JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Throughout the country, road safety camera programs have proven to be an effective tool for law enforcement - reducing collisions and injuries and most importantly saving lives. What’s most important is that MoDOT recognizes the safety benefits of road safety cameras. We commend MoDOT for considering both the benefits and potential issues, and for taking constructive, positive action to help make roads safer through proven technology. ATS recognizes the concerns of MoDOT and the members of the Legislature, and will work with our customers to comply with MoDOT’s new policy.
“Comparing statewide numbers during a three-month period from August 2009 through October 2009 to the same period in 2010, violations fell more than 25 percent statewide,” ATS president and CEO James Tuton said. “It’s a clear sign that the Intersection Safety Camera programs in Missouri are changing driver behavior.”
ATS collaborates with communities to identify dangerous traffic locations, to install signs to alert motorists when they are approaching cameras, and to conduct a thorough public awareness campaign before the cameras are activated. With more than two decades of experience, ATS understands, as the Commission rightly points out, that extensive planning is required for intersection safety cameras and speed cameras to have the greatest influence on improving driver behavior.
“Road Safety Camera programs save lives,” Tuton added. “We see reductions in collisions and violations in community after community where intersection and speed cameras are properly deployed. And while there is no question this new policy will change the way cameras are placed in Missouri, we're hopeful that it can be implemented without changing the program’s effectiveness.”
Background Information:
Several studies released over the past year or two show the effectiveness intersection and speed safety cameras have on the streets of cities and communities throughout Missouri. Here are a few examples:
- Red-light running crashes fell 67 percent in Kansas City at the first 13 locations with intersection safety cameras, according to a 2010 independent investigation by The Kansas City Star.
- In the city of St. Louis, the number of citations issued by intersection safety cameras declined by 70 to 80 percent at some of the busiest and dangerous intersections.
- Intersection safety cameras were first installed in Missouri in the city of Arnold, where a police study found red-light running crashes have fallen from 23 annually in 2005 to eight through the third quarter of 2010.
- Red-light running crashes at a major intersection near the University of Missouri were reduced by nearly half from 2009 to 2010, according to a city of Columbia study.
- Drivers in Washington, Mo., appear to have changed their driving habits for the better based on the sharp decline in red-light running violations from 513 in 2008 to 386 in 2010 and a 50% decrease in injury accidents at the monitored intersections.
In 2009, 18 people died in red-light running crashes in Missouri, ranking it among the 11 most deadly states for red-light running fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That same year, 878 people died on the state’s roads and highways. We need to work together to protect all motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists in Missouri, by utilizing road safety camera programs as part of the overall public safety effort.
About American Traffic Solutions:
ATS is proud to be the market leader in road safety camera installations in North America. ATS has more than 2,000 installed Intersection and Speed Safety Cameras serving more than 30 million people. We have contracts in 240 communities in 22 states and Washington, D.C., including: Fort Worth, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nassau County (NY), New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and St. Louis. ATS also offers PlatePass, an automated electronic toll payment service that enables rental vehicle customers to use high-speed, cashless electronic toll lanes. ATS is a privately owned, U.S. corporation. For more information, please visit: www.atsol.com or www.PlatePass.com. To view video that serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers that red-light runners present to our family and children, visit ATS on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ATSRoadSafety.