For several years now, the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners have been advocating the installations of cameras at intersections to protect the public. The Sheriff’s office also supports the idea, and so does the Florida Legislature, or at least they seem to in theory for now. Without the support of statewide legislation, Palm Beach County has decided to take matters into their own hands by developing it’s own ordinance.
The determination coming from the Board of County Commissioners is that running a red light is a major issue and needs to take priority in order to provide safety, efficiency, and proper use of the county roads and to effectively reduce the significant dangers presented to motorist and pedestrians by drivers who run red lights everyday.
In 2006, there were approximately 8,000 crashes in Palm Beach County of which many of the crashes were results of people running red lights.
According to the County, there have been ten to twenty cameras in unincorporated areas of Palm Beach County.
But what about crashes that result from drivers trying to avoid being photographed by the red light cameras? “Rigorous studies clearly show red-light cameras don’t work,” said lead author Barbara Langland-Orban, professor and chair of health policy and management at the USF College of Public Health. “Instead, they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to abruptly stop at camera intersections.”
There are some individuals who claim that this is in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution because it undermines an individuals basic rights.
On the other hand, the Department of Transportation and the Insurance Institutue of Highway Safety seem to agree for drivers who insist on running red lights it is definately worthy of having Big Brother’s intervention in an attempt to save lives. Statistics show that approximately 800 Americans are killed each year as a result of drivers running red lights.