Red Light Cameras: Virginia Info |
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James Parrish
May 6, 2010
James Parrish
http://www.theparrishlawfirm.com
Copyright (c) 2010 James Parrish
They’re designed to decrease major car accidents, but are they instead increasing the number of rear-end crashes? If you’re a Virginia driver who hasn’t been hearing about red light cameras lately, chances are you need to read up.
Last week, Governor Bob McDonnell signed a proposal into law that creates a new automated ticketing machine, an “airport business,” camera. This is just one part in a series of legislation designed to encourage the use of red light cameras.
HB 1292, which is set to take effect in July, was written to encourage local jurisdictions to deploy red light cameras. Previously, private photo enforcement firms couldn’t directly access confidential information from the Department of Motor Vehicle databases. Because the firms couldn’t access the info, the cost of automated ticketing was higher than the revenue cities could gain from it. However, the new law changes this, making it much simpler for cities to use red light cameras.
Red light cameras in Virginia have been a point of contention in the past. They were in use from 1995-2005, when the General Assembly banned them, under pressure from civil rights activists and presented with a results of a Virginia Department of Transportation study showing that the number accidents actually increased at intersections with red light cameras installed, as people tended to slam on their brakes.
While the General Assembly reinstated camera use in 2007, debate continues as to the effectiveness of the cameras in terms of accident prevention.
The Virginia DOT study did show that rear-end crashes increased 27% at intersections installed with cameras. "angle crashes," (when a car runs a red light and strikes another car at an angle) on the other hand, decreased 42%.
As Fairfax City Police Chief Rick Rappoport explained to the Washington Post, “In rear-end crashes, “people are slowing, they tend to be lesser-speed impacts, and the impact is on a part of cars that’s most designed for impacts.”
Rappoport commented further that he would be monitoring crash rates to ensure that the decrease in angle crashes wouldn’t be offset by the number of rear-end crashes.
Since HB1292 adds an additional degree of supervision from the state Transportation Department, any jurisdiction that wants to install the cameras must submit a detailed proposal to VDOT, and then wait for them to install the cameras. Rappoport doesn’t expect Fairfax City’s cameras to be fully operational until Fall 2010.
In the meantime, check this national database for locations of red light cameras near you http://www.photoenforced.com
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