Does Photo Enforcement Change Driver Behavior

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DOES PHOTO ENFORCEMENT CHANGE DRIVER BEHAVIOR?
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PHOTO ENFORCEMENT

• For decades, different photo enforcement
  technologies have been deployed in municipalities
  around the globe.
• These solutions include fixed and mobile speed
  cameras, red light cameras, average speed cameras
  and more.
• The goal of all of these tools is to increase
  traffic safety in each community.
• Of course photo enforcement solutions arent
  without their critics.
• The anti-camera crowd believes these tools do not
  make driving safer.
• Detractors maintain cameras simply generate
  additional government revenues.

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PHOTO ENFORCEMENT

• TRAFFIC CRASHES CAUSE INJURY AND DEATH
•  
• Everyone understands how serious a traffic
  crashes can be. And, the faster a car is
  traveling before a crash, the greater the loss of
  life and property.
• If your speed exceeds the limit or is going too
  fast for the current road conditions, youre at
  risk of causing a crash that will injure you
  and/or others.
• Youd think risk of injury or even death to
  yourself or someone else would be enough
  incentive for everyone behind the wheel to take
  greater caution. Statistics tell us otherwise,
  unfortunately.
•  
• Photo enforcement cameras can and have changed
  driving behavior in the locations theyve been
  installed.
• The risk of paying fines and possibly losing
  driving privileges has caused drivers to think
  twice before they speed or run a red light.

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PHOTO ENFORCEMENT

• STUDIES SUPPORT PHOTO ENFORCEMENT EFFECTIVENESS
•  
• Although some studies cast doubt on whether photo
  enforcement cameras work, many others support
  their success.
• So which studies should you believe?
• The best way to evaluate photo enforcement is to
  compare before and after data.
• In other words, compare the numbers of traffic
  violations, crashes, injuries and deaths before
  cameras were installed versus after they were
  installed
• Did traffic safety improve, stay the same or
  deteriorate?
• Can any external factors besides photo
  enforcement be responsible for these changes?
• Another comparison could be with similar
  locations that did not have cameras installed.
• How does the traffic safety data compare during
  the same period of time for these two different
  scenarios?

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PHOTO ENFORCEMENT

• STUDIES SUPPORT PHOTO ENFORCEMENT EFFECTIVENESS
•  
• A group of analysts reviewed 35 studies conducted
  across the globe and concluded the following
•  
• All the studies dealing with speed found average
  driver speeds were reduced after photo
  enforcement cameras were installed.
• Most countries involved in the studies reported
  speeding reductions between 10 and 35.
• Of the 28 studies measuring the effect on
  crashes, all 28 experienced a reduction after
  cameras were installed between 8 and 49.
• For crashes that involved injuries, the decrease
  was between 8 and 50.
• For crashes resulting in serious injury or death,
  reductions were between 11 and 44.

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PHOTO ENFORCEMENT

• These studies were conducted across several
  countries with slightly different criteria.
• However, the general conclusion is that photo
  enforcement had a positive impact on traffic
  safety.
• And the analysts clearly found reductions
  occurred across all 35 studies.
• Photo enforcement had a positive impact on
  reducing crashes that lead to injury or death.
• Cameras, therefore, provide a simple and
  economical intervention for saving lives.
• Photo enforcement cameras help extend law
  enforcement resources 24/7.
• If the threat of a ticket will make a driver slow
  down, why not use that tool?
• Isnt saving a life worth it?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ryan is Communications Director at Redflex
Traffic Systems, Inc., a leader in road safety
technology that operates more than 2,000 photo
enforcement systems in over 250 cities throughout
the United States and Canada. For more
information about Photo Enforcement solutions,
visit http//www.redflex.com today.