Skip to main content

Study says New Jersey voters strongly support red light cameras

The National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) has released new research showing that New Jersey residents who took part in a survey it commissioned overwhelmingly support the use of red light safety cameras. The poll found that 77 per cent back the use of cameras at busy intersections in New Jersey, with 43 per cent saying they ‘strongly support’ the cameras.
April 18, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSThe National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) has released new research showing that New Jersey residents who took part in a survey it commissioned overwhelmingly support the use of red light safety cameras. The poll found that 77 per cent back the use of cameras at busy intersections in New Jersey, with 43 per cent saying they ‘strongly support’ the cameras.

"New Jersey voters report that drivers in the state are more careful when they are aware that red light cameras are installed at busy intersections," said Adam Geller, founder and CEO of National Research Inc, whose client list includes Fortune 500 companies, and elected officials throughout the country, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. "They perceive the same thing as other studies are showing – that these cameras make roads safer, help prevent accidents, and save lives."

Among 600 likely New Jersey voters, more than half (56 percent) report they drive more carefully when they know that red light safety cameras are present. More than seven in ten (71 per cent) believe other drivers are more careful when safety cameras are present.

"Drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and passengers have made it clear they want these cameras in their communities," said David Kelly, president and executive director of the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR), and former acting administrator of the 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "Although there is a vocal minority who opposes these life-saving devices, the public overwhelmingly supports red light safety cameras because they change dangerous driver behaviour, reduce accidents and save lives."

The new survey comes on the heels of a national study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showing that two thirds of drivers in 14 big cities with longstanding red light camera programmes support their use, and that more than 90 per cent of drivers surveyed in the 14 cities believe red light running is unacceptable. More than 80 per cent deem it a serious threat to personal safety.

Related Content

  • November 7, 2014
    Houston Police: increase in crashes when red-light safety cameras removed
    A new report shows a 30 per cent increase in fatal traffic collisions and a 117 per cent increase in total traffic crashes at 51 intersections in Houston where red-light safety cameras once stood. New figures from the Houston Police Department released by the National Coalition for Safer Roads (NCSR) show total traffic collisions more than doubled from 4,147 in 2006-2010 when cameras were in use to 8,984 in 2010-2014, when cameras were not in operation. The city ended its red-light safety camera program
  • July 29, 2016
    Turning off red light cameras costs lives, new research shows
    Red light camera programs in 79 large US cities saved nearly 1,300 lives through 2014, researchers from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have found. Shutting down such programs has cost lives, with the rate of fatal red-light-running crashes shooting up 30 per cent in cities that have turned off cameras. Red-light-running crashes caused 709 deaths in 2014 and an estimated 126,000 injuries. Red light runners account for a minority of the people killed in such crashes. Most of those killed
  • October 26, 2016
    Building the case for photo enforcement
    As red light enforcement is returning to some intersections and being shut down at others, new evidence has been released backing the safety campaigners, reports Jon Masters. In 2014, 709 Americans were killed in red-light-running crashes and an estimated 126,000 were injured according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
  • February 1, 2012
    Growth of legislation in favour of US enforcement market
    The automated road safety enforcement industry in the United States had a very robust 2010. The industry continued to grow to the point that providers now have nearly 5,000 cameras deployed in 25 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, with more than 650 communities utilising such life-saving technology. Intersection safety cameras are the most common application but more communities are also implementing road safety camera programmes to deter excessive speeding. Deploying cameras to protect children