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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Germany – more accidents but fewer fatalities in 2013
    July 3, 2014
    The latest figures from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) report that 2013 was the year with most traffic accidents since German reunification. The report also finds that police recorded roughly 2.4 million road traffic accidents all over Germany, which is 0.5 per cent more than in 2012. Despite the higher number of accidents, the number of people who died on German roads in 2013 was the lowest ever recorded since the survey was first conducted in 1953. There were a total 3,339 traffic acci
  • Australia’s NRMA welcomes road safety funding boost
    April 2, 2013
    Australia’s National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) has praised the New South Wales (NSW) government's plan to use revenue raised by speed cameras to help boost funding for road safety programs by US$7.3 million. The new Safer Roads Program is part of the Centre for Road Safety's state-wide strategy aimed at cutting the state's road toll by thirty per cent by 2021. The additional funds will see a total of US$37.6 million a year spent on works in areas where the worst crashes are occurring, with the
  • Camera catches nearly 700 dangerous drivers 
    March 1, 2022
    Jenoptik camera in Cornwall, England, does not require 'tiger teeth' road markings 
  • Top five findings in NJDOT three-year red light camera report
    April 1, 2014
    Red-light safety cameras installed by American Traffic Solutions (ATS) turned in another year of positive results at intersections in New Jersey, and trends show "driver behaviour is being modified," according to the recently issued New Jersey Department of Transportation's (NJDOT) third annual analysis of the photo enforcement program. According to the report, "Further sustained analysis is needed and the Department recommends that the traffic control signal monitoring systems pilot program continue."