Initiative pusher Tim Eyman has made it clear that he believes his initiative outlawing red-light and speed cameras in his hometown of Mukilteo---it passed by more 71 percent---has statewide implications. Already, Eyman has been attending meetings on red light cameras in Snohomish County and Bellingham to drum up support for bans in those jurisdictions, and he says he'll support any efforts in the state legislature to rein in cities' use of the cameras.

What Eyman doesn't acknowledge is that traffic cameras work: They reduce the number and severity of accidents, make people think twice before blowing through red lights, and improve safety conditions for all road users, including drivers. Opposing red-light cameras is tantamount to saying you think people should be allowed to flout the law---a law that, like restrictions on drunk driving, was written to help our roads function more safely.

Last year, state Rep. Chris Hurst (R-31) sponsored legislation that would have capped fines for running camera-equipped red lights at $25 and require yellow lights to last at least four seconds at locations where cameras are used. Eyman says Hurst is planning similar legislation this year. (Hurst has not yet returned a call for comment.) "I wouldn't say that I'm pushing [legislation], but I do know that if we have hearings this year I'm going to go down there and testify," Eyman said.

Critics like Eyman claim that cities pad their general funds with proceeds from red-light cameras, and that the cameras do nothing to improve safety.

"[Rep.] Hurst said, 'Every time I introduce my legislation, cities, people like [Seattle City Council member] Nick Licata, would come and say, We're making a lot of money off these things, leave us alone," Eyman said.

Contacted by phone, Licata told us the cameras don't bring the city much money---about $1 million a year. "The question is, does Eyman not like [the cameras] because he likes people breaking the law? Because if people were driving at the right speed, we wouldn't collect a dime," Licata said.

And data show that the cameras do reduce the number of people who run red lights and the severity of crashes at intersections where the cameras are installed; between 2006 and 2008, for example, the number of drivers who ran red lights decreased nearly 60 percent at intersections with cameras.

To me, the question isn't whether camera opponents want people to break the law, but whether they care about pedestrian (and driver, and bicyclist) safety. A new report by the National Academies, which looks at best traffic-safety practices in other countries, concludes that traffic and red-light cameras work to reduce accidents and fatalities and recommends that governments "give high priority to initiatives to encourage adoption of camera enforcement."