Budget concerns in Norfolk, Virginia (VA), may stop red light cameras from going up, according to WAVY-TV 10. Norfolk, Virginia City Council approved the red light cameras in December 2011 to capture people running red lights.
The cameras are good at helping law enforcement identify people who kill or injure people by not complying with traffic laws, or prevent crashes. When people do not abide by the rules, the cameras allow for more ticketing, and getting people who cause others to suffer death or serious injuries off the roads.
The cameras were to go up in four locations, but the project is on hold because of budget concerns. Some people object to the cameras because of privacy, but others see the cameras, which take a short video of people who run red lights, as a need for safety. Norfolk, Virginia has more narrow roads, than other Virginia cities, such as Virginia Beach. Congested roads prompt speeding and people not following light signals.
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LC
About the Editors: The Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm, which has offices in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC), edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
3 Comments
Terri Cobb
I agree, camera's can help, attorneys prove who did what, however: I am old fashioned, police should be there to catch a light runner, not send them a ticket in the mail.
deviantleft
A 2005 VA STATE Study showed that incidences of accidents at intersections with red light cameras increased from 8% to 17%. In a 2007 study, the number of total crashes at red light camera intersections increased to 29%. Rear-end crashes seemed to be one of the biggest concerns, as drivers were breaking unexpectedly to avoid running a red light.
Red light cameras have not been abandoned altogether in Virginia. The State requires that only 1 red light camera be installed per 10,000 people in the surrounding population and highly visible signs must indicate to drivers that a red light camera is operational at an upcoming intersection. Virginia continues to experiment with their usefulness in deterring violations but remains concerned with the related accidents.
Pierce Egerton
Thanks John, good article. Here's some stats from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. (And believe me, that's one industry that wouldn't support anything that increased auto crash claims):
A 2011 Institute study comparing large cities with red light cameras to those without found the devices reduced the fatal red light running crash rate by 24 percent and the rate of all types of fatal crashes at signalized intersections by 17 percent.
Previous research has shown that cameras substantially reduce red light violations and crashes. Studies by the Institute and others have found reductions ranging from 40 to 96 percent after the introduction of cameras. Institute studies in Fairfax, Virginia, and Oxnard, California, found that in addition to the decrease in red light running at camera-equipped sites, the effect carried over to signalized intersections not equipped with red light cameras, indicating community-wide changes in driver behavior.
In Oxnard, significant citywide crash reductions followed the introduction of red light cameras, and injury crashes at intersections with traffic signals were reduced by 29 percent. Front-into-side collisions – the crash type most closely associated with red light running – at these intersections declined by 32 percent overall, and front-into-side crashes involving injuries fell 68 percent.
An Institute review of international red light camera studies concluded that cameras lower red light violations by 40-50 percent and reduce injury crashes by 25-30 percent.
http://www.iihs.org/research/qanda/rlr.html
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