Cities all over America have been installing red light
cameras at intersections. These devices are capable of taking a picture of the
front end of a vehicle that enters an intersection against a red light. Most
often, this happens when motorists try to “beat the yellow” and make it through
in a marginal situation. The new technology snaps a photo of the driver and
front license plate, allowing the municipality to send the registered owner of
the car a citation for the violation, and collect a fine.

Municipalities believe that installing red light cameras
reduces red light violations and leads to greater traffic safety. Detractors
counter that these automated ticket-generators are really installed to increase
revenue without having to pay police officers to monitor traffic, and that
insurance companies use the tickets generated to raise premiums on unlucky
drivers.

On the other hand, in many major cities some motorists have
made a habit of following the car ahead through an intersection long after the
light has changed, cheating others out of their green light time. Often as many
as 3 or 4 cars will tailgate each other through a red light.

Now a new survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety claims that up to two-thirds of drivers in 14 cities across America are
in favor of these cameras and believe that they have improved safety and cut
down on red light violations.  This
study is a follow up to the IIHS’ recent finding that red light cameras have
reduced fatal red-light-running crashes by 24 percent in the same cities.

Here are the results of the survey:

City             Percent
in favor of red light cameras

Bakersfield, CA              68%

Baltimore, MD               67%

Chandler, AZ                  75%

Chicago, IL                    65%

Garland, TX                   66%

Long Beach, CA             48%

Phoenix, AZ                  74%

Portland, OR                 68%

Raleigh, NC                   62%

Sacramento, CA             71%

San Diego, CA               64%

Santa Ana, CA               54%

Toledo, OH                    58%

Washington, DC             78%

You can read the whole story here at Consumer
Reports.