Skip to main content

Study finds red-light cameras reduce crashes

A study carried out by Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s Department of Public Works shows drops in both traffic crashes and violations at selected intersections in the five years since the city launched a traffic light camera program. The study evaluated intersections where traffic cameras were installed in 2008 and 2009 by comparing the average number of crashes in the years before and after the cameras took effect, and showed a sharp decline in right-angle crashes - considered the most dangerous type of collisions
July 3, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A study carried out by Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s Department of Public Works shows drops in both traffic crashes and violations at selected intersections in the five years since the city launched a traffic light camera program.

The study evaluated intersections where traffic cameras were installed in 2008 and 2009 by comparing the average number of crashes in the years before and after the cameras took effect, and showed a sharp decline in right-angle crashes - considered the most dangerous type of collisions - but also showed slight increases in rear-end crashes.

There was an average of 69 right-angle crashes in total at intersections in 2006 and 2007; when cameras were installed in 2008, right-angle crashes at those locations dropped to a combined average of 41 per year for the years 2009 through 2011, or a decline of 40 per cent.

In the same time frame, rear-end collisions for the designated intersections increased by 4 percent and total injuries for all collisions dropped 15 per cent.

Of 19 intersections that still have traffic cameras, 13 showed reductions in traffic light violations between the first year they were installed and 2012, according to data provided by 17 American Traffic Solutions, the company overseeing the city-parish camera program.

Related Content

  • February 27, 2015
    US city reintroduces red light cameras
    The City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is to partner with American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to launch a red-light safety camera program. Under the City’s previous automated enforcement program, angle crashes were reduced by 27 per cent at the eight intersections where the cameras were installed. Under the terms of the agreement, red-light safety cameras will be installed at identified intersections, which will be determined after a review by the city’s engineering department. Revenue from red-light runnin
  • October 24, 2014
    Phoenix renews Redflex Traffic Systems contract
    The city of Phoenix, Arizona, has selected Redflex Traffic Systems, which has partnered with the city since 2009, to continue providing automated enforcement for its road safety program. Phoenix uses 12 red-light cameras at key intersections and deploys eight school-zone speed vans that rotate around the Phoenix schools to help enforce school speed limits, the release states.
  • January 31, 2012
    Intersection collision avoidance system trial
    Although much of the emphasis of research into intersection management has tended to concentrate on the needs of urban locations, there remain specific issues pertaining to rural intersections which need to be addressed. Here, Rebecca Szymkowski and Greg Helgeson, Wisconsin DOT, Todd Szymkowski, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Craig Shankwitz and Arvind Menon, University of Minnesota detail progress on an intersection collision avoidance system for more remote locations.
  • January 27, 2012
    Ramp metering delivers - again
    Though still controversial, ramp metering, which has been around for nearly 50 years, continues to deliver substantial benefits, and generally for relatively small cost. Kansas City is a case in point. In March 2010, Kansas City Scout, a partnership between the Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation to provide ITS for the greater Kansas City Area, activated the first ramp metering system in the region. The project is located on an 8.85km (5.5 mile) section of Interstate 435 from Metcalf Avenue to