Do Red-Light Cameras Prevent Car Accidents?

Car accidents have been one of the largest killers of Americans in our country for years. During the last ten years, 36 of the 50 most populous U.S. cities installed electronic monitoring programs to decrease the number of car accidents. These programs were specifically monitoring and targeting drivers that ran red lights.

In a recent university study, a series of police-recorded car accidents for three major Texas cities was examined over a 12-year period. There was no proof that red-light cameras were improving public safety, and thus were not decreasing the number of car accidents or injuries.

Are Red-Light Cameras Not Reducing the Number of Car Accidents?

The red-light camera program includes installing a camera somewhere it can record cars driving through a specific intersection. City employees can then examine the photos and videos, and if they find that a driver is in the middle of the intersection when the light is red, they will send a ticket to that driver.

The program was initially created to decrease the number of “cross-street collisions.” If drivers knew they had a chance of being ticketed and fined, they were more likely to stop at red lights, which would then lower the number of T-bone accidents that commonly occur at intersections.

There is evidence that proves camera programs reduce the number of cars running red lights. However, cameras have also shown to have contradictory results on traffic safety. It was shown that the number of car accidents from stopping at a red light (including rear-end accidents) was actually increasing. Many drivers will try to stop at red lights in order to avoid tickets, but this sudden stopping would result in cars running into each other in rear-end collisions.

Contact a Houston Personal Injury Attorney Today

If you or a loved one were involved in an accident due to another driver’s negligence, you could potentially seek compensation for any ensuing injuries. Contact our attorneys at Stevenson & Murray today for a free case evaluation.