SFC’s Costin Testifies on Dangerous Red Light Cameras in Springfield
Testimony of
Brian Costin
Submitted to the Illinois Senate
Transportation Subcommittee on Red Light Cameras
Regarding Senate Bill 2466
March 2, 2010
Chairperson Sandoval and Vice-Chairperson Sullivan, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Brian Costin, and I am Director of Outreach with the Illinois Policy Institute. We are a nonpartisan research organization dedicated to supporting free market principles and liberty based public policy initiatives. The Institute conducts research and analysis on a variety of matters, including fiscal policy, education, government reform, health care, and transportation. You can learn more about our organization by visiting www.illinoispolicy.org.
Where We Stand Today
As of today, there are at least 853 red light cameras in operation in the State of Illinois, and seemingly more are being put up every day.
Many elected officials in Illinois, both on the state and local level, have embraced red light cameras, purportedly as a safety tool. The claim is that the cameras will make intersections safer by reducing accidents, and that any money made from the cameras is merely incidental to the primary focus of making intersections safer.
Sounds innocent enough, but what if cameras did the exact opposite. What if they actually made intersections more dangerous? If so, the entire justification for red light cameras would be eliminated and there would be no choice but to pull the cameras down.
In a survey of the existing studies on red light cameras, there are at least 9 studies that raise significant concerns about red light cameras. Each of these studies reports that red light cameras increase accidents instead of preventing them.
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SFC’s Costin Testifies on Dangerous Red Light Cameras in Springfield
In a survey of the existing studies on red light cameras, there are at least 9 studies that raise significant concerns about red light cameras. Each of these studies reports that red light cameras increase accidents instead of preventing them.