Big surprise (not!) about red-light cameras ....

[unixronin]

The DelawareOnline.com NewsJournal reports that red-light cameras increase rear-end accidents.  No shit?  You don't say?

According to the article, "A 2001 study commissioned by city officials in Charlotte, N.C., indicated rear-end crashes went up by 16 percent over a three-year period after cameras were installed in 1998."  A 2002 study commissioned by San Diego showed a 37% increase in rear-end collisions.

Any increase in rear-end collisions will be outweighed by a decrease in right-angle collisions that usually cause more-serious injuries, said Charles Trainor, [Philadelphia]'s chief traffic engineer.

"Would you rather somebody bump you in the rear, or would you rather somebody enter your driver's compartment at 40 miles per hour? That's a no-brainer," said Maury Hannigan, a vice president of Affiliated Computer Services, of Dallas, a bidder to install the Philadelphia system.

Is it still a no-brainer if the rear-end collision shunts you into the intersection and you STILL get hit by the same cross traffic as if you'd run the light anyway?  You're more likely to be hit by crossing trafic a couple of seconds after the change than immediately after the light changes, because in the latter case, the cross traffic usually hasn't started moving yet.  And then you presumably get ticketed by the camera as well, making it a triple whammy....