), or simply
because they assume it can be done without consequence. As children,
2
In 2013,
red-light running caused:
696 Fatalities2
4
129k
Injured
Expenses totaling
5
$22
Billion
2009 to 2013,
states with the most
red-light running fatalities:
#1 California
525 fatalities.6
#2 Texas
410 fatalities.6
#3 Florida
339 fatalities.6
INTERSECTION SAFETY
we understand that red means stop, yet as licensed drivers, many of us
ignore responsible behavior while behind the wheel in favor of beating
a red light. The harrowing aftermath of this reckless behavior in cities
and towns throughout the U.S. is chronicled on RanARedLight.us. Here,
daily news stories are posted as a public service tool to inform people
about the dangers of red-light running and their potential to change
lives in any community.
In 2012, more than half of the 683 red-light running
deaths were people other than the red-light runner.7
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has quantified
the lifesaving and injury preventing benefits of red-light safety cameras.
Its new online tool calculates the economic benefits a state may expect
when using red-light safety cameras alone or in combination with any
number of 11 other safety tools. As cameras help reduce fatal crashes
and injury collisions, medical costs, workplace costs, property damage
and other costs are reduced, providing an overall savings on a state
level. By including red-light cameras in its online tool targeted at state
decision-makers, the CDC recognizes the safety contributions cameras
offer to a state. The CDC’s Motor Vehicle Prioritizing Interventions and
Cost Calculator for States (MV PICCS) can be viewed at
http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/calculator/index.html.
The Red-Light Safety Camera Solution
Automated enforcement systems have become a commonly used tool
for reducing red-light running and enhancing a community’s police
force. A variety of systems and technologies exist and vary from vendor
to vendor as well as from state to state.
The AutoPatrolTM Red-Light Safety Camera Solution, provided by
American Traffic Solutions (ATS), is an example of intersection
safety automated enforcement and is comprised of a camera,
strobe, radar and computer system installed near the intersection.
The system captures images and video of vehicles that pass through
the intersection after the light has turned red. Authorities review
violations and approve citations. Typically, a 30-day grace period
in which violators receive warnings in the mail occurs prior to the start
date for citations, providing drivers with the opportunity to change
their behavior without getting fined.
What we’re seeing is a really
good change in behavior in
the motoring public. Again,
that points to the safety
benefits of these red-light
cameras.
– Chris Noeller
Pueblo Police Department Sergeant
The Pueblo-Chieftain (CO)
April 8, 2014
”
Intersection Safety
Improvements
49%
Decrease in fatal
red-light running
crashes.9
Statewide in Florida
31%
Decrease in
red-light running
pedestrian injuries.10
Statewide in New York
Red-Light Safety Cameras
Increase, Fatalities Decrease.11
600
1000
503 Communities
with Cameras
913 Fatalities
137%
INCREASE
696 Fatalities
24%
DECREASE
212 Communities with Cameras
Red-light safety cameras enhance public safety in much the same way
a police officer does when stationed at an intersection. When drivers
know they could be ticketed for running a red light, they will choose to
slow down and stop. As of Nov. 1, 2014, nearly 500 U.S. communities
were using red-light safety camera programs to enhance public safety.
3
100
100
0
2007
2013
Red-Light Running Fatalities
Communities wtih Red-Light Safety Cameras
INTERSECTION SAFETY
The number of cities using red-light safety cameras
increased 122% from 2007 to 2014.8
The Results
Since implementing red-light safety cameras, communities throughout
the U.S. have seen results such as significant reductions in red-light
running related collisions, deaths, injuries, expenses and inconveniences.
In most cases, once a driver gets a red-light running ticket, that person
does not get a second violation, which indicates a positive change in
driver behavior.
A 2011 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study of
large U.S. cities found red-light safety cameras reduce
fatal red-light running crashes by 24 percent.12
The decrease in red-light running fatalities from 768 in 2008 to 696 in
2013, amounts to a savings to society of more than $430 million for 72
fewer fatalities.13
Other Community Benefits
A portion of the revenue produced by paid red-light running violations
caught on camera is often used to fund important programs, primarily
benefiting medical research and law enforcement.
In Florida, $3 from every paid violation has provided
nearly $8 million to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis,
and $10 from each paid violation has provided more than
$23 million to 22 trauma centers.14
Road safety cameras are not only a powerful tool for encouraging safer
driver behavior, but they also help law enforcement solve a variety
of other crimes. Police are turning to video and still images taken by
road safety cameras to investigate hit-and-run collisions, assaults and
homicides. Across the country, authorities are using the technology
to supplement their investigations, just as they used the surveillance
cameras in chasing down the Boston Marathon bombers.
On average, police make 335 requests each month to American
Traffic Solutions for video footage and photographs from road
safety cameras. Authorities use the information to identify criminals,
vehicles and to track the whereabouts of suspects and missing persons.
4
Our cameras are placed based
on traffic crash data. That’s
what injures your family and
mine, and that’s what keeps
the roads safe. Our goal is
to reduce traffic crashes, not
generate money.
– Greg Brown
Colonel with the Hillsborough County
Sheriff’s Office, WTSP-TV CBS 10 (FL)
April 2, 2014
”
$96 million
from the Texas Red-Light
Safety Camera Program has
been collected for:
Uncompensated
Trauma Care16
EMS Providers16
Regional
Advisory
Councils16
TX Department
of State Health
Services17
INTERSECTION SAFETY
ATS has processed nearly 15,000 requests for videos
and stills since April 2011.15
After her car was stolen and involved in a hit-and-run collision that
sent a motorcyclist to the emergency room, a Tucson, Arizona, college
student found a clue to the crimes in her mailbox. She received a redlight running notice of violation with the photograph of a stranger
driving her car. Authorities are calling the driver a person of interest in
the case.18
In Surfside, Florida, police used video from a red-light safety camera
to identify the suspect in a rape case. The video showed the man
walking behind the woman shortly before the sexual assault took place.
Authorities made their arrest a week after the July 2, 2012 attack.19
Photographs of a suspect’s vehicle helped police in Florissant, Missouri,
solve a July 2008 incident that left a young woman shot and killed
during a street robbery.20
Scotland:
67%
in Glasgow
Canada:
22%
With cameras in place in Austria, the number of
people crossing junctions at a red light has decreased
significantly. In 2013, there were 4,500 fewer red-light
running violations than in 2012.21
Public Opinion
While there is no question that camera programs are sometimes
controversial, there is also a significant amount of public opinion
research that shows the majority of Americans support red-light safety
cameras. In poll after poll, most Americans favor the use of red-light
safety cameras as an enforcement tool to reduce dangerous crashes.
This support crosses demographic and regional lines and is particularly
strong in communities that have deployed red-light safety cameras.
5
Reduction in the
most severe type
of collisions.23
in Saskatoon
17%
Results Around the Globe
Red-light safety cameras were developed in the Netherlands in the
1960s. As the popularity of the systems has grown, so too has the
technology powering the cameras and the effectiveness of the traffic
safety programs they support.
Reduction in fatal
red-light running
collisions.22
Reduction in
collisions from
2000 to 2011.24
in Calgary
England:
18%
Reduction in
collisions from
across 254 sites.25
in a number of counties
87% of
Washington,
D.C., Motorists
support the continued use
of red-light safety cameras,
while only 13% oppose.26
INTERSECTION SAFETY
% of People Who Support
Red-Light Safety Cameras
Seattle
57%
Indiana
Michigan
79%
New York
76%
71%
ME
WA
VT
ND
MT
MN
NH
OR
ID
NY
WI
SD
MI
WY
NV
NE
UT
CA
IL
CO
KS
NJ
PA
IA
MD DE
OH
IN
WV
VA
KY
MO
MA
CT RI
NC
Pittsburgh
59%
Washington, D.C.
87%
TN
AZ
OK
SC
AR
NM
MS
AL
GA
LA
TX
FL
Mesa
76%
Texas
76%
Miami
60%
Baton Rouge
65%
We are really not trying to engage in ‘gotcha,’ and we’re really not trying to do this as a revenue-raising
exercise. And one thing that I say is if the drivers of New York slow down, obey the speed limit, and stop
running red lights – and the city collects no revenue – I’ll consider it a victory.
Polly Trottenberg
Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation
WCBS-TV CBS 2 (New York)
June 18, 2014
”
Sources
(133,000) in 2012 reported by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Red
light running Q and A: Why is Red Light Running a Problem? http://www.iihs.org/
iihs/topics/t/red-light-running/qanda
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “Traffic Safety Facts
2012.” Table 32. Page 78. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812032.pdf
2013 estimates based on applying 3% decrease in total intersection fatalities from
2012 to 2013 to the total intersection injuries (422,000) and fatalities (3,377) in
2012. Intersection fatality decrease source: NHTSA. Traffic Safety Facts Research
Note. 2013 Motor Vehicle Crashes: Overview. December 2014. http://www-nrd.
nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812101.pdf
1
2009-2013 report generated by NCSA, an office of NHTSA. Jan. 20, 2015. AAA
and Cambridge Systematics. “Crashes vs. Congestion – What’s the Cost to Society?”
November 2011. Total amounts reflect AAA’s 2009 cost of $6 million per fatality
and $126,000 per injury adjusted for inflation using:
www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm
5
6
Source: 2009-2013 report by National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA),
an office of NHTSA. Jan. 20, 2015.
2
2009-2013 report by NCSA, an office of NHTSA, Jan, 20, 2015.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website, Q&A Red Light Cameras “Why do
we need red light cameras?” Downloaded Oct. 28, 2014.
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/red-light-running/qanda
7
AAA and Cambridge Systematics. “Crashes vs. Congestion -- What’s the Cost to
Society?” November 2011.
http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011_AAA_
CrashvCongUpd.pdf
3
IIHS Status Report magazine. “Mind Those Traffic Lights.” Jan. 7, 2007. http://
www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4201.pdf
IIHS website:Red Light Running Q and A, How many communities use red light
cameras? http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/red-light-running/qanda. Downloaded
March 23, 2015.
8
2013 estimate based on applying 3% decrease (reported in first source) in total
intersection fatalities from 2012 to 2013 to the red-light running injury total
4
6
9
Sun Sentinel (Florida), Feb. 17, 2014, “Adam Tuton: Numbers show the truth—red
light cameras save lives”.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-02-17/news/fl-atcol-red-lightoped0217-20140217_1_red-light-cameras-fatal-red-light-camera-programs
18
KVOA-TV NBC 4 (Arizona), Aug. 12, 2014
“Red-Light Camera Provides Clue in Burglary, Hit-and-Run Case”.
http://www.kvoa.com/videos/red-light-camera-captures-stolen-car-but-who-sbehind-the-wheel-/
10
The New York Post, Feb. 19, 2014, “De Blasio’s solid plan to fight traffic deaths”.
http://nypost.com/2014/02/19/bill-de-blasios-solid-plan-to-fight-traffic-deaths/
19
IIHS Status Report magazine. “Mind Those Traffic Lights.” Jan. 7, 2007. http://
www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4201.pdf
IIHS website:Red Light Running Q and A, How many communities use red light
cameras?
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/red-light-running/qanda. Downloaded March 24,
2015. Fatality Data: 2009-2013 report (with 2001-2013 data) generated by NCSA,
an office of NHTSA. Jan. 20, 2015.
20
WSVN-TV Channel 7, Oct. 26, 2012, “Red-Light Camera Helps Catch Rapist”.
http://www.stoponredflorida.com/0/3920702/0/78226D78356/
KMOX Radio, 1120 AM, Sept. 7, 2011, “Red Light Cameras Focused on Hard-Core
Criminals”.
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2011/09/07/red-light-cameras-focused-on-hard-corecriminals/
11
Austrian Times, Sept. 26, 2013, “Clampdown on People Running Red Lights in
City.”
http://austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2013-09-26/49873/Clampdown%20
on%20people%20running%20red%20lights%20in%20city
21
IIHS. “Effects of red light camera enforcement on fatal crashes in large U.S.
cities.” 2011.
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/camera-enforcement-in-14-largecities-reduces-rate-of-fatal-red-light-running-crashes-by-24-percent
12
Traffic Technology Today, Oct. 14, 2009, “Red or dead…”.
http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/features.php?BlogID=320
22
The Star Phoenix (Canada), Sept. 16, 2013, “New Red-Light Cameras Coming”.
http://www2.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/local/story.
html?id=6654a033-8321-4dfe-a85f-0758f5c0b0bf
23
2008-2012 and 2009-2013 NCSA reports generated on Dec. 13, 2013 and
Jan. 20, 2015. AAA and Cambridge Systematics. “Crashes vs. Congestion -- What’s
the Cost to Society?” November 2011. Total amount reflect AAA’s 2009 cost of $6
million per fatality.
http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2011_AAA_
CrashvCongUpd.pdf
13
The Calgary Sun, Nov. 22, 2012, “Speed on Green and Red Light Cameras Bring
in $3.2 Million More than Expected”.
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/11/22/speed-on-green-and-red-light-camerasbring-in-32-million-more-than-expected
24
Florida Department of Revenue.
http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/distributions.html
14
15
Traffic Technology Today, Oct. 14, 2009, “Red or dead…”.
http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/features.php?BlogID=320
25
ATS data.
Public Opinion Survey, 2013, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/Red%20light%20running/bibliography/bytag
or http://www.pubfacts.com/detail/24471367/Survey-about-pedestrian-safetyand-attitudes-toward-automated-traffic-enforcement-in-Washington-D.C.
26
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. “Report on Use of General Revenue
Dedicated Accounts. 83rd Legislature, 2013.” Downloaded Nov. 13, 2014. Fund
5137.
http://www.texastransparency.org/State_Finance/Budget_Finance/Reports/
Use_of_General_Revenue_Dedicated/pdf/Use_of_Gen_Rev_Dedicated_
Funds_83rd_Leg.pdf
16
Texas Department of State Health Services. EMS and Trauma Systems Funding
Programs. Sept. 25, 2009. Downloaded Nov. 13, 2014.
https://www.google.com/l?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CFAQFjAH&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.
dshs.state.tx.us%2FWorkArea%2Flinkit.aspx%3FLinkIdentifier%3Did%26ItemID%3D54625&ei=0CJlVIL3Js-oogTeuYLACw&usg=AFQjCNHMPcxljfuQlBPDvzNFc7oS2V7x5w&bvm=bv.79400599,d.cGU
17
7