Turn Crash Into Cash

This week the Charlotte Department of Transportation released compelling video of three collisions that occurred within one month’s time at one particular intersection in Uptown Charlotte. They claim that there were zero collisions at this intersection the previous eight months, during which time there were red-light cameras in operation. CDOT goes on to claim that this is strong evidence that the red-light cameras were effective in deterring collisions at these intersections, suggesting we need to reinstate the red-light camera program for our own safely.

I’ve watched the video of these three crashes over and over again (sorry I don’t have a link) and in each case I’ve noticed two things. One is that the violator didn’t even slow down in any of the crashes. And two, that the traffic light was already red before any of the clips even begin. In the image above you’ll notice at least three cars totally stopped for the red light, and at least one car that had already made it across the intersection (left to right), meaning that this crash must’ve had the light red for at least 10 seconds before the collision. Red-light cameras will snap your photo any time you proceed through a red light but their purpose is to deter people from intentionally trying to beat a changing or recently changed signal. That was obviously not the case in any of these three videos. Each of CDOT’s examples clearly show an oblivious moron driver and not somebody intentionally trying to beat a light that just changed.

So why would CDOT release this great video and blame the collisions on the suspension of Charlotte’s red-light camera program when it’s so obviously not the cause? Because Charlotte makes money off of fines generated by the cameras - lots of money. Thanks for caring about our $afety, Charlotte.