Red-light cameras have not reduced accidents at most Kansas City intersections they monitor, according to a police analysis.In fact, the analysis of more than 2,500 wrecks in the two years after the cameras appeared shows that injury wrecks, rear-end wrecks and overall wrecks all increased. Only right-angle crashes the ones most likely due to red-light running decreased.In the cameras second year of use, accidents were higher at 11 of the 17 intersections being monitored. Overall, wrecks were up 18 percent at those locations.Injury accidents rose at 13 of the intersections, with the only fatal accident occurring at one of the intersections after the cameras arrival, according to the analysis, which police expect to release today at the Board of Police Commissioners meeting. Board members requested the analysis and expect a lively discussion.By contrast, wrecks across the city and statewide dropped in 2009 and 2010. The city installed the first cameras in January 2009 and added more that spring and summer. The results didnt surprise Rajiv Shah, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who studied the effectiveness of red-light cameras in Chicago and concluded in 2010 they offered no significant benefit.Id say thats very consistent with what cities across America have found, he said of Kansas Citys results. Theres not really a hard connection between reducing accidents and red-light cameras.The cameras are touted as a way to improve public safety, Shah said, but its clearly not.Its easy money, he said. Thats why the cities do it.When the Kansas City Council agreed to bring red-light cameras to Kansas City in 2008, council members said they wanted to make the city safer. Now, city officials are discussing whether to expand the program.The Police Departments study findings differed from a recent study by city engineers, who concluded that the cameras worked well at some intersections, but did not achieve the goals of reduced accidents and reduced violations at other intersections. Intersections with high traffic volume and a high number of violators showed the best results, they said. The citys study, which examined a different time frame, showed a 2-percent decline in overall wrecks and one fewer injury wreck after the cameras were installed.The police analysis showed:• Wrecks more than doubled at 59th Street and Bruce R. Watkins Drive, the intersection that posted the largest increase.• Rear-end wrecks were the most common type of wreck in all three years studied, before and after the cameras were installed.• Officers have written nearly 200,000 camera-generated tickets since January 2009. At $100 a ticket, these fines could bring in $20 million.But the number of violations issued each year has been falling, according to a memo sent Monday to Kansas City officials from American Traffic Solutions, the private company that helps run Kansas Citys program. The memo also noted that 51 percent of the violations were written to drivers of vehicles registered outside of Kansas City.It is clear that this photo enforcement program is a great success in reducing the number of red light runners, Jason Norton of ATS wrote in the memo. If so, why have wrecks increased in Kansas City?Supporters of the program believe its because wrecks are complex and affected by myriad aspects, including traffic flow, weather and the economy.Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said a proper analysis would involve comparing the camera intersections in Kansas City against similar intersections in a similar city that didnt have a red-light camera program.He said such studies have consistently shown reductions of 45 percent to 50 percent in red-light running and reductions of 25 percent to 30 percent in injury crashes.You cant make a determination about cameras the way Kansas City police did, Rader said, because youre just looking at the raw number of crashes.Rader said comparing data within a city that uses the cameras underestimates the effects of the cameras spillover effect, which involves better driver behavior across the city because drivers arent sure which intersections have cameras.But Shah has a different theory on why cameras dont reduce wrecks. He said many of the violations written by Chicago police involved drivers who turned right at red lights without completely stopping not the more dangerous drivers who blew straight through intersections.When you think about red-light cameras, youre not really thinking about catching the guy turning right in the middle of the night when no ones around and just cruising through it, he said. They probably wouldnt have had a wreck anyway.Red-light cameras effectively stop this kind of driver, whom Shah refers to as vigilant violators. But the cameras are less effective, Shah believes, against drivers who are distracted or criminal.They are the ones likely to go through the red light anyway, he said.Kansas City police said more than half of their tickets go to drivers who dont completely stop before turning right at a red light. Police Officer Ray Thompson said the rate was higher when the cameras first arrived.A lot of people didnt realize they had to make a complete stop, he said, adding that officers use discretion and give the benefit of the doubt when they can. Theyve kind of been educated now. There arent as many as there were in the beginning.

KansasCity.com

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Study suggests red-light cameras don’t add to safety

That’s what a surprising study by KC police suggests. But the cameras generate tickets by the tens of thousands.

By CHRISTINE VENDEL

The Kansas City Star

ALLISON LONG

The intersection of Bruce R. Watkins Drive and 55th Street has seen more injury accidents despite the presence of red-light cameras there.

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Red-light cameras have not reduced accidents at most Kansas City intersections they monitor, according to a police analysis.

In fact, the analysis of more than 2,500 wrecks in the two years after the cameras appeared shows that injury wrecks, rear-end wrecks and overall wrecks all increased. Only right-angle crashes — the ones most likely due to red-light running — decreased.

In the cameras’ second year of use, accidents were higher at 11 of the 17 intersections being monitored. Overall, wrecks were up 18 percent at those locations.

Injury accidents rose at 13 of the intersections, with the only fatal accident occurring at one of the intersections after the cameras’ arrival, according to the analysis, which police expect to release today at the Board of Police Commissioners meeting. Board members requested the analysis and expect a lively discussion.

By contrast, wrecks across the city — and statewide — dropped in 2009 and 2010. The city installed the first cameras in January 2009 and added more that spring and summer.

The results didn’t surprise Rajiv Shah, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who studied the effectiveness of red-light cameras in Chicago and concluded in 2010 they offered “no significant benefit.”

“I’d say that’s very consistent with what cities across America have found,” he said of Kansas City’s results. “There’s not really a hard connection between reducing accidents and red-light cameras.”

The cameras are touted as a way to improve public safety, Shah said, but “it’s clearly not.”

“It’s easy money,” he said. “That’s why the cities do it.”

When the Kansas City Council agreed to bring red-light cameras to Kansas City in 2008, council members said they wanted to make the city safer. Now, city officials are discussing whether to expand the program.

The Police Department’s study findings differed from a recent study by city engineers, who concluded that the cameras worked well at some intersections, but “did not achieve the goals” of reduced accidents and reduced violations at other intersections. Intersections with high traffic volume and a high number of violators showed the best results, they said. The city’s study, which examined a different time frame, showed a 2-percent decline in overall wrecks and one fewer injury wreck after the cameras were installed.

The police analysis showed:

• Wrecks more than doubled at 59th Street and Bruce R. Watkins Drive, the intersection that posted the largest increase.

• Rear-end wrecks were the most common type of wreck in all three years studied, before and after the cameras were installed.

• Officers have written nearly 200,000 camera-generated tickets since January 2009. At $100 a ticket, these fines could bring in $20 million.

But the number of violations issued each year has been falling, according to a memo sent Monday to Kansas City officials from American Traffic Solutions, the private company that helps run Kansas City’s program. The memo also noted that 51 percent of the violations were written to drivers of vehicles registered outside of Kansas City.

“It is clear that this photo enforcement program is a great success in reducing the number of red light runners,” Jason Norton of ATS wrote in the memo.

If so, why have wrecks increased in Kansas City?

Supporters of the program believe it’s because wrecks are complex and affected by myriad aspects, including traffic flow, weather and the economy.

Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said a proper analysis would involve comparing the camera intersections in Kansas City against similar intersections in a similar city that didn’t have a red-light camera program.

He said such studies have consistently shown reductions of 45 percent to 50 percent in red-light running and reductions of 25 percent to 30 percent in injury crashes.

“You can’t make a determination about cameras” the way Kansas City police did, Rader said, “because you’re just looking at the raw number of crashes.”

Rader said comparing data within a city that uses the cameras underestimates the effects of the cameras’ “spillover effect,” which involves better driver behavior across the city because drivers aren’t sure which intersections have cameras.

But Shah has a different theory on why cameras don’t reduce wrecks. He said many of the violations written by Chicago police involved drivers who turned right at red lights without completely stopping — not the more dangerous drivers who blew straight through intersections.

“When you think about red-light cameras, you’re not really thinking about catching the guy turning right in the middle of the night when no one’s around and just cruising through it,” he said. “They probably wouldn’t have had a wreck anyway.”

Red-light cameras effectively stop this kind of driver, whom Shah refers to as “vigilant violators.” But the cameras are less effective, Shah believes, against drivers who are distracted or criminal.

“They are the ones likely to go through the red light anyway,” he said.

Kansas City police said more than half of their tickets go to drivers who don’t completely stop before turning right at a red light. Police Officer Ray Thompson said the rate was higher when the cameras first arrived.

“A lot of people didn’t realize they had to make a complete stop,” he said, adding that officers use discretion and give the benefit of the doubt when they can. “They’ve kind of been educated now. There aren’t as many as there were in the beginning.”