Eliminating Traffic Crashes Not So Difficult

The following article summarizes the success of speed cameras. Look folks, the main reason our highways threaten our families every single day, is because of unsafe drivers. Cameras help our police patrol our roads like no other tool.
Don't you think its time to push their use in your community?
Mike


Traffic fatalities cut in half; Speed cams creditedJune 10, 2009 - 8:19am

There are fewer crashes on roads where speed cameras are located, police say. (WTOP File Photo)
ROCKVILLE, Md. -- You may hate them, but Montgomery County police credit the county's 60 speed cameras with helping cut in half the number of traffic fatalities.
Nine people have died in traffic accidents so far this year. During the same time frame last year, 19 had been killed. In 2007, 18 had died.
"This is not a blip on the radar. This is long-lasting, profound effects on our roadways," said Capt. John Damskey at a public hearing Tuesday night.
Damskey says speed cameras "absolutely" help save lives.
But he says they are not the sole reason fatalities are down.
"They've got to be playing a part."
A 2008 study of 11 camera locations found a 25 percent reduction in crashes on the roads where the speed cameras were located, Damskey said as he testified during a hearing to expand the county's speed camera program.
Drivers caught by the speed cameras end up with $40 tickets. Of that $40, $16.25 of each ticket goes to the private contractor who owns the cameras.
The cameras already generate $15 million. The county is looking for them to bring in $29 million in the next fiscal year. Of that, the county would spend $15.8 million on public safety initiatives.
But not all residents attending the hearing were impressed by the safety statistics.
"I am against the speed cameras. No. 1, I don't think they pick up one of the major hazards on our roadways in Montgomery County right now -- bicyclists," resident Reardon Sullivan told the Montgomery County Council.
Another citizen who supports speed cameras says there's a serious lag time in getting information when you want to fight a ticket.
(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.) ROCKVILLE, Md. -- You may hate them, but Montgomery County police credit the county's 60 speed cameras with helping cut in half the number of traffic fatalities.
Nine people have died in traffic accidents so far this year. During the same time frame last year, 19 had been killed. In 2007, 18 had died.
"This is not a blip on the radar. This is long-lasting, profound effects on our roadways," said Capt. John Damskey at a public hearing Tuesday night.
Damskey says speed cameras "absolutely" help save lives.
But he says they are not the sole reason fatalities are down.
"They've got to be playing a part."
A 2008 study of 11 camera locations found a 25 percent reduction in crashes on the roads where the speed cameras were located, Damskey said as he testified during a hearing to expand the county's speed camera program.
Drivers caught by the speed cameras end up with $40 tickets. Of that $40, $16.25 of each ticket goes to the private contractor who owns the cameras.
The cameras already generate $15 million. The county is looking for them to bring in $29 million in the next fiscal year. Of that, the county would spend $15.8 million on public safety initiatives.
But not all residents attending the hearing were impressed by the safety statistics.
"I am against the speed cameras. No. 1, I don't think they pick up one of the major hazards on our roadways in Montgomery County right now -- bicyclists," resident Reardon Sullivan told the Montgomery County Council.
Another citizen who supports speed cameras says there's a serious lag time in getting information when you want to fight a ticket.
(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
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yahooBuzzArticleSummary = "You may hate them, but Montgomery County police credit the county's 60 speed cameras with helping cut in half the number of traffic fatalities."

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