POLL SUPPORTS CAMERAS

A recent Insurance Research Council (IRC) survey of U.S. households found that two out of three adults (65 percent) support the use of cameras to enforce laws against red-light running. Public support for this type of enforcement has increased from 59 percent since it was measured by the IRC a year ago. Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have suggested that traffic cameras are effective in reducing red-light running by as much as 40 percent, resulting in a decline in injury-related crashes. The IRC also examined public support of photo enforcement systems using radar sensors to detect vehicles traveling significantly faster than the posted speed limit. These systems are used both as a way to apprehend speeders in heavily congested roadways and to deter speeding by increasing the risk of being ticketed. Fifty-two percent of respondents favor the use of speed camera systems on highways, and one in four strongly favor their use. The results contained in IRC’s report are based on a survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide, which consisted of telephone interviews with 1,017 men and women 18 years and older, selected to be representative of the population of the continental U.S.