Red-Light Cameras Rake In Money For Cities As They Increase Accidents

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CHICAGO—Red-light cameras are a scam whose only purpose is to generate millions of dollars for cities and towns, and, furthermore, actually increase accidents, not decrease them, according to Jim Tobin, President of Taxpayers United of America.

“Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel must have felt a tingle go up his leg when he announced last week that red-light cameras would be coming Jan. 31 at 18 Chicago intersections,” said Tobin. “He is looking forward to the additional millions of dollars that will be funneled into city coffers to fund the lavish, gold-plated Chicago government-employee pensions.”

“Emanuel stated that such cameras have reduced accidents, but this is either a sign of ignorance, or a lie.”

“One report after another has shown the reverse is true: Red-light cameras increase accidents. But they also increase revenues for municipalities, which is why politicians love them.”

“The National Motorists Association website has a sampling of these studies.”

• Los Angeles | KCAL TV    A local TV station fact-checked the city’s claims that their ticket cameras reduced accidents and found that the opposite was true. At 20 of the 32 intersections studied, accidents increased and several intersections tripled their accident rate.
• Washington, D.C. | Washington Post     This report showed an overall increase in accidents at red-light camera intersections of 107 percent.
• Portland, Oregon | KATU News     KATU News reviewed city statistics and found a 140 percent increase in rear-end crashes at the intersections where red light cameras were installed.
• Fort Collins, Colorado | The Coloradoan     Ft. Collins, Colorado has experienced an 83 percent increase in the number of accidents since red light cameras were installed.
• Oceanside, California | North County Times     This report showed a 800 percent increase in rear-end accidents.
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Weekly     This article showed an increase of 10 to 21 percent in accidents in intersections with red-light cameras.

“Taxpayers are being nickel-and-dimed to death by greedy politicians, except we’re not talking about nickels and dimes. In addition to having to pay out big bucks, motorists are suffering increased injuries caused by rear-end collisions. Only politicians and orthopedic surgeons are benefiting.”