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Saturday, March 14, 2009
Ind. Law - More on: "Senate gives 'green light' to red-light cameras"
Updating this ILB entry from Feb. 18th about red-light cameras, the Elkhart Truth today has an AP story by Nigel Duara headed "Red-light cameras light up cash registers: Operators of red-light cameras collect lots of money in fines; It's unclear if streets are safer." Some quotes:
CLIVE, Iowa -- Minutes after Neel Manglik illegally turned right on a red light in the Des Moines suburb of Clive, a video popped up on a computer at an office park outside Scottsdale, Ariz.Indiana's SB 389 is currently in second house committee.The $75 citation arrived in the mail weeks later, making Manglik one of the millions of Americans ticketed as part of a growing industry that is making handsome profits for companies that operate video cameras at busy intersections throughout the nation.
As more cities sign up and others invest their profits into more cameras, those companies expect increased revenue for years to come.
What's less clear is whether the cameras improve safety. While studies show fewer T-bone crashes at lights with cameras and fewer drivers running red lights, the number of rear-end crashes increases.
Aaron Quinn, spokesman for the Wisconsin-based National Motorists Association, said there are cheaper safety alternatives to red-light cameras, including lengthening yellow-light times.
"We say, the red-light camera wouldn't have stopped anyone from getting hit," Quinn said. "Once (a city) sees one city getting it miles away, and that first city makes a bunch of money, they want to do it, too. It's like a virus." * * *
But not all cities make money off of the tickets. Contracts between companies and cities can affect how much money the cities get.
In Clive, for instance, the red-light camera program generated $39,548.65 between July 2006 and March 2007, but all of that money went to the camera company because Clive didn't ticket enough drivers in any single month to make money. Clive has since changed its contract and now gets a percentage of each ticket.
The largest red-light camera company, Redflex Traffic Systems of Scottsdale, operates red-light or speed cameras in 22 states, and added 79 cities last year. It signed a $32 million maintenance contract with Chicago last fall, and in just the last three weeks of last year, Redflex added five new cities.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 14, 2009 09:56 AM
Posted to Indiana Law