Colorado DOT Rejects Red Light Cameras

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7/14/2005

Colorado DOT Rejects Red Light Cameras
Department of Transportation officials in Colorado will not use red light cameras on state roads because of rear-end collision concern.

A Colorado Department of Transportation official has confirmed that state roads will not adopt the use of red light cameras, despite the urging of several special interest groups funded by the insurance industry and private companies that implement photo enforcement contracts.

"We are reluctant to proceed full speed ahead until there is more information about the effect on wrecks and injuries," Jake Kononov, Colorado DOT's regional traffic and safety engineer told the Rocky Mountain News. A number of independent university studies have confirmed that injury accidents increase where the devices are used. The primary increase is in rear end collisions, which can be fatal.

Several individual cities including Boulder, Northglenn, and Ft. Collins began using both red light cameras and photo radar to issue thousands of tickets to motorists as early as 1997. The insurance industry makes money from automated enforcement in Colorado by raising rates on anyone issued a six-point photo ticket for driving 25 MPH over the speed limit.

Article Excerpt:

The problem: motorists seeing signs announcing that a photo trap is near may slam on their brakes, causing rear-end collisions.

Source: Red-light campaign to stop at state roads (Rocky Mountain News, 7/14/2005)

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