Massachusetts Page
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Massachusetts Page |
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Good morning Mister Chairman, members of the Committee. My Name is Ivan Sever, and I represent the National Motorists Association in Massachusetts.
We oppose red light cameras simply because photo-monitoring devices are not about traffic safety, but about money.
There is probably something you don't know about this matter, and that the public is certainly not aware of:
SINCE 1994, RED LIGHT CAMERA MANUFACTURERS HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO SHORTEN THE DURATION OF YELLOW SIGNALS AT COUNTLESS INTERSECTIONS ALL ACROSS AMERICA.
The result is that more people end up having less time to clear the intersection before the light turns red. That's how, overnight, the millions of drivers who entered an intersection on yellow (which by the way is both legal and often unavoidable) became a national epidemic.
This is NOT about how dangerous red light running is during the middle of a red cycle - and I think we can all agree those type of violations cannot be stopped by a simple traffic ticket. This is about the "93% of the red-light encroachments that occurred during the all-red signal cycle when the probability of conflicting traffic is lowest," as reported by one study. (Monash University Accident Research Centre - Report #73.) In other words, about those countless millions of citizens who were made into lawbreakers, for a profit.
Isn't the fact that red light camera proponents measure their success in terms of number of tickets written proof that this is about making money and not about safety?
If red light cameras truly reduced red light running, red light camera manufacturers would be putting themselves out of business. In Montgomery County, Maryland over the past year, these robots issued 35,000 tickets. "We haven't seen a decline we would expect over time, as the public becomes aware of the cameras," wondered the police lieutenant in charge of the program.
On the other hand, engineers and city officials in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan, together with state and county officials identified high-crash intersections. By upgrading the lenses of traffic lights, restripping the pavement and retiming the signals, the program produced astonishing results: Crashes decreased by 47% percent, with a 50% reduction in injuries. "Most of these very large crash reductions have been done with low cost projects," said the engineering manager. "Interestingly enough, we've seen red-light violations decrease by approximately 50%," he added. (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Nov/Dec 1999, page 3)
No red light camera can ever make a similar claim.
It is a shame that unsuspecting public has been made into criminals in order to create a demand for these cameras. I urge you to reject this money making venture that's only pretending to be about traffic safety.
Thank you.