Red Light Cameras Ineffective

Submitted by Tom McCarey

The February ARLE report clearly shows what many sincere people tried to explain to the Abington Township commissioners before the cameras were installed. Studies show that adding about one second to the yellow intervals would reduce the violation rates by at least 50%, and more likely by 70% or even 80%. This would reduce the total fines issued by Abington in that time frame from $300,000 to no more than about $150,000, and more likely down to the range of $90,000 or even as low as $60,000. Even with only a 50% reduction, the program would be deep into financial losses overall with the $210,000 to GATSO plus your administrative expenses.

And it would be clear to everyone that the camera program was almost entirely about financially benefiting GATSO and PennDOT.

Your contract has what is called a “revenue neutral” clause, meaning if the fines collected are not enough to pay all the costs, then GATSO will absorb the losses. This clause would make the contract flatly illegal in some venues, because it creates a strong incentive for GATSO to pass through even obviously marginal videos in hopes the Township will issue those citations so that GATSO’s doesn’t suffer financial losses if the ticket rates are too low to support the high camera fees.

Here is a link to a recently completed compilation of the results of extending yellow times, put together by Jay Beeber of saferstreetsla.org

http://saferstreetsla.org/679/case-studies-longer-yellow-light-times-improve-safety/

The report shows the dramatic reductions in violation rates with longer yellow intervals and the fact that - contrary to the claims of those in the camera revenue stream like PennDOT and the camera companies - violation rates stay down with longer yellow intervals and do not rebound as falsely claimed.

When PennDOT successfully got Chief Kelly to not increase the yellow times with false information that this could decrease safety and the violation rates would rebound as drivers adapted to the longer yellows (which they do NOT do), PennDOT was merely setting up the system to assure PennDOT profits. Abington Township residents and visitors would be the unwelcome donors to GATSO and PennDOT with the improperly engineered traffic lights and their for-profit red light camera system.

And please remember, the $210,000 to GATSO plus the profits to PennDOT really hurt your local area economy, your businesses, their employees, and ultimately your tax base. Those monies are no longer available to circulate up to six times per year, per the Federal Reserve “velocity of money” calculations. The $210,000 to GATSO will circulate about six times overall to produce about $1,260,000 in total economic activity, with almost none of it spent in Abington Township to benefit your economy, your businesses, their employees and ultimately your tax base. In my view, allowing these economic losses is not a good way to govern for the benefit of your community.

The real question is how long will the Commissioners allow the system to continue, when the permanent fix to reduce high violation rates by 50% to 80% is so simple?
Respectfully submitted,

James C. Walker
Life Member, National Motorists Association
Board Member and Executive Director, National Motorists Association Foundation
www.motorists.org
2050 Camelot Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-668-7842
jcwconsult@aol.com