I
know you’ve seen these inconspicuous little buggers on top of stoplights, on
street corners, and in your nightmares. They record your movements
through traffic with the flicker of a flash, causing paranoia that could lead
to a citation in the mail, with a photo of you disregarding the
law. A smile planted on your face as you cruise through a stoplight
is all the evidence they need.
Red
light cameras are made to deter running red lights. According to the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in 2007, almost 900 were killed
and nearly 153,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running.
About half of the deaths are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who
are hit by the red light runners. The IIHS has reported huge decreases in red
light running in several cities in which the cameras were
used. Since they’re working, the cameras have been installed in more
major intersections.
Some
drivers ask if this is an invasion of privacy. Nope. Driving is
a regulated activity on public roads. When you receive a license,
you must obey the laws of the road, which contains nothing to prevent local
governments from documenting violators. According to an article
appearing in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the city of Lilburn, GA issued
about 1,500 citations in January 2008. The citations dropped by 80 percent to
around 300 in January 2009, after a new Georgia law mandated a longer yellow
light duration. The extra second on the yellow light may have reduced the
problem of red light running for the driver, but it almost worked too well for
the city. Red light cameras were no longer issuing enough citations to keep
them "profitable" and as a result, Lilburn and four other cities in
the same county suspended their red light programs.
The
red light camera system looks like it’s here to stay, for mow. For
more info on how they work, visit: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/red-light-camera1.htm
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