Study Shows Red Light Cameras in Iowa Save Lives and Reduce lnjuries

During the 2011 session of the Iowa State Assembly, a Midwest Transportation Consortium (MTC) evaluation of camera-based programs to reduce red light running was cited by the Transportation Subcommittee as key to defeating a bill that would have prohibited such programs in the State.  The evaluation was led by Shauna Hallmark, Ph.D., director of the MTC (a Tier One UTC).

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) estimates that red light running (RLR) causes more than 100,000 crashes and 1,000 fatalities annually and results in an estimated economic loss of over $14 billion per  year in the United States.  In Iowa, 24.5 percent of all crashes and 31.7 percent of fatal and major injury crashes at signalized intersections were due to red light running from 2001-2006.  Red light running can be particularly dangerous because many RLR crashes are right-angle collisions.