Fewer people are getting into collisions at Austin intersections where there are red light cameras, however numbers released by Austin police Wednesday show that is not the case everywhere.
Of the nine red light cameras installed at problem Austin intersections, seven of them have seen close to a 70-percent decrease in collisions.
However, the cameras installed at I-35 and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard as well as I-35 and 15th Street tell quite a different story. Collisions caused by red light runners have gone up 64-percent at 15th & I-35 and 33-percent at MLK and I-35.
“We can only assume that a part of it is just because of the high volume of traffic that goes through those two intersections being the downtown area,” said Commander Stephen Baker with the Austin Police Department.
“My staff will be doing a complete analysis of all the crashes to determine if there's anything in addition to the red lights, whether it be signage, whether it be signals or again, just the mere traffic,” added Commander Baker.
There are a total of nine red light cameras installed throughout Austin, and the city wants to eventually have a total of 15.
When red light cameras were installed in Austin, it stirred up much controversy over privacy issues. The debate continues today.
The head of Austin’s Public Safety Commission admits that he, too, does not like the idea of his picture being taken out in public. However, he believes the red light cameras are a necessity.
“Hopefully in the long run, if you know there's a red light camera, you'll realize that a red light or a stop sign means you are to stop and yield to traffic and pedestrians. So from that perspective, it's a teaching device, it's a necessary thing,” said Michael Lauderdale, Public Safety Commission Chairman.
Numbers show that when the red light cameras were first installed that an average of 1,500 people a month received tickets for running red lights. That number is now an average of 900.
