Jolt
Afternoon Jolt: Tim Eyman vs. Red Light Cameras
Today's Winner: Tim Eyman.
Initiative hawker Tim Eyman announced today that he has collected enough to put his initiative requiring a public vote on red-light cameras in Monroe on the ballot. Eyman, who calls the red-light cameras "obnoxious," passed a similar measure in his hometown of Mukilteo last year. Eyman and other opponents of red-light cameras accuse cities of using them to boost revenue from traffic tickets.
Today's Loser: Monroe pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers red-light cameras are designed to protect.
A paper published this week in the Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics, and Policy finds that red-light cameras are a "very effective tool" for reducing crashes.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost a third of all traffic fatalities are speed-related, and 883 fatalities (plus 165,000 injuries) result from running red lights every year. The study, which looked at red-light cameras around the world, found that they improved safety overall. It also found evidence that the cameras created a "spillover effect," as drivers stopped at red lights even when no cameras were present.
Initiative hawker Tim Eyman announced today that he has collected enough to put his initiative requiring a public vote on red-light cameras in Monroe on the ballot. Eyman, who calls the red-light cameras "obnoxious," passed a similar measure in his hometown of Mukilteo last year. Eyman and other opponents of red-light cameras accuse cities of using them to boost revenue from traffic tickets.
Today's Loser: Monroe pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers red-light cameras are designed to protect.
A paper published this week in the Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics, and Policy finds that red-light cameras are a "very effective tool" for reducing crashes.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost a third of all traffic fatalities are speed-related, and 883 fatalities (plus 165,000 injuries) result from running red lights every year. The study, which looked at red-light cameras around the world, found that they improved safety overall. It also found evidence that the cameras created a "spillover effect," as drivers stopped at red lights even when no cameras were present.
