Red Light Camera News Editorial: Red-light cameras not about public safety.
Editorial: Red-light cameras not about public safety.
Berwyn Life
Posted Jan 26, 2012 @ 09:28 AM
Berwyn, IL — Berwyn police said that a whopping one traffic accident has occurred within the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Cermak Road since June 2008.
Three years later, city official believed this single incident was so dire that they needed to install a red-light camera there. Between July 7 and Dec. 28 last year, the Berwyn Police Department issued more than $227,000 worth of tickets for red-light camera violations at this intersection.
Most of these tickets were for drivers not coming to a complete stop before making a right-hand turn at a red light. Never mind that this act is among the least hazardous traffic “violations.” When you have one accident at an intersection in a three-year period, action must be taken.
But, hey, it’s not about the money. It’s about doing whatever is necessary to ensure another accident doesn’t occur at this spot.
Police report that 23 accidents have occurred near the intersection between July 7 and Dec. 28, but not in it. Could any of these accidents have resulted from an increase in traffic at locations surrounding the intersection? Perhaps, as drivers have admitted to cutting through other nearby sections to avoid the camera.
But that’s merely speculation. We can’t rely on such statistics to suggest driving is becoming more problematic in the areas encircling the protected intersection, however persuasive this evidence may be. As long as the city keeps that one accident from happening within the intersection, what else matters?
Fining drivers for engaging in minimally hazardous behavior is definitely a sound public safety plan. And by that, we don’t necessarily mean effective.
We mean the noise that a cash register makes when money comes in: Cha-ching, cha-ching. That kind of sound. To pretend otherwise is silly.
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