Speed Cameras May Save Lives

23 June 2009 - 8:00am

There are some arguments against speed cameras, but one says bicyclists are one of the major hazards on roadways.

Speeding is one of the largest threats to all road users. And more and more crashes are related to speed, according to data from Virginia and Maryland. But data also show a 25 percent reduction in crashes on the roads where speed cameras are located. D.C.'s WashCycle blog looks at the numbers:

"My inner scientist is, of course, recoiling at the idea that one half a year makes a trend. If there had been 25 deaths would they have called the cameras a flop? Or that only cameras can be credited (people are driving less and were, for a while, buying smaller cars - for example). But if they installed cameras to slow people down to improve safety, and then people slowed down and the roads became safer
A 2008 study of 11 camera locations found a 25 percent reduction in crashes on the roads where the speed cameras were located.

It is reasonable to assume that the cameras should get some credit - if not the lion's share."

Source: Wash Cycle, June 21, 2009
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Short of erasing existing political and jurisdictional boundaries, citizens and officials need to develop the capacity to work across boundaries according to the "problem-sheds" of the land and water issues we face in the 21st century.