Who is right:
Police departments that contend red-light cameras (sans data) have greatly reduced the number of intersection crashes?
Or Matthew Harper, an Orange County member of the state Assembly who has introduced a Stop Red-Light Cameras bill (A.B. 1160)? The Republican argues the number of rear-end accidents has leaped since the introduction of the cameras nearly two decades ago because drivers jam their breaks to avoid an expensive violation.
Mr. Harper’s bill, which has a time-consuming, circuitous path to tread, would prevent communities from adding cameras and force camera-friendly cities to conduct safety studies.
Theoretically, the cost of the studies could wipe out the slender, almost invisible, revenues cities derive from a year’s worth of camera violations.
In Culver City, where Capt. Ron Iizuka is in charge of Culver City’s red-light camera program, said that although statistics were not presently available, “we do know that crashes overall have declined. And cameras have stopped people from running red lights.”
Home to a dozen cameras, Culver City law enforcement is extraordinarily fond of the cameras.
“We can’t have police officers at intersections 24 hours a day,” Mr. Iizuka said. “So it is good for the community to have cameras.”
What was Capt. Iizuka’s opening reaction when he saw the Harper story in last Sunday’s Los Angeles Times?
“I didn’t give it much thought,” he said. “If they pass legislation, we will abide by the law. It is what it is.”
Capt. Iizuka’s opinion? “Because it is out of our control, it does not matter what I think,” he said.
