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Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.
Previous Politech message: "Rep. Armey questions Interior Department photo radar system" http://www.politechbot.com/p-01998.html And: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's website: http://www.hwysafety.org/ --- From: "Diamond, Richard" <Richard.Diamond@mail.house.gov> Subject: Forthcoming IIHS Photo Radar "Status Report" Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 16:03:06 -0400 The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is going to release a "Status Report" on photo enforcement. The news items they are highlighting tomorrow is a claim that people are driving more slowly past speed cameras in the District of Columbia. Read what they say carefully, and note that they do not say this makes DC *safer*, just that it makes DC "slower". Attached is a fact sheet on photo radar that you might find useful -- it explains why slower is not necessarily safer. Since March, the District has billed motorists well over $40 million dollars. That's what this is all about. Richard Diamond Office of the Majority Leader US House of Representatives 202-225-6007 / www.freedom.gov Photo Radar Fact Sheet There is much more to the photo radar story. Here are some facts: Consider the Source of the Studies Ø Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is funded by the seventy major insurance companies. Ø When photo radar tickets are issued in California and Arizona, points are assessed to driver's licenses. Ø Each time such a point is assessed to a license, the insurance company can raise the driver's rate and profit. Ø The head researcher at IIHS is not a disinterested scientist. He was formerly the New York transportation official who first brought red light camera enforcement to the United States. Many States Have Tried and Rejected Photo Radar Ø The legislature and courts in Alaska, Nebraska, New Jersey, Utah, Wisconsin and most recently Hawaii have acted to ban photo radar. Ø A Colorado judge recently suspended Denver's photo radar program because it violated state law (January 2002). Canada and Europe Ø On June 27, 2001, British Columbia ended its five-year photo radar program: "Speed cameras have no effect on road safety. They are nothing more than a cash cow." -British Columbia's newly elected (Labour Party) Premier, Gordon Campbell. "The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) funded the camera vans. Despite numerous studies, it could not prove that the photo-radar program had any direct effect on road safety." Ø Police in Holland are installing security cameras to monitor their speed cameras after losing one-fifth of all the cameras in the province of Brabant to attacks from vandals and irate drivers. 4/17/02 Great Background Reading Ø Matt Labash, Inside the District's Red Lights, Weekly Standard, 4/02. Found online at: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/001/078ftoqz.asp Ø The most extensive study of red light cameras and accidents showed the devices increased the number of accidents overall. David Andreassen, "A Long Term Study of Red Light Cameras and Accidents," Australian Road Research Board, February, 1995. Found online at: http://www.freedom.gov/auto/rlcdocs/95aussie.pdf Is slower safer? Read the facts: MUTCD, Section § 2B.11 Speed Limit Sign (R2-1): "When a speed limit is to be posted, it should be the 85th-percentile speed of free-flowing traffic, rounded up to the nearest 10 km/h (5 mph) increment." International Association of Chiefs of Police, "Selective Traffic Enforcement Manual <http://www.freedom.gov/auto/rlcdocs/72percentile.pdf>," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, January 1972: "The sitting-in practices are particularly objectionable when two or more enforcement units group together to work an intersection which generates frequent driver violations. Usually, where this situation occurs, the officers are doing nothing more than reaping the harvest of inadequate or poor traffic engineering. These locations frequently encourage noncompliance by the motorist to traffic signals or turning regulations. Very often, however, the real culprit is faulty traffic engineering rather than the driver." ..."Prima facie posted speed limits are ordinarily set according to the '85th percentile' technique... The engineering philosophy behind this approach is that 85 percent of all drivers will travel at safe speeds considering the road environment..." FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) (1985, reaffirmed 1996) Report No. FHWA/RD-85/096 Technical Summary, "Synthesis of Speed Zoning Practice": "Based on the best available evidence, the speed limit should be set at the speed driven by 85 to 90 percent of the free-moving vehicles rounded up to the next 5 mph increment. This method results in speed limits that are not only acceptable to a majority of the motorist, but also fall within the speed range where accident risk is lowest. Allowing a 5 mph tolerance, enforcement would be targeted at drivers who are clearly at risk. No other factors need to be considered since they are reflected in the drivers speed choice. If there are unusual hazards not readily apparent to drivers, then a warning sign could be installed giving the nature of the hazard and, if necessary, supplemented with a realistic advisory speed." Chapter 8-13, California State Traffic Manual: (1970's) "Speed limits established on the basis of the 85th percentile conform to the consensus of those who drive highways as to what speed is reasonable and prudent, and are not dependant on the judgment of one or a few." "Further studies have shown that establishing a speed limit at less than the 85th percentile (Critical Speed) generally results in an increase in accident rates." AASHTO, "Resolution of the annual meeting of the American Association of State Highway Officials", 1969: "The review of existing practices revealed that most of the member departments use, primarily, the 85th percentile speed. Some agencies use the 90th percentile speed, and of secondary consideration are such factors as design speed, geometric characteristics, accident experience, test run speed, pace, traffic volumes, development along the roadway, frequency of intersections, etc." "On the basis of the forgoing review, the Subcommittee on Speed Zoning recommends to the AASHTO Operating Committee on Traffic for consideration as an AASHTO Policy on Speed Zoning that: The 85th percentile speed is to be given primary consideration in speed zones below 50 miles per hour, and the 90th percentile speed is to be given primary consideration in establishing speed zones of 50 miles per hour or above. To achieve the optimum in safety, it is desirable to secure a speed distribution with a skewness index approaching unity" Institute Of Transportation Engineers; (1991) ITE Committee 4M-25, Speed Zone Guidelines: "Thus, the overriding basis (from a safety perspective) for speed zoning should be that the creation of the zone, and the speed limit posted, results in an increase in the percentage of motorists driving at or near the 85th percentile speed." "A third rationale is the need for consistency between the speed limit and other traffic control devices. Signal timing and sight distance requirements, for example, are based on the prevailing speed. If these values are based on a speed limit that does not reflect the prevailing speed of traffic, safety may be compromised." "2. The speed limit within a speed zone shall be set at the nearest 5 mph increment to the 85th percentile of free flowing traffic or the upper limit of the pace of the 10 mph pace." "In no case should the speed limit be set below the 67th percentile speed of free flowing traffic." Nebraska Department of Road, NDOR University of Nebraska Lincoln, Department of Civil Engineering College of Engineering and Technology: Research Report No. TRP-02-26-92Evaluation of Lower Speed Limits on Urban Highways: "SAFETY EFFECTS The results of the analysis of the accident experience in speed zones indicate that zones with posted speed limits equal to the reasonable speed limits proposed by the NDOT method of speed zoning are safer than zones posted with limits that are 5 and 10 mph below the reasonable speed limits. Speed zones with speed limits 5 mph below the reasonable speed limits were found to have 5 percent more accidents than zones with reasonable speed limits. Speed zones with speed limits 10 mph below the reasonable speed limits were found to have 10 percent more accidents than zones with reasonable speed limits. Therefore, the speed zones on state highways in urban areas should be posted with reasonable speed limits proposed by NDOR method in order to minimize the numbers of accidents in the speed zones. Speed limits lower than the reasonable speed limits should not be posted." (85th percentile was defined as the reasonable speed) Citations courtesy of the National Motorists Association. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. 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