Drivers who loathe those red-light cameras may have discovered a way to defeat them. Not by buying some new gadget to mount on the dashboard. By obeying the law.
The Tribune recently reported that many suburban officials say revenues from red-light cameras are skidding, partly because motorists are heeding the rules of the road, including the mandatory full stop before a right turn on red.
Are those officials celebrating? Well, not everywhere.
In Bellwood, for instance, violations generated $1.1 million in 2008. Net revenues this year are hovering at an anemic $250,000.
“If you are anticipating $1.5 million and get $250,000, yes, there is disappointment,” said Bellwood chief of staff Peter Tsiolis.
We understand what he’s saying. Towns feel the squeeze when they’re too optimistic in their revenue expectations.
But permit us to say:
This is good news!
Let’s remember these cameras were promoted by many local officials
not
primarily as a way for cities to fill their coffers, but as a way to reduce accidents at dangerous intersections.
Lo and behold, that strategy looks to be working in many spots. The number of collisions at the first 14 suburban intersections to be camera-patrolled dropped 36 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to a Tribune analysis. Accidents declined at 11 of the 14 intersections, increased at two and were unchanged at one.
We brake here for context: The numbers are still preliminary — and state officials warn year-over-year comparisons are perilous because of a change last year in the rules for reporting accidents. The state now doesn’t require a non-injury-accident report until property damage reaches a minimum of $1,500, up from $500. That contributed to a 28 percent decline in
reported
crashes statewide.
Still, we’ll take these numbers as a sign that the cameras have convinced more drivers that the correct response when a light turns yellow is not to stomp on the gas. That action can lead to broadside collisions, which traffic studies show are the most dangerous red-light accidents.
There were eight of those collisions in 2009 at the 14 monitored intersections, one less than in 2008. Broadside crashes are down 20 percent in Chicago intersections with cameras and violations have declined by 50 percent, officials say.
Critics worried that the cameras would prompt more rear-end collisions as drivers slammed on the brakes when green turned yellow. But rear-enders
fell
32 percent in 2009, the statistics show, from 156 to 96.
None of this means most drivers welcome the merciless gaze of the red-light cameras. Some communities have already turned cameras off after an outcry, particularly about right-turn-on-red tickets. A camera near Woodfield Mall nabbed 10,000 violators from November 2008 to January 2009. Motorists howled so loudly the village of Schaumburg deactivated the camera.
Earlier this year, the Illinois General Assembly tinkered with the law to cut some slack for motorists who stop beyond the white line before making a right turn. But an effort to ban the cameras failed.
Smart move, lawmakers. There are still
plenty
of reasons to keep the cameras rolling. On the whole, it looks like they are nudging more motorists to be more cautious at intersections.
