Question:
After the data has been analyzed, it appears where they get installed
they reduce the number of accidents and the number of red light runners.
To those detractors, and you know who you are, crow will be served for
dinner tonight.
Answer:
Larger reductions in collisions are seen when the lights are timed
correctly and underlying engineering problems corrected. That has been
the arguement. This article does nothing to prove otherwise. Other
studies have shown that fixing the intersection results in the greatest
safety.
The article does not give any information regarding a reduction in
collisions. They are less, 2% less? 20% less? 100% less? Who knows.
Without a number I am guessing it's closer to 1% than 100%. It states the
city is looking to reduce right-angle collisions so one could expect
that there has been some decrease in right angle collisions however what
about rear-end collisions?
All we know from this article is that the city raked in 22 million
dollars and the city is going to put in more RLCs because of it, supporting
quite clearly that RLCs are about the revenue.
B... is an engineering student. An 80% drop in violations
proves how vast the underlying engineering problems are. For
if they weren't, would the number be so far from optimal that
an 80% improvement was even possible? An improvement of more
than 80% would be final evidence that timing and underlying
engineering problems were corrected.
You obviously don't travel through very many intersections in Chicago
proper. I will encounter multiple red light runners here on the north
side every single time I run a short errand. In every single case,
these people just go through the light because they're impatient and
they think they can get away with it. Timing of lights means nothing in
a congested city with antiquated streets. The data clearly shows
massive reductions in red light violations after people started getting
the violations. Granted the city gets revenue but fining people is the
only way to punish them for being impatient. That the violations have
decreased by as much as 80% indicates the city isn't widening the
margins to catch more people. The per day revenue on those cameras has
decreased over time. The city just monitors more intersections now and
the fines collected fund newer intersections. And all the
intersections where they have been installed produced real results --
not some pie in the sky so called "engineering" study. Human beings do
not follow the laws of physics.
