Red light camera program has been met with hostility from the residents of Cook County. The program has not ceased to be a controversial issue since its inception and implementation in 2003, in many circles, that include ordinary residents and drivers, business owners, law enforcement and government officials. Its objectives and merits are dubious at best when there’s scarcely a published study with persuasive data proving its efficacy in reducing car crashes. Personal injury attorney, Peter A. Zneimer notes that statistics have shown that while side impact accidents have decreased in Chicago, rear end collisions have increased. A Chicago Tribune study found that while side angle “T-bone” crashes were reduced by 15%, rear-end crashes increased by 22% during the same period of time.
The Chicago Tribune has criticized the Illinois Department of Safety for approving red light cameras in intersections considered safe when the whole premise of red light cameras was for the reduction of dangerous crashes in accident-prone areas. A Tribune analysis found that more than half the intersections with cameras did not meet the IDOT’s own threshold and were among the safest in IDOT studies at the time the agency approved the cameras. It bemoaned the installation of red light cameras at Illinois Highway 83 and 22nd Street and exposed the politics of IDOT’s decision in doing so. In a separate occasion, policemen in West Dundee lauded red light cameras for their usefulness in catching other road-related incidents such as a hit and run, an inebriated man behind the wheel and a road rage accident – however, if the fundamentals apply in this case, it can be legitimately argued, these are not the primary objectives of the red light camera program.
The lawyers of Zneimer & Zneimer P.C. understand the concept of red light cameras and how it strives to address immediate problems such as preventing deadly right-angle crashes and in the long run, help facilitate a change in motorists’ behavior while on the road. Drivers in an effort to avoid being recipients to costly citations are induced to be more mindful and slow down once the light turns yellow, instead of speeding ahead to narrowly miss a red light. Studies are inconclusive whether or not this is working. It has yet to be proven that red light cameras are more about saving lives than filling coffers.