It is impossible to make people better drivers. Of course there are ways to try to teach the public and enforce requirements to get a license, but the most effective way to improve street safety is by implementing more road signs and making sure that these signs are clearly visible and understandable. This will reduce the amount of accidents on any street. More signs must coincide with the enforcement of those rules. In order for a community to function, the rules that are put in place must be enforced. Raised awareness, hopefully, influences the driver’s decision to obey the traffic light. This reduces risk of traffic accidents that could potentially result in an injury or a fatality. As traffic safety is a major public health concern, we think that photo enforcement of traffic lights is public health in action.
On the intersection of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and Fletcher Ave. there are a series of cameras that are designed to take the picture of a car’s license plate, should it cross the intersection illegally during a red light. This serves as a deterrent for people who like to speed across the intersection when they see a yellow traffic light. The yellow light is intended as a warning that the red light is coming, not as a sign to speed up. When the light turns red, other lanes are given a green light, which means that other cars will be coming into the intersection. If there are still cars passing from another lane the result will end in a collision and possibly injuries to people. FHP (Florida Highway Patrol) says, “more than 1,400 crashes in the state were caused by red light runners last year, killing 56 people and injuring more than 5,000.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Automated Speed Enforcement also known as ASE, if used, is one technology available to law enforcement as a supplement and not a replacement for traditional enforcement operations.” Many advantages of the ASE program are the high rates of violation detection, physical safety of ASE operators and motorists, fairness of operation, and efficient use of resources. The results from myfox Tampa Bay are the first 12,629 citations resulted from cameras at only four intersections; second, violations have dropped so dramatically at one intersection that the revenue no longer covers the cost of the equipment at that intersection.
In conclusion, these street cameras reduce and prevent the amount of crashes, fatalities and injuries to pedestrians, bike riders and other drivers; therefore the red light cameras are a form of primary prevention.
Group members: Benjamin Rivera, Andrew Oustimov, Stephanie Martinez, Suzanne Coviello, and Ambika Ellana
Group members: Benjamin Rivera, Andrew Oustimov, Stephanie Martinez, Suzanne Coviello, and Ambika Ellana
The photo-enforced traffic lights are a great addition to the traffic system. One thing I can personally say is that the lights discourage me of speeding up during yellow lights when I used to always speed up when I saw them. As stated in the blog, this lowers the chance of accidents because people are afraid to get caught by the photo-enforced lights. To conclude, no one wants to receive a traffic ticket because that means money being spent, thus saving lives and reducing injuries.
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