The installation of red light cameras has stirred up quite a debate throughout the United States between those who feel red light cameras promote safety and those who feel they are an invasion of civil liberties. The debate received more fuel with a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) that showed that red light cameras save lives.

The IIHS study, released on February 1st, indicated that "red light cameras reduce not only fatal red light running crashes, but other types of fatal intersection crashes as well." The study went on to say that "red light cameras have saved 159 lives in 2004-08 in 14 of the biggest US cities and that, had cameras been operating during that period in all large cities, a total of 815 deaths would have been prevented." The study looked at 99 cities with populations over 200.000 and compared the rate of crashes between those cities that had red light cameras and those that didn't. The study concluded that “the rate of fatal red light running crashes in cities with cameras in 2004-08 was 24 percent lower than it would have been without cameras.”

The IIHS study backed up an earlier study by Old Dominion University that compared the rate of traffic crashes before red light cameras were installed at intersections in Virginia Beach, during their operation, and after the removal of the cameras. The study showed traffic crashes were reduced during the period that the cameras were installed.

Those groups opposed to red light cameras argue that the cameras are just a way for local governments to raise additional revenue and that the cameras are an invasion of privacy. IIHS president Adrian Lund was quoted saying; "Somehow, the people who get tickets because they have broken the law have been cast as the victims," Lund says. "We rarely hear about the real victims — the people who are killed or injured by these lawbreakers."

"Red light running killed 676 people and injured an estimated 113,000 in 2009. Nearly two-thirds of the deaths were people other than the red light running drivers — occupants of other vehicles, passengers in the red light runners' vehicles, bicyclists, or pedestrians."

A quick Google search of news articles in just the past month shows that red light runners have been responsible for the deaths of:

• An 11 year old girl who was a passenger in a vehicle struck by red light runner.


• A family of five who were all killed when their vehicle was struck by a red light runner.


• A nun whose vehicle was struck by a red light runner.


• A female passenger riding in the vehicle of a 16 year old driver who ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle.


• A passenger in a vehicle struck by a red light runner.


• Two drivers of vehicles who were struck by red light runners.


• A pedestrian who was hit by a vehicle that had been struck by a red light runner and pushed across the intersection.

These figures do not include the larger number of people who were injured in collisions caused by red light runners.

There is no way to know whether or not these twelve victims might still be alive today had red light cameras been installed but the data seems to point to the fact that red light cameras do save lives and it is possible that some of these innocent victims might have been saved if red light cameras been installed.

In the State of Florida, there is a law that took effect October 1, 2009, which makes a 4-hour traffic school or basic driver improvement course a requirement for all drivers that receive a traffic ticket for running a red light.

Labels: pedestrian safety, red light, red light camera, red light runners, vehicle crashs

Recent Hearing Results in Eight New Motor Coach Safety Recommendations

While watching a movie in the back row of a charter bus on the way home from a weekend ski trip, Maurice and Teresa Washington’s lives were shattered forever.

On the night of Jan. 6, 2008, their bus rounded a bend on a rural two-lane Utah highway at an estimated 88-92 mph, hurled through a guardrail and crashed down an embankment. The roof was sheared off and 51 of its 53 occupants were tossed from the bus. Nine passengers, including the Washingtons' 12-year-old son, were killed. Forty-three others, including the Peoria, Ariz., duo, were injured.

At the recent hearing, which the Washingtons attended, the National Transportation Safety Board said the most likely cause of the accident was the 71-year-old driver’s fatigue, which led him to underestimate his speed and slowed his reaction time.

In a surprising move, however, the board also voted unanimously to place partial blame on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s failure to implement 10-year-old motorcoach safety recommendations as a contributing factor in the crash's severity.

"I am extremely disappointed watching NHTSA crawl toward the standard we have asked them to make," acting board Chairman Mark Rosenker said.

The NTSB investigates accidents and makes safety recommendations, while the NHTSA implements regulations.

The NHTSA declined to comment on the board's action, but spokesman Rae Tyson but said the agency was "working very hard" on safety standards for such vehicles. He said extensive crash tests were conducted in 2007.

The Washingtons, however, said they were deeply upset by the extended delay in implementing the safety regulations.

"There have been multiple other bus crashes. These same types of events keep happening over and over again," said Teresa Washington, 43. "There are recommendations being made that are not being taken by the agencies that have the ability to make these kind of changes that would save people's lives and lessen injuries."

Recently, the NTSB made eight new safety recommendations to federal and state government agencies, trade associations and the motorcoach operator, Busco Inc., in business as Arrow Stage Lines of Omaha, Nebraska. One recommendation is to design and execute criteria based on traffic patterns, passenger volume and bus types that can be used to evaluate the risks of rural travel by large buses.

Investigators laid out a scenario that reveals the circumstances that combined to worsen the accident. The bus was part of a convoy of 17 chartered buses carrying 800 people. A high mountain pass was closed due to heavy snow, which forced the buses to take a longer route back to Phoenix.

Welland Lotan, who was operating the bus, suffered from sleep apnea and in days before the accident had difficulty using a device to regulate his breathing while sleeping. He was also suffering from head congestion and may have been a victim of altitude sickness.

In the foul weather and darkness, and maybe fatigue, Lotan made a wrong turn and was on a road that was off route when the accident happened. A witness drove eight miles to Mexican Hat, the nearest town, to call 911 on a telephone. The snow and wind prevented medical helicopters from responding to the accident, and it was it took an hour before the first emergency crew arrived. The closest hospital with a trauma unit was roughly 190 miles away in Flagstaff, Ariz.

In 1999, the board recommended that safety standards for motorcoach roofs be strengthened, that buses have easy-to-open windows that are shatterproof and that steps be taken, including possibly mandating seat belts to prevent passengers from being ejected in rollovers. Several board members expressed dissatisfaction that those recommendations still have not been implemented.

NHTSA has "left motorcoaches back in the '60s and '70s," Rosenker said. "It's time now. It's not like the technology doesn't exist."

Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswers.com.

Labels: driver safety, drowsy driving, sleep, vehicle crashs