Our Observation

Admit it, when all that stands between you and reaching your destination on time is a yellow traffic light, you think about breezing through it, right?

Sometimes it's too tempting to pass up. Flying through the intersection, the light fades from yellow to red just as the car slides through. Made it!

Not so fast. A bill, now awaiting Gov. Charlie Crist's signature, would make it lawful for state roadways to be monitored by red-light cameras, installed to catch motorists blowing through red lights.

Even now, those who think they've gotten away with it might be getting a $125 citation in the mail with a photo of their vehicle crossing the line on red, as cameras have already been installed in seven Orlando intersections and several in Winter Springs. Although it has been a hot topic at Orange County Commission meetings and in many city meetings — including Winter Park and Maitland — within the county, the cameras have yet to appear in Orange County.

Reports show that the cameras have made millions of dollars for many of the 30 Florida cities that have installed them — nothing to sneeze at in these harsh economic times. But they have also been marketed as a way to keep our streets safer.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that one in five drivers admit to running a red light in one of the last 10 intersections they've driven through and that 96 percent of Americans are afraid of being hit by a red-light runner. In a 2006 study, Orange County found that out of the average daily traffic of 109,507 vehicles crossing the East Colonial Drive and Alafaya Trail intersection, 1,808 ran the red light. Red-light runners averaged 2,654 daily at the Orange Blossom Trail and Sand Lake Road intersection.

Orlando reported that there were 525 accidents in the city related to red-light runners in 2007 and that the cameras they installed were meant to reduce that number. The $125 (at least) citation certainly is a good incentive.

If the state is behind the measure, municipalities that were hesitant to install them in the past would be more likely to move forward. But some question whether the cameras actually cause more harm than good. A University of South Florida study showed accidents increased at intersections where cameras were installed because motorists abruptly stopped at an intersection to avoid a citation.

And the study was not alone in its findings. Both North Carolina and Virginia found that crashes, mostly rear-enders that resulted in injury, increased at red-light camera intersections. The USF study also concluded that the number of red-light runners has decreased over the last decade. According to a study commissioned for the Florida Department of Transportation, fatalities resulting from red-light running decreased from 114 in 2000 to 100 in 2007.

Does this mean that red light cameras are not needed, or that they cause accidents rather than curb them? When Orlando studied the number of accidents at their seven camera intersections, they found crashes were down at five but up at two. Rear-end collisions decreased at five of the intersections, were up at one and remained the same at the seventh. Studying seven intersections might not be enough to conclude whether red light cameras will make our roadways safer but five out of seven isn't bad.