This Safety Camera Uses AI To Make You A Better Driver
Nelson Suggs
Red light safety cameras are an effective way to discourage red light running. Enforcement is the best way to get people to comply with any law, but it's impossible for police to be at every intersection. Cameras can fill the void. An IIHS study found that cameras reduced the fatal red light running crash rate of large cities by 21 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 14 percent.
Cameras don't violate privacy. Driving is a regulated activity, and people who obtain licenses are agreeing to abide by certain rules. Red light safety cameras are a way to catch people who break those rules, just like traditional enforcement.
A study conducted during several months at five busy intersections in Fairfax, Va., prior to the use of red light safety cameras, found that, on average, a motorist ran a red light every 20 minutes at each intersection (Retting et al., 1999). During peak travel times, red light running was more frequent.
Adjusting yellow signal time alone may not be enough. An IIHS study conducted in Philadelphia evaluated effects on red light running of first lengthening yellow signal timing by about a second and then introducing red light safety cameras (Retting et al., 2008). While the longer yellow reduced red light violations by 36 percent, adding camera enforcement further cut red light running by another 96 percent.
Red light safety cameras automatically photograph vehicles that go through red lights. The cameras are connected to the traffic signal and to sensors that monitor traffic flow just before the crosswalk or stop line. The system continuously monitors the traffic signal, and the camera captures any vehicle that doesn't stop during the red phase. Many programs provide motorists with grace periods of up to half a second after the light switches to red.
In most states, camera citations are treated as civil offenses rather than moving violations. This means that there are no driver license points assessed and no insurance implications. In some states, the law specifically prohibits insurers from considering camera citations in determining premiums or renewals. In a few states (Arizona, California, Oregon) red light safety camera citations are treated the same as citations issued by police officers doing traffic enforcement.
In some jurisdictions, state law makes the vehicle owner responsible for the ticket by establishing a presumption that the registered owner is the vehicle driver at the time of offense. This type of legislation provides a mechanism for vehicle owners to inform authorities if someone else was driving.
Another option is to treat violations captured by red light safety cameras as the equivalent of parking tickets. If, as in New York, camera violations are treated like parking citations, the law can make registered vehicle owners responsible without regard to who was driving at the time of the offense.
A series of IIHS studies in different communities found that red light violations are reduced significantly with cameras. Institute studies in Oxnard, California, and Fairfax, Virginia, reported reductions in red light violation rates of about 40 percent after the introduction of red light safety cameras (Retting et al., 1999; Retting et al., 1999). In addition to the decrease in red light running at camera-equipped sites, the effect carried over to nearby signalized intersections not equipped with cameras.
When it comes to crash reductions, an IIHS study comparing large cities with red light safety cameras to those without found the devices reduced the fatal red light running crash rate by 21 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 14 percent (Hu & Cicchino, 2017).
The Cochrane Collaboration, an international public health organization, reviewed 10 controlled before-after studies of red light safety camera effectiveness (Aeron-Thomas & Hess, 2005). Based on the most rigorous studies, there was an estimated 13-29 percent reduction in all types of injury crashes and a 24 percent reduction in right-angle injury crashes.
Some studies have reported that while red light safety cameras reduce front-into-side collisions and overall injury crashes, they can increase rear-end crashes. However, such crashes tend to be much less severe than front-into-side crashes, so the net effect is positive.
A study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration evaluated red light safety camera programs in seven cities (Council et al., 2005). It found that, overall, right-angle crashes decreased by 25 percent while rear-end collisions increased by 15 percent. Results showed a positive aggregate economic benefit of more than $18.5 million in the seven communities.
An IIHS study compared large cities that turned off red light safety cameras with those with continuous camera programs. In 14 cities that shut down their programs during 2010-14, the fatal red light running crash rate was 30 percent higher than would have been expected if they had left the cameras on. The rate of fatal crashes at signalized intersections was 16 percent higher (Hu & Cicchino, 2017).
A study in Houston, which turned off red light safety cameras in 2011, found that the camera deactivation was associated with a 23 percent increase in right-angle red light running crashes at the intersections that previously had cameras (Ko et al., 2017).
The first camera program was implemented in 1992 in New York City. During 2022, 337 U.S. communities operated red light safety camera programs, according to media sources and other public information tracked by IIHS.
Still, acceptance of cameras always has been strong. A 2011 IIHS survey in 14 big cities with longstanding red light safety camera programs found that two-thirds of drivers support their use (McCartt & Eichelberger, 2012). A 2012 IIHS survey conducted in Washington, D.C., which has an extensive camera program, found that 87 percent of residents support red light safety cameras (Cicchino et al., 2014).
An automated enforcement program checklist published in 2021 by IIHS along with AAA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Safety Council provides practical instructions for planning and implementing red light safety camera and automated speed enforcement programs. The guide aims to help communities follow best practices and maintain public support for the programs.
First steps for red light safety camera programs include careful assessment of intersections where red light running is a problem. Communities need to ensure that steps are taken to evaluate road design and signal timing.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes through research and evaluation and through education of consumers, policymakers and safety professionals.
The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) shares and supports this mission through scientific studies of insurance data representing the human and economic losses resulting from the ownership and operation of different types of vehicles and by publishing insurance loss results by vehicle make and model.
The City of Fife understands that you may be upset over the use of photo enforcement traffic cameras at some of our intersections. We hope the research below will not only give you a better understanding of the program, but also help spread the seriousness of running red lights.
We understand that drivers may be running late to an appointment or in a hurry to get home and we hope the program makes them stop to think about whether the minute or two saved by running a red light is as important as the many lives lost each year.
The City of Colorado Springs is working to make it safer for people in all transportation modes and across all abilities to get around town. Photo red enforcement is a valuable tool to change driver behavior and has been implemented to improve safety by reducing red-light running violations, collisions, and injuries without affecting city funds. The program acts as a force multiplier, allowing our police officers to be more safely and effectively deployed while still addressing traffic enforcement.
You will know when you are crossing a red light intersection. Each intersection is marked clearly with signs to alert drivers that cameras are in use ahead. Cameras will capture red light runners from a single approach at each of the intersections.
While enforcement is the single most effective way to get drivers to comply with red light laws, it is impossible for police to be at every intersection. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that, when properly implemented, red-light cameras reduced the fatal red-light running crash rate of large cities by 21 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 14 percent.
There are several additional studies and research from other cities across the country showing the change in driver behavior and reduction of collisions from their road safety camera program. You can view them here verramobility.com/, or here, iihs.org/
Intersections throughout the city were carefully reviewed to determine which intersections would enhance safety the most with red light cameras. Intersections were not selected simply on highest volume or highest crash data, they were selected based on a combination of factors that not only a number of crashes, but the severity of crashes to put all intersections on an equal playing field despite differences in traffic volume.
Occasionally, a vehicle may trigger one of the two cameras when coming to a rapid stop, yet not entering the intersection. Additionally, a vehicle may approach the intersection but only slow, rather than stop, before continuing to turn, triggering the road safety program and causing the flash to discharge.
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