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Red-light cameras offer mixed results
| Monday, Jul 17 2006 9:45 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Jul 17 2006 10:03 PM
When red-light cameras went up in Bakersfield, officials promised they'd curb accidents and prevent injuries.
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But three years later, data suggests that they might not live up to their promise.
Since red-light cameras were installed at eight of the busiest intersections in Bakersfield, there have been 20 more accidents annually at those sites.
The numbers from the Bakersfield Police Department also show injury accidents have increased an average of four more a year.
The data don't completely damn the system. At the intersections with red-light cameras, there have been fewer fatalities -- from one before the cameras to zero after.
And while injuries have gone up, their severity has decreased.
"Primary" intersection collisions, such as broadside collisions, have decreased while the number of "secondary" collisions, mainly rear-end-related collisions, have increased dramatically.
That may be because drivers approaching the intersections get nervous about the cameras and slam on their brakes, causing bumpers to crash into one another.
While some of the increase can be attributed to Bakersfield's booming population, not all of it can. And there's no definitive proof cameras help or hurt accident rates.
For example, cameras were activated at California Avenue and Stockdale Highway on April 28, 2005.
In the year before the cameras went up, there were 16 collisions. In the year after, there were 29 -- almost double.
The Bakersfield Police Department has recognized that severity of crashes has been reduced, and that there have been no fatalities at any of the camera-installed intersections.
"Overall, injuries have gone up at some intersections," said Detective Ryan Paslay. "The ugly wrecks have been reduced."
Follow the money
Whether or not they improve safety, red-light cameras have turned out to be a sizable revenue generator.
The city has received about $1.6 million more revenue from the system, said Lt. Jay Borton, commander of the BPD traffic section.
That's because the average fine for running a red light and getting caught on camera is $381, $10 more than the state average.
More than 19,000 drivers have been cited since the program's inception in 2003, Mayor Harvey Hall said during last week's State of the City address.
California's average of $371 is the highest in the nation, said Eric Skrum, communications director of the National Motorists Association. The state of Ohio, for example, has fines of about $100, he said.
Rising anger
Studies throughout the nation have corroborated Bakersfield's experience, and there are growing numbers of people suspicious of the cameras.
Wisconsin has banned red-light cameras, Skrum said, and his organization is working to ban them in all states.
Locally, Bakersfield Planning Commission Chairwoman Barbara Lomas has raised concerns about the cameras and is saddened by the numbers.
"It's worse," Lomas said about the system, which was touted to the commission by camera manufacturers before they were installed. "If it's for safety and health, it's a pile of manure."
Lomas said cameras were brought to her attention -- and to the city -- to improve safety. But she believes there might have been ulterior motives at work.
"It's a lazy way to generate revenue," she said.
Other places
Studies across the nation have shown that red-light camera systems don't always increase the safety of the nation's roads.
Researchers at the Urban Transit Institute at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University did a 2004 red-light camera study of 303 intersections. They found that over nearly a five-year period, there wasn't a reduction in the number of crashes. Instead, they learned that red-light cameras are "associated with higher levels of many types and severity categories of crashes."
A 2003 study commissioned by the Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Transportation revealed that rear-end collisions at intersections with photo enforcement were oftentimes fatal; a 5 percent increase in fatalities at those Canadian intersections was noted.
And in Virginia, the state Department of Transportation asked the Virginia Transportation Research Council to study and confirm that red-light cameras were useful. The council learned the "cameras are associated with an increase in total injury crashes" and that "injuries associated with red-light running crashes may be more severe."
Who makes money
The cameras in Bakersfield are set up for free by an Australian-based company called Redflex Traffic Systems, Borton said.
In exchange for setting up the cameras, performing maintenance on them and sending the city detailed photos and videos of red-light runners, Redflex gets $89 for every citation issued.
The city gets the rest.
However, what the city receives varies, Borton said. Some judges reduce the fines. If it's cut to $100, for example, Redflex still gets $89 while the city gets only $11.
But that's not the purpose of the cameras, Borton said.
"The city is not in this to make money," Borton said. "We're in this for traffic and public safety."
Redflex, according to its Web site, has contracts with 89 cities in the nation, with photo speed programs in eight states and red-light programs in 17 states. It claims to be the largest provider of digital red light and speed enforcement services in North America.
Redflex representatives didn't return calls for comment.
System supporters
The Automobile Club of Southern California supports the use of red-light cameras, said spokesman Jeffrey Spring.
"Public safety is paramount," Spring said.
The club was originally suspicious of the program, Spring said, because one of the potential benefits of the program, as touted by cities, was money.
As long as the citations are reviewed by law enforcement officers, Spring said, the club is supportive.
Borton said that, in Bakersfield, a sworn officer reviews every citation before it's issued.
The future
The city has no plans to install any more red-light cameras at the moment, Paslay said.
There are some locations that have been studied and possibly should have them, Borton said.
But cameras don't lend themselves to every location. The intersection of Oak Street and Truxtun Avenue, Borton said, is a prime example of a busy intersection that doesn't have the infrastructure available to mount cameras.
Money may be an issue, too, Borton said.
Recent state legislation has mandated that red-light camera companies like Redflex only be allowed to charge cities a flat rate for annual use, as opposed to issuing $89 for every citation. Flat rates could be cost-prohibitive when contract negotiations come up next year, Borton said.
But Redflex may work with the city to make a deal sweet for both parties.
As Bakersfield grows, safety considerations grow, and city leaders might find that the red-light cameras' benefits -- reducing fatalities at the expense of more fender-benders -- will win out.