Evil Traffic Cameras
Do speed cameras make us safer?
This author has worked in auto insurance since 2006, a total of 3 companies. Each of them has a surcharge for ZIP codes where traffic cameras exist. Usually a 25% - 35% surcharge.
Why the increased premiums? Simple - the companies KNOW that the cameras actually cause more accidents than they prevent.
People seeing a yellow light in a place that they know has a camera will instinctually slam on the brakes. To prevent getting the ticket. Well, that may not have been the safest course of action. Person behinds them collides and damage is done.
Insurance companies know that there are more collisions in places with cameras. The severity of the crashes is usually low. "Fender benders."
Also, in the linked video, Steve Lehto asks why the camera companies are overseas and not US companies. This author would suggest that the companies know they would bear liability for the greater chance of fender benders. Soon enough, they would be sued.
Alternatively, the cameras are in areas or on routes where people usually drive like fools. Rear-end "fender-benders are less of a problem than the "T- Bones" that are prevented. My wife had a lifetime limp from an encounter with a moron that blew a stop signal. I spent some decades commuting on a motorcycle. When a signal goes green, I still hesitate and look for the moron who will try to kill me by blowing the red. The "fender bender" you describe is two morons encountering one another. They deserve what happens.
ReplyDeleteVery sorry about what happened to your wife. What actuarial data tables show in terms of frequency and severity of collisions in same ZIP code areas before and after red light cameras does not coincide with what you suggest. And yes, it is wise to not just blindly accelerate when the light turns green. Situational awareness.
DeleteAsk the French how much they like speed cameras.
ReplyDeleteI would expect that the rear-end collisions at camera locations are performed by the same people who would blow the light if the braking car wasn't in front of them. If they are further back in the "pack" they often speed through our neighborhood trying to sidestep that signal. I'd rather they had a "fender bender" on the main drag and that the insurance vultures charged more for idiots with fender-benders than for their victims who happen to live in the area. If you hit the person in front of you, you were not paying attention and/or were driving too fast and too close. Not my problem. Learn to drive or take the bus.
ReplyDelete