Chicago Drivers Have Wised Up to Speed Cameras, Their Good Behavior is Bankrupting the City

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Citizens in Chicago are costing the city tens of millions by obeying the law, giving credence to the notion that crime really does pay, and is not only profitable but necessary for the state to survive.

Over the last year Rahm Emanuel and company have flooded the city with speed cameras in an attempt to create a windfall of revenue generation.

Original estimates of revenue to be collected were upwards of $100 million but good drivers set back this greedy political goal $50 million. This shortage is in spite of the city’s best efforts to trick drivers into getting the tickets by placing the cameras in the proximity to schools and parks.

The tickets come with a $100 sticker price and the residents of Chicago got wise to this scam real quick.

Good behavior is bad for the budget.

Now the city will have to rob the citizens of Chicago in other ways to make up for their $50 million dollar budget shortfall.

This is a perfect example of how the system never sets out to prevent crime, they only wish to control it for profit.

A report done by Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson, maintained “the City cannot prove red-light camera locations are based on safety considerations.” In fact, there are a very many studies which illustrate the negative safety impact of speed cameras, they are listed at the bottom of this article.

This is a swift kick in the pants of Mayor Rahm Emanuel as it has taught him that underestimating the intelligence of the Chicago citizens can have dire consequences.

It also helps to shed light on potential revolutionary measures which ‘we the people’ can take to incite incredible change. The state is dependent upon you breaking their arbitrary traffic ‘laws’ in order to pay themselves. If we stop speeding, we literally give them a drastic pay cut.

Imagine it, we could defund the police state through good driving! In theory anyway.

Even if the good driving revolution never gets off the ground, it is quite heartening to see the huge effect that it is having in Chicago. Hopefully it opens the eyes of people across the country to the fact that the state needs them to break its laws in order to survive.

Starve the system. Drive the speed limit.

U.S. PIRG Red Light Camera Report – Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead

According to a this study by the national public interest advocacy group, U.S. PRIG, local governments hungry for revenue are signing contracts with red-light camera companies that put profit over traffic safety.

Los Angeles Red Light Cameras Lead To Increased Accidents

A local TV station fact-checked the city’s claims that their ticket cameras reduced accidents and found that the opposite was true. At 20 of the 32 intersections studied, accidents increased and several intersections tripled their accident rate.

Virginia Accidents Increased After Ticket Camera Installation

The Virginia Transportation Research Council released a report expanding upon earlier research into the safety effects of red light cameras in Virginia. It showed an overall increase in crashes after cameras were installed.

A Long Term Study of Red-Light Cameras and Accidents

The conclusion of this Australian study was that RLCs are not an effective countermeasure and that they can increase the number of rear end crashes.

AAA Michigan Study Shows Cameras Aren’t Needed

AAA Michigan partnered with a number of communities to improve intersection safety. Their inexpensive structural changes resulted in a 47-percent decrease in crashes and a 50-percent decrease in injuries.

Red Light Running Cameras: Would Crashes, Injuries and Automobile Insurance Rates Increase If They Are Used in Florida?

A report published in Florida Public Health Review journal found that red light cameras increased accidents and insurance industry profit.

Red-Light-Running Behaviour at Red-Light Camera and Control Intersections

Monash University study showing red-light cameras have no effect on reducing violations.

A Detailed Investigation Of Crash Risk Reduction Resulting From Red-Light Cameras In Small Urban Areas

A study prepared by the North Carolina A&T State University found that red-light cameras increased the number of accidents at intersections.

A Response to Unfounded Criticisms of Burkey and Obeng (2004) Made by the IIHS

The North Carolina A&T University study above was criticized by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This is a rebuttal of IIHS’s claims by the authors of the North Carolina study.

Impact of Red-Light Camera Enforcement on Crash Experience — A Synthesis of Highway Practice

A recent study by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) illustrates the lack of evidence supporting the effectiveness of red-light cameras.

Evaluation of the Red-Light-Camera-Enforcement Pilot Project

This report from Ontario, Canada’s Ministry of Transportation’s concluded that jurisdictions using photo enforcement experienced an overall increase in property damage and fatal and injury rear-end collisions.

Development of Guidelines for Identifying and Treating Locations with a Red-Light-Running Problem

This Texas Transportation Institute study highlights the efficacy of increasing yellow-light times. An extra second yielded a 40-percent reduction in collisions.

Virginia DOT Study on Red-Light Cameras

The Virginia Department of Transportation released a biased report in favor of the cameras that still documented an increase in accidents, including more rear-end collisions and injuries.

Critique of IIHS 2001 Oxnard Study

California Senate Committee on Privacy critiqued the Oxnard study. The results show that IIHS’s study is flawed on many levels.

The Red-Light-Running Crisis: Is It Intentional?

This report was prepared by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s staff. It looks at the problems of red-light cameras and how to really deal with traffic-light violations.

Driver Behavior Characteristics at Urban Signalized Intersections

This study shows that providing adequate all-red clearance intervals can significantly impact intersection safety by reducing the probability of occurrence of right angle crashes, even if drivers run the red light.

Misleading San Diego Report

Although the report clearly credits the most significant reduction in violations to an increase in yellow time — a fact buried on page 78 — the report nonetheless credits these benefits to the red-light cameras everywhere else in the report, especially in the summary.

University of South Florida Criticism of Oxnard Study

University of South Florida researchers uncovered fundamental flaws in the first US study to claim red light cameras decrease accidents.

Report Critiques Red Light Camera Research Methods

A peer-reviewed article published in the Florida Public Health Review elaborates on the conclusion that red light cameras are associated with increased injury accidents.

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