[Infowarrior] - Red light camera spinning

[Richard Forno]

IIHS is funded by the insurance industry -- does it surprise anyone that those who stand to profit from folks getting into accidents trying to avoid a ticket would find metrics to support such devices?  And say what they will, these things are still primarily a municipal money-making machine ... and in this economy, are they going to yank them?  Hardly.     -- rick


Red-light cameras save lives, study says
By Ashley Halsey III
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 1, 2011; 12:14 AM 

Red-light cameras are saving lives even as they make millions in revenue, according to the first definitive study of the subject.

Use of cameras to catch speeders and those who run red lights has proliferated in the past decade, greatly increasing the prospect that drivers in too much of a hurry will get caught. The flash of a camera has become common at District intersections, more than 50 of which are equipped to catch red-light offenders.

A study to be released Tuesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that traffic fatalities at those intersections dropped by 26 percent over a five-year period, slightly more than the average decline in 13 other camera-equipped cities.

"We're hopeful this will stop some of the backlash against cameras," said Adrian Lund, president of the insurance foundation. "Much of the attention to victims of the camera has been paid to people who received tickets. Hopefully, this will return the focus to the people who have been killed or injured by red-light running."

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/01/AR2011020100021_pf.html