Georgia motorists may be divided in their opinions on the use of red-light cameras that can result in the issuance of a traffic ticket. There is the danger, after all, that cities can use cameras more to generate revenue than to save lives. However, there are fewer communities using red-light cameras than in the past. In 2012, their number was 533. By mid-2018, it went down to 421. During that same period, the number of fatalities resulting from red-light running crashes rose by 17%.
The decline in cameras is certainly one reason for this increase, though there are others. For example, there are now more vehicles on the road. Still, there is too much data supporting red-light cameras to make it reasonable to assume that the two trends are coincidental. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, for example, says that cameras can reduce the number of red-light running violations by about 40%. Large cities that have installed cameras, when compared to those that have not, have seen 21% fewer fatalities from red-light running accidents.
Communities that recognize the benefits and wish to raise public support for cameras can follow several recommendations made by the IIHS and other road safety organizations. For instance, they should make sure that area residents can give feedback about the camera system, and they should inform the public on the location of all cameras.
Occupants of other vehicles, as well as pedestrians and bicyclists who are harmed as a result of a driver who has run through a red light, often sustain serious injuries that require lengthy periods of medical care and treatment. They might find it advisable to have the help of an attorney when seeking compensation for these and other losses that they have sustained.
