Investigation of Violation Reduction at Intersection Approaches with Automated Red Light Running Enforcement Cameras in Clive, Iowa, Using a Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Red light running causes more than 100,000 crashes and 1,000 fatalities annually and results in an estimated economic loss of over $14 billion per year in the United States. Red light running is a significant safety issue facing communities which rarely have the resources to place additional law enforcement in the field. As a result, communities are increasingly turning to automated red light running camera-enforcement systems to address the problem. The effectiveness of red light running cameras in reducing the number of drivers who run the red light (violations) in an Iowa community was evaluated. The number of red light running violations at camera-enforced intersection approaches were compared to violations at approaches at intersections where cameras were not used within the same metropolitan area using a cross-sectional analysis. A Poisson lognormal regression was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the cameras in reducing violations. Results indicated that red light running cameras substantially reduced the number of violations at camera-enforced approaches as compared to control approaches.