A new study on red-light cameras shows that getting rid of them could lead to more deaths.
The study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that removing red-light cameras led to a third more people dying in traffic accidents, caused by drivers running red lights.
The report states that at least 158 communities have ended their red-light camera programs in the past five years. Columbus is among them.
Researchers compared trends in annual crash rates in 14 cities that no longer have red-light cameras with those in 29 cities in the same regions that continue to use the cameras. They found that crashes involving running a red-light went up 30 percent where cameras no longer existed.
The study also showed that crashes of all types at intersections with traffic signals went up 16 percent. Researchers think that it suggests that red-light cameras deter other dangerous behavior by drivers, not just running red-lights.
