Skip to main content

Survey shows DC residents support traffic cameras

A new survey from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) finds that DC residents overwhelmingly support both red light and speed cameras. Although some residents expressed mixed opinions on the cameras, among those surveyed, 87 per cent support red light cameras and 76 per cent favour speed cameras. Among drivers, about 71 per cent support speed cameras, while 90 per cent of non-drivers support them, according to the survey. Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Gwen Crump cited statistic
May 1, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
A new survey from the US 7120 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) finds that DC residents overwhelmingly support both red light and speed cameras.

Although some residents expressed mixed opinions on the cameras, among those surveyed, 87 per cent support red light cameras and 76 per cent favour speed cameras. Among drivers, about 71 per cent support speed cameras, while 90 per cent of non-drivers support them, according to the survey.

Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Gwen Crump cited statistics showing a 73 per cent decrease in traffic fatalities in the District since the introduction of the city's speed cameras in 2001.

"Despite DC's camera program being portrayed in the media as very unpopular and unfair, our survey shows people really support them," says IIHS researcher Anne McCartt.

The study also asked drivers about stop sign and crosswalk cameras.  Here, residents were largely split on the issue, with 50 per cent supporting the stop sign cameras and 47 per cent supporting crosswalk cameras.  DC police are hoping to unveil both types of cameras within the next year.

Related Content

  • New analysis finds speed cameras may create bad driving behaviour
    October 28, 2015
    Using more than one billion miles of driving behaviour data, collected over three years (2011-2014) and including 8,809 separate journeys in 5,353 vehicles, Wunelli, a LexisNexis company, has revealed the most frequent braking black spots across the UK created by speed cameras, based on motorists braking excessively just before speed cameras to avoid being caught. Eighty per cent of all the UK speed cameras investigated had hard braking activity, with braking increasing six fold on average at these loca
  • US DOTs introduce measures to stop wrong-way driving
    March 28, 2018
    Wrong-way driving (WWD) is a remarkably innocuous term for incidents that all too often cause some of the worst accidents that emergency services have to deal with. Several US states are now taking steps to minimise the problem, as Alan Dron finds out. You’re driving down a highway at night when you see approaching headlights. You initially assume they are merely those of an oncoming car on the opposite carriageway. It’s only when they are within 200 yards or so that you realise that the other driver is in
  • Bringing enforcement standards into line
    March 1, 2013
    Difficulties with the apparent accuracy of enforcement systems have been making the headlines in the United States over recent months. Jon Masters investigates the causes and possible cures. Online newspaper reports in the United States over recent months have painted a picture of the authorities struggling to keep on top of their speed and red light enforcement pro­grammes. Among a host of stories put out by the Washington Post and others on the subject of speed cameras during January, there were reports
  • Predicting the future for video camera systems
    March 12, 2012
    Jo Versavel, Managing Director of Traficon, talks about near-term trends in video camera systems. Jo Versavel starts by making one thing clear: long-term forecasts as to what the future holds for video-based traffic monitoring are to all intents and purposes meaningless. The state of the art is developing so fast that in reality it's impossible to say where we'll be in 10 years' time, says the Managing Director of Traficon. In his opinion making firm predictions even five years out is too ambitious, whereas