Jury still out on red-light cameras

To the editor:

Kudos to state Sen. Jason Crowell for his efforts to put the brakes on red-light cameras. His willingness to take tough stances on important issues is greatly appreciated.

Although common sense would seem to prevail that issuing more red-light violation tickets should produce far safer intersections, the jury is still out. A number of municipalities have seen an increase in rear-end collisions at these intersections as tentative drivers lock up their brakes unexpectedly in anticipation of a light change. And the 40 percent crash reduction seems a bit generous. Most studies are incomplete at this stage, and those that are credible put the overall accident improvement figure more near 20 percent -- two out of 10.

Also it appears the Zogby polls paid for by the insurance companies dealt with known dangerous intersections that may have recently been the scene of a horrific crash.

As the article stated, senior citizens are the leading cause of fatalities at intersections. Add to that drunken or fatigued drivers, police chases and other reckless behavior, it is doubtful that all this wonderful ticket revenue would prevent the really serious crashes that the poll responders imagine. Some intersections are just poorly engineered. And we just can't ignore the revenue involved, both for the city and the monitoring company.

Big money, police surveillance, local politics? You're right, Senator Crowell, this issue needs a much closer look.

RANDY DUNN, Oak Ridge