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."
