Do traffic cameras reduce crashes? Here's what the data show

Vehicle crashes near three automated traffic enforcement cameras were cut in half after Des Moines installed the cameras in 2011, a Des Moines Register analysis of state traffic data shows.

Des Moines officials point to the crash numbers as proof the cameras are changing drivers' habits.

But the Iowa Department of Transportion's director of traffic and safety argues there's not enough data to determine whether the cameras are making roads safer.

The Register examined DOT crash data near three Des Moines cameras as state lawmakers consider legislation that would require local governments to dismantle camera systems used to ticket drivers for speeding or running red lights.

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Traffic camera opponents say the devices are more about generating revenue for cash-strapped cities than protecting drivers. Supporters argue they allow police to safely enforce traffic laws along dangerous stretches of road. Both sides cite national studies to back their claims.

The Register compared crash data from the six years before the cameras were installed to the six years since. It showed:

Crashes near the red light camera at East 15th and Maple streets dropped from an average of 15 per year to nine;

Crashes near the red light camera at Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway at School Street dropped from an average of 20 per year to nine;

And crashes on Interstate Highway 235 near the speed camera at 52nd Street dropped from 12 per year to six.

Des Moines has five red light cameras, three mobile speed cameras and a mounted speed camera on Interstate Highway 235. DOT crash data is only available for the two red light cameras on state highways and the I-235 speed camera, which stopped issuing tickets in April due to a judge's order.

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Dave Seybert, a lieutenant with the Des Moines Police Department's traffic unit, said the crash numbers show that traffic camera technology has changed drivers’ behavior.

"If we're doing everything we can to reduce crashes, we're doing our job," he said.

But Steve Gent, the state's director of traffic and safety, said the change isn't statistically significant and more years' worth of data is needed to determine whether the cameras are effective in reducing crashes.

"When you have small numbers in any statistical evaluation, there’s year-to-year randomness you can’t control," Gent said. "… If they're effective, they aren't super effective because the numbers clearly don't show it.”

Protecting budgets or drivers?

Des Moines leaders told the Register in July 2010 the city's traffic camera program would net about $100,000 a year.

But revenue has far exceeded that estimate.

Between the 2012 and 2017 budget years, its nine cameras generated more than $20 million, according to the Des Moines Police Department.

About $13.4 million went into the city's general fund, which covers employee salaries and other expenses. City officials say the money is earmarked for public safety.

Gatso, the private company which operates the cameras, was paid $7.6 million.

The three traffic cameras whose crash data was examined by the Register issued a combined 324,933 tickets from 2011 through 2017. The I-235 speed camera was responsible for the lion's share: 279,933 tickets.

With fines starting at $65 per ticket, those three cameras issued at least $21 million in fines during those six years.

"These are like parking tickets, and they hand them out like candy," said state Rep. Jake Highfill, R-Johnston, who is among those leading the push to ban the cameras.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates that banning the cameras statewide would reduce revenue to local governments by $12 million annually.

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Highfill said he believes the traffic tickets — which are civil penalties, rather than criminal ones — deny Iowans due process because they are unable to face their accusers. In addition, he argues the cameras offer a perverse incentive for cities to issue more citations as a way to boost their budgets.

"If they need to go to the voters to raise fees or raise taxes, they should go to the voters and sell it to the voters, not try to sneak these cameras in here," he said.

Senate File 2148 and House File 2118 would ban the use of all automated traffic enforcement cameras and require local governments to dismantle their existing camera systems.

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Some lawmakers agree the cameras can be useful tools to help curb speeding and traffic violations, but want to see them regulated more thoroughly.

"I think the way Cedar Rapids has used them, placement-wise, I think it has had an impact on traffic flow in that area," said state Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Marion. "It did change behavior in that area. So I think from that perspective, yes, I think there is a need for traffic cameras."

Hinson is managing a competing bill, Senate File 220, that would allow cities and counties to use the cameras, but instead would require them to use any profits for public safety and secondary roads; create an avenue for local citizens to petition to have the cameras removed; and require a police officer to sign off on each citation.

"I think this bill takes care of a lot of the fears that a lot of people have about cameras," Hinson said.

Both versions of the legislation have cleared a legislative deadline known as the “funnel,” and both are eligible for floor debate on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Hinson said she anticipates House Republicans will discuss both bills privately and determine which one they want to move forward publicly.

If approved in the House, Hinson's regulation bill would go straight to the governor. Highfill's ban still would need approval from the Senate.

Legal battle over highway speed cameras

The speed camera on I-235 is Des Moines has been part of a years-long legal battle.

In March 2015, the state Transportation Department ordered Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Sioux City to turn off four interstate speed cameras.

In April 2017, Judge Scott D. Rosenberg sided with the DOT and ordered with cities to stop issuing tickets while they appeal the decision. The state Supreme Court could make a final ruling in the case this spring.

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The DOT's Gent said his department has received complaints about automated tickets from drivers across the state.

"It occurred to us that any small town could put speed cameras out there and we couldn't stop them," he said.

Iowa is the only state in the nation with permanent cameras on interstates, Gent said, and there's no "good research" out there that says whether cameras are effective.

"We are stuck. And unfortunately the Legislature hasn't passed one law on this," he said. "We desire legislative direction.”

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Seybert, the Des Moines police lieutenant, says a rise in the number of speeder on I-235 since the cameras stopped issuing tickets show that automated enforcement changes driving habits.

In the first four months of 2017, before the I-235 camera stopped issuing tickets, it clocked an average of 675,000 speeders per month. Roughly 7,800 of those drivers were going the 11 mph over the 60 mph speed limit, triggering a ticket.

In the eight months after the cameras stopped issuing tickets, they tracked an average of 937,500 speeders per month. Roughly 20,000 of them were going at least 11 mph over the limit.