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Q 2. How often do drivers run red lights?

A. A multi-month study conducted at five busy intersections in Fairfax, Virginia, prior to the use of red-light cameras found that, on average, a motorist ran a red light every 20 minutes per intersection. During peak travel times, red-light running was more frequent. University Transportation Center for Alabama analysis of red-light violation data from 19 intersections in four states found that 1,775 violations occurred over 554 hours, for a violation rate of 3.2 per hour per intersection.
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Q3. Is red-light running a big problem?

A. Red-light running is one of the major causes of crashes, deaths and injuries at signalized intersections. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that nearly 1,000 Americans are killed and 176,000 are injured annually due to red-light running crashes, with an annual monetary impact estimated at $14 billion.

A nationwide U.S. Department of Transportation study of fatal crashes at traffic signals in 1999 and 2000 estimated that 20 percent of the drivers involved failed to obey the signals. About half of the deaths in red-light running crashes are pedestrians and occupants in other vehicles who are hit by the red-light runners.

Motorists are more likely to be injured in urban crashes involving red-light running than in other types of crashes. Researchers with the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety studied police reports of crashes on public roads in four urban areas during 1990-91. Occupant injuries occurred in 45 percent of red-light running crashes, compared with 30 percent of other crash types.
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Q 4. Is red-light running a big problem in Lewisville?

A. Although there has been no specific scientific study on red-light running in Lewisville, traffic officers report very similar experiences as those described in the above studies. Namely, that major intersections see red-light runners about every 20 minutes, more often during peak traffic hours, and that accidents involving a red-light runner typically are more serious than other types of vehicle accidents.

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Q 5. How do red-light cameras work?

A. Red-light cameras can help communities enforce traffic laws by automatically photographing vehicles whose drivers run red lights. A red-light camera system is connected to the traffic signal and to sensors that monitor traffic flow at the crosswalk or stop line. The system continuously monitors the traffic signal, and the camera itself is triggered by any vehicle entering the intersection above a preset minimum speed and following a specified time after the signal has turned red. Violations occurring within the first two-tenths of a second after the signal changes to red generally aren’t recorded because of technical limitations of the recording equipment. In addition, many red-light camera programs provide motorists with grace periods of up to half a second.

Depending on the particular technology in use, a series of photographs and/or video images show the red light violator, including the license plate, prior to entering the intersection on a red signal, as well as the vehicle’s progression through the intersection. Cameras record the date, time of day, time elapsed since the beginning of the red signal, and vehicle speed. Citations typically are sent by mail to registered owners of violating vehicles, based on a review of photographic evidence.

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Q 6. Will tickets issued through a red-light camera violation appear on an individual’s driving record?

A.No. These citations will not appear on individual driving records because they are civil law violations, as opposed to citations issued by a witnessing police officer which are criminal violations under the law.

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Q 7. Is conventional police enforcement sufficient to fight this problem?

A. Enforcing traffic laws in dense urban areas by traditional means poses special difficulties for police officers, who in most cases must follow a violating vehicle through a red light to stop it. This can endanger motorists and pedestrians as well as officers, and police cannot be everywhere at once. Traffic stops in urban areas can exacerbate traffic congestion. Communities, including Lewisville, do not have the resources to allow police to patrol intersections as often as would be needed to ticket all motorists who run red lights. Red-light cameras allow police to focus on other enforcement needs. Cameras also serve as a deterrent because they are always present, while police officers must be seen to serve as a deterrent.

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Q8. Does Lewisville really need red-light cameras when I have heard that all that is really needed is an extension of the yellow-light timing?

A. This question was answered directly by a field study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Six intersections were tested sequentially, starting with an increase in the length of the yellow light. The results produced an impressive 20-63 percent reduction in red-light running. However, when cameras were installed at the same intersections, a further 87-100 percent reduction in red-light running was recorded. The worst intersection for violations before the test showed 251 violations per 10,000 vehicles passing through. That dropped to 198 violations per 10,000 with an extended yellow light, but dropped to 2 violations per 10,000 vehicles once cameras were installed.

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Q 9. Do red-light cameras really increase overall traffic safety?

A.As stated above, cameras have been shown to substantially reduce red-light violations. IIHS evaluations in Virginia and California showed that camera enforcement reduced red-light running violations by about 40 percent. In addition to reducing red-light running at camera-equipped sites, violation reductions in both communities carried over to signalized intersections not equipped with red-light cameras, indicating communitywide changes in driver behavior.

In addition to reducing red-light violations, cameras have been shown to reduce intersection crashes. In Oxnard, California, significant citywide crash reductions followed the introduction of red-light cameras, and injury crashes at intersections with traffic signals were reduced by 29 percent. Front-into-side collisions — the crash type most closely associated with red-light running — also were reduced by 32 percent overall, and front-into-side crashes involving injuries were reduced by 68 percent. An IIHS review of international red-light camera studies concluded that cameras reduce red-light violations by 40-50 percent and reduce injury crashes by 25-30 percent.

Studies conducted by law enforcement agencies in individual jurisdictions have produced similar results. Knoxville, Tennessee, began a photo enforcement program in 2006 and reported 17 percent fewer crashes at intersections equipped with an enforcement camera, including 45 percent fewer front-into-side crashes and 1 percent fewer rear-end crashes. Minneapolis conducted a six-month trial program in 2006 and recorded a 16 percent overall reduction in crashes at those intersections, including a 20 percent reduction in front-into-side crashes. Additionally, Minneapolis reported a citywide 5 percent reduction in vehicle accidents during the trial period.
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Q10. Will red-light cameras increase the number of rear-end collisions at intersections?

A.Some studies have reported that while red-light cameras reduce front-into-side collisions and overall injury crashes, they can increase rear-end crashes. Because the types of crashes prevented by red-light cameras tend to be more severe than rear-end crashes, research has shown there is a positive aggregate benefit.

A recent study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration evaluated red-light camera programs in seven cities. The study found that, overall, right-angle crashes decreased by 25 percent while rear-end collisions increased by 15 percent. Results showed a positive aggregate economic benefit of more than $18.5 million.

Not all studies have reported increases in rear-end crashes. The Cochrane Collaboration (an international organization that conducts systematic reviews of the scientific literature on public health issues) recently reviewed 10 controlled before-after studies of red-light camera effectiveness in Australia, Singapore and the United States. Using techniques of meta-analysis, the authors estimated a 16 percent reduction in all types of injury crashes and a 24 percent reduction in right-angle crashes. The review did not find a statistically significant change in rear-end crashes.
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Q 11. Who runs red lights?

A. The IIHS created a profile of red-light runners by studying driver behavior at an Arlington, Virginia, intersection equipped with a red-light camera. The 1996 study compared red-light runners with motorists who had an opportunity to run a red light but did not. As a group, red-light runners were younger, less likely to use safety belts, had poorer driving records, and drove smaller and older vehicles than drivers who stopped for red lights. Red-light runners were more than three times as likely to have multiple speeding convictions on their driving records. No gender differences were found between violators and drivers who did not run red lights.

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Q 12. Do the cameras photograph every vehicle passing through an intersection?

A. No. Cameras are set so that only those vehicles that enter an intersection after the light has turned red are photographed. Vehicles that enter on yellow and are still in an intersection when the light changes to red are not photographed, nor are vehicles that are stopped in the intersection while the signal is green and are still there when it turns red. This technology is intended to identify vehicles driven by motorists who enter an intersection after the signal has turned red.

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In most communities that use red-light cameras, the revenue generated from citations rarely exceeds the cost of the program. Typically the cameras operate at a break-even point, or even at a slight loss as violations decrease over time. Under new Texas law, half of any revenue received above the operating cost of the system must be paid to the state for use in regional trauma centers.

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Q 20. Does the American public support the use of red-light cameras?

A. A large majority of the U.S. public supports red-light cameras. A 2000 Insurance Institute of Highway Safety survey in 10 cities — five with cameras and five without — reported that more than 75 percent of drivers supported camera enforcement. A 2002 nationwide survey sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and conducted by the Gallup Organization found that 75 percent of drivers favored the use of red-light cameras. A 1996 survey by the Insurance Research Council found that the highest support for red-light cameras was in large cities, where 83 percent of respondents supported their use.

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Q 22. If I receive a citation in the mail, how could I see a photo of the violation?

A. The notice of violation will include a color photograph of the vehicle in violation showing it in the intersection on a red light, and also a zoomed photo of the vehicle’s license plate number. A web address and access code is listed on the violation notice allowing the registered owner to view a video of the violation. Back to Questions

Q 23. What can I do if I receive a violation but I was not driving my vehicle when the violation occurred?

A. Under City of Lewisville ordinance, the registered owner is presumed to have committed the red-light violation regardless of who is driving. An exception exists in the ordinance if after a presentation of evidence, the vehicle is:

1.) being test driven by another person;
2.) being rented or leased by the vehicle's owner to another person; or
3.) owned by a person who was not the person named in the notice of violation.