Are Red Light Cameras Legal

Red-Light Camera Traffic Enforcement

Past Anne Teigen | Vol . 24, No. 46 / December 2016

Did yous know?

• Communities in 23 states and the District of Columbia use red-low-cal cameras for traffic enforcement.
• Co-ordinate to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, motorists running scarlet lights caused 171,000 traffic crashes in 2014.
• Some states require or encourage red-light cameras, while other prohibit them.

Running a carmine light is a dangerous yet common violation fabricated past drivers. Co-ordinate to the Insurance Constitute for Highway Safety (IIHS), in 2014, red-lite running caused 171,000 traffic crashes nationwide, which led to approximately 126,000 injuries and 709 deaths. Data shows that more than 50 percent of the fatalities were bicyclists, pedestrians and occupants in the vehicle that did not run the scarlet light.

Recognizing that right-angle, or "t-bone," crashes at signalized intersections are dangerous and prevalent, and that police force-enforcement resources are express, approximately 430 communities around the country employ red-light cameras to have pictures of violators and send them a ticket. Ideal red-calorie-free photographic camera programs increase the odds that red-calorie-free runners are held accountable, discourage would-be violators by publicizing the programs, and focus on rubber outcomes rather than increasing revenue.

Studies from IIHS show that scarlet-low-cal cameras reduce fatal scarlet-light crashes by about 21 per centum. Additionally, a 2016 IIHS report showed that removing crimson-lite cameras from intersections actually toll lives. Researchers compared trends in annual crash rates in 14 cities that had ended their photographic camera programs with those in 29 cities in the same regions that continued their programs. They found that, subsequently adjusting for other factors, carmine-light-running crashes increased past 30 percent at intersections where cameras were removed. The report estimated that 63 deaths would have been prevented in the xiv cities if they had not turned off their cameras. Some studies have noted that blood-red-light cameras may increase rear-finish crashes; however, overall they tend to pb to a decrease in the number and severity of crashes.

Politically, reddish-calorie-free cameras remain controversial. Opponents of the programs point to recent bribery-for-contract scandals in Chicago and Florida to argue they are corrupt and designed to bring in acquirement to cash-strapped cities. While even so being launched in some places, the total number of communities with red-light cameras fell to 430 in 2016, from a peak of 533 in 2012.

State Action

Metropolis and local governments in 23 states and the Commune of Columbia use red-light cameras. In most cases, state legislatures have passed enabling statutes with specific provisions to allow local governments to develop blood-red-light camera programs. In some states, similar Iowa and Missouri, no country law exists, just local communities have called to develop programs.

On the flip side, seven states—Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia—accept statutes prohibiting using carmine-low-cal cameras to event citations to motorists. Nevada and Ohio effectively prohibit ruddy-lite camera programs because their laws crave law-enforcement personnel to exist present if cameras are used.

In recent years, state legislation aims to brand red-calorie-free-photographic camera programs more transparent and to place the focus on safety. Some states, like Pennsylvania and Texas, specifically require in statute that whatever revenue generated in excess of what information technology costs to run the program must go to trauma care centers or other traffic safe programs.

California passed legislation in 2012 to require signs posted within 200 feet of intersections to warn motorists that the constabulary prohibits authorities agencies from taking acquirement generation into business relationship when they consider installing red-light cameras. In 2016, Louisiana passed a like law, requiring posted signs within 500 feet of the red-light camera. Virginia requires a yellowish-light signal length of at least three seconds at all intersections with blood-red-light cameras and gives motorists who receive tickets the right to appeal to a circuit court. Tennessee at present requires a disclaimer on all red-light citations stating that not-payment cannot adversely impact the driver's credit score or written report, driver'southward license, and/or auto insurance rates.

Federal Action

Automatic enforcement­­­—using cameras to enforce traffic safe laws­­­—is discussed in Title 23, Sections 148 and 402, of the United States Lawmaking as amended by the v-year, $305 billion Fixing America'due south Surface Transportation Act (FAST Human activity). Start, the legislation prohibits states from using federal funds from the Highway Prophylactic Comeback Programme and the Highway Safe Grant Program to purchase, operate or maintain automated traffic-enforcement cameras, except for those located in school zones. Second, states with automated-enforcement systems are required to conduct a biennial survey. It must include a list of automatic-enforcement systems in the land; information to measure transparency, accountability and safety; and a comparing of their systems to earlier Section of Transportation guidelines on automated red-light-running enforcement programs. These requirements will become into effect in fiscal twelvemonth 2018.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an innovative web tool for state policymakers called "Motor Vehicle Prioritizing Interventions and Cost Figurer for States" (MV PICCS). It reviews the costs and benefits of different statewide traffic safety interventions, allowing the user to select countermeasures like installing scarlet-light cameras. The tool also calculates the expected number and monetized value of injuries prevented and lives saved by instituting that countermeasure. The tool can adjust to state-specific data, assess the potential acquirement to the state from fines and fees, and analyze a combination of policies to find the most toll-effective way to spend limited dollars on traffic safety.

PDF Version

Source: https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/red-light-camera-traffic-enforcement.aspx

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