Texas DOT Red-Light Camera Report Seriously Flawed
Guest Article by NMA Member, Greg Mauz
“Analysis on the Effectiveness of Photographic Traffic Signal Enforcement Systems in Texas” contains more integrity problems than almost any report I have ever analyzed concerning red-light ticket cameras.
Biases and conflicts of interest abound. Texas DOT is blatantly pro-camera. Their web site reads like a camera company sales brochure. The Links page connects only to groups profiting from photo enforcement.
The author of the report — Troy Walden of the Texas Transportation Institute — is a former police officer with no prior camera enforcement experience.
Then there’s the data collection. The crash data was provided solely by the people profiting from the ticket cameras. No double checking occurred.
The first 7 pages of the 39 page report blather on in a blatantly sensationalistic attempt to sell the “need” for cameras. Every driver is a dangerous maniac without regard for life or limb. I found 5 serious misrepresentations in the first paragraph!
Examples include: “Intersection crashes constitute 35% of the national fatalities with 22% of all urban crashes being a direct result of drivers disobeying red signals (NHTSA, 2005).” Objective research would read: Signal-related at 7% (2,950 of 39,189) fatal crashes (NHTSA, 2005) and RLV crashes comprise 2-4% of all urban fatalities.
“Economic loss from RLV crashes is estimated to be $14 Billion.” Try $4 Billion at most, which is less than 2% of the national total ($240 billion). For the record: Less than 6% of driver’s crash in any given year. So much for mayhem.
Only 56 intersections from 10 camera enforced cities were evaluated. That leaves 45 cities omitted from the report. In fact, a convenient loophole protects these programs from proper scrutiny. Only RLTC programs started in 2008 are required to report before camera crash data.
Various Texas media have reported serious crash increases after cameras in Lubbock (+50% RLV), Harlingen (+33%), Plano, Houston, and Burleson (+33% fatalities). In fact, if Lubbock’s crash increases were added to this report it would cancel all implied positive results.
The intersection’s crashes were invalid one year to the next comparisons with incomplete data provided by biased guesswork. There were NO control sites, regression to the mean checks or mention of injuries and/or fatalities. No traffic counts were provided. Normally, not a concern except that 2008 vehicle miles travelled dropped dramatically due to the surge in gas prices.
The report claims annualized crashes dropped from 586 to 413 or -30%. Angle crashes allegedly decreased -43%. Many angle crashes are NOT RLV related. Rear-end crashes supposedly only increased by 5%. Thirty seven intersections reported crash decreases, 17 reported increases and 2 no changes.
Camera promoters promise “dramatic reductions” everywhere, NOT mixed, inconclusive results. The author even admits that the omitted and limited data did NOT conclusively show that ticket cameras reduced crashes.
Note: At least 20 intersections recorded less than 5 total annual crashes before cameras. Eight had only two crashes or less! These intersections DO NOT even remotely qualify as dangerous.
There are now over 20 independent studies (many with 4 years plus data, control sites, etc.) that recorded serious crash increases with injuries and fatalities. NOT even one of these studies results are recorded in this Tx DOT report. In fact, of 16 references, 15 profited from promoting red light ticket cameras. Hardly objective research.
This misleading report was clearly funded by the DOT to protect the status quo — the unethical usurping of millions of dollars from the public by government and special interest.
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Beltway 8 and 225 , frontage road where you cross the ship channel .
Must pay tole to cross bridge , came up on light at Interstate 225 , light was green until we approached , turned yellow as we were going threw , there was no was to stop and no need to on usual circumstances , light turned yellow at most 25 ft , at 55 , there is no way to stop ,
How do we get th film , the other car a small Prism was traveling at a high rate of speed , hit the front quarter panel , drivers side , Hit so hard flipped the Toyota Crew cab , flipping this 2 and 1/2 times until it hit concrete overpass .
This was there fault , the way they drew this up makes me look at fault but that is not what happened , that driver seemed to be drinking but not sure , he also was traveling at least 50 or more .
He had skid marks at least 25 ft , had the light turned Red , witch I could not see as it had just turned yellow when I went threw . I am sure yellow when he hit me going at that speed .
Any help . Please let me know . I have insurance , but times have been hard and only carried collision , I drive safely at all times .
Thank You ~ this is very impotent . Any other help please let me know. Mark
I didn’t mean for my ass-ended comment to turn the thread into a discussion about tailgating!
My whole point is that since I haven driven one of those intersections every working day for about 12 years, I have a pretty good feel for the flow and I’ve never seen a problem that would justify a camera remedy.
At the one I drive every day I have never seen a crash; I have never seen any one running the light and I have never seen a cop handing out tickets.
One would think if this intersection were such a problem I would have seen some evidence of it over the past 12 years.
What I have seen is that these particular intersections can get so balled up with traffic that it is very easy to find yourself stuck in the intersection after the light has changed.
The city is quite clearly exploiting the poor design of the intersections to extort cash from drivers.
Where I live alot of drivers follow other drivers too closely and yes some do tailgate. Why can’t most drivers just follow the 3 second rule? I alwasy keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front on me. I never tailgate no matter how slow the other driver or the “left lane bandit” is going. Just not to long ago when I was driving home on the freeway I was in the middle lane and as I moved to the right lane in my rearview mirror I saw a white car who also switch to the right lane behind me. The white car came closer and closer to my rear until he was tailgating me.
Unreasonabley low speed limits should stop being enforced. The attention should be placed upon more important things such as cracking down on tailgating.
Please everybody keep a safe following distance between you and the vehicle in front of you.
As far as red light cameras I think its a great idea to deter red light running just as long as the speed limit is reasonable & prudent and the yellow lights are set in accordance with the reasonable speed limit for that area. This will let the reasonable drivers off the hook while it catches the reckless red light runners. For me whenever I am at a stop light and it turns green I still always check left and right just in case there is a reckless red light runner.
Yeah, what is the camera going to do, send out a ‘tractor beam’ to forcibly increase the following distance of the second vehicle?
Hubcap if you get rear ended then it seems that there is more than a problem of people running red lights but also a tailgating problem. Maybe the camera can catch that also.
San Diego got FOUR new RLCs in the past couple weeks!
Two of them are within a mile of my house so I travel both intersections regularly. I have lived in San Diego long enough to remember when those insections either didn’t exist or didn’t have lights.
But I have never seen or heard of an accident at either one. Not saying it hasn’t happened, but they are both fairly low-speed intersections with good visibility. That doesn’t mean low speed limits–the limit is 35 in both places–that means it is almost impossible to go that fast on these roads.
BUT! That’s not all! Both of these intersections are a little complicated and because of poor design and signage, difficult to navigate. They also have very heavy traffic loads and are easily gridlocked.
Yes, once again, it is perfectly obvious the RLC placement has nothing to do with fixing accident-prone intersections, and everything to do with suckering drivers who are probably destracted with NOT crashing, into crossing the limit line at just the wrong moment.
I ride my brakes now when I approach those intersections. If that light turns yellow, I’m stopping. Period. If I get ass-ended, both of us are suing.
I don’t trust data from organizations like MADD, or the NHTSA.