A new study shows that red light cameras aren't as safe as previously believed.
Some injury-related crashes were found to have increased because of the cameras used in Chicago, while some decreased, according to Delhi Daily News. Rear-end collisions that resulted in injuries were found to have increased the most under program, going up 22 percent.
While the rate of certain injury crashes went down, such as angle and turn injury crashes by 15 percent, the increase in rear-end injury crashes counterbalanced the positive result from the program. A non-significant 5 percent increase in the total of crashes that led to injuries from before the cameras' introduction was also found.
Chicago's red light camera program consists of 350 cameras throughout the city's intersections, making it the largest program of its kind in the U.S., Ars Technica reported. However, the program has had several controversial moments, such as a $2 million bribery scandal and accusations of mismanagement.
While administrators recently tried to redeem the program with a statistic that it has led to a 47-percent decline in right angle, or "T-bone," injury crashes, researchers from the recent study found not only that this statistic was misleading, but that cameras installed at intersections where there have already been few crashes with injuries brought no safety benefits. Evidence also showed an increase in such crashes at intersections thanks to the program.
Another issue found in the study was that the program has raised more than $500 million since 2002 from 100 tickets, Ars Technica reported. The program has also resulted in 13,000 drivers being erroneously ticketed in July.
"That program needs to be stopped. It needs to be frozen to give us time to re-evaluate everything," said Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale, 9th, chairman of the council Transportation Committee. "This is just more proof that this entire program is strictly to generate revenue and always has been."
