XPost: phl.media, pa.politics   
   From: mcs@verizon.net   
      
   "As Philadelphia prepares to become Pennsylvania's first city to install   
   red-light cameras at traffic intersections, there is one ugly side effect of   
   the systems that officials are not promoting.   
      
   In city after city, studies show that, while right-angle accidents drop,   
   rear-end collisions increase after cameras are installed.   
      
   Drivers, afraid of getting caught on a camera running a red light, hit the   
   brakes and get rear-ended by the car behind them, studies show.   
      
   The problem is compounded by a brief strobe light that flashes when the   
   photo is taken.   
      
   "People see these strobes go off and realize they have just run a light, and   
   they slam on the brakes," said Lon Anderson of AAA Mid-Atlantic, who   
   supports the use of the cameras as long as they are used for safety and not   
   to raise revenue.   
      
   In Charlotte, N.C., for instance, rear-end crashes went up by 16 percent   
   over a three-year period after cameras were installed in 1998, according to   
   a 2001 study commissioned by that city.   
      
   In San Diego, the rate of rear-end collisions increased by 37 percent,   
   according to a 2002 study commissioned by that city.   
      
   "What the cameras do is, they change reasonable behavior into unreasonable   
   behavior," said Greg Mauz, a member of the National Motorists Association, a   
   group funded by membership dues that is seeking to have red-light cameras   
   banned nationwide.   
      
   City officials and officials at the Philadelphia Parking Authority, which,   
   under state and local laws, will oversee Philadelphia's red-light-camera   
   traffic-enforcement program, acknowledge that rear-end collisions may go up,   
   but say that will be far outweighed by the decrease in right-angle   
   collisions, which usually result in more serious injuries than rear-end   
   crashes.   
      
   "In the majority of the cases, the reduction of the angle accidents and   
   their severity is greater than the increase in rear-ends," said Charles   
   Trainor, the city's chief traffic engineer.   
      
   The Parking Authority board is expected to hire a company tomorrow to   
   install cameras in Philadelphia. Nine intersections are being considered for   
   cameras. Violators will receive a citation in the mail and a $100 fine.   
      
   The Parking Authority decided to rebid the camera contract last month after   
   only one company, Affiliated Computer Services, of Dallas, expressed   
   interest, and potential bidders complained that the agency's request for   
   proposals favored ACS.   
      
   Parking Authority officials have refused to say which companies have bid   
   this time around. "We have received more than one" bid, said Linda Miller, a   
   Parking Authority spokeswoman.   
      
   Officials from the companies that provide red-light-camera systems and   
   experts such as Richard Retting of the Insurance Institute for Highway   
   Safety, a nonprofit group funded by insurance companies that studies   
   traffic-safety issues, say the benefits of cameras outweigh the negatives.   
      
   Maury Hannigan, an ACS vice president in charge of the company's photo   
   enforcement division, acknowledged that rear-end collisions often go up, but   
   said that is overshadowed by the reduction in right-angle crashes.   
      
   "Would you rather somebody bump you in the rear, or would you rather   
   somebody enter your driver's compartment at 40 miles per hour?" Hannigan   
   said. "That's a no-brainer."   
      
   Retting, who has extensively studied camera systems and is a recognized   
   expert, said studies done around the world show that intersection crashes   
   that cause injuries go down by about 25 percent to 30 percent after cameras   
   are installed, far outweighing the "regrettable" side effect of an increase   
   in rear-end collisions.   
      
   John Petrozza, president of Mulvihill Intelligent Control Systems Inc.,   
   which is interested in the Philadelphia camera contract and which installed   
   a red-light-camera system in New York City as early as 1993, said the   
   rear-end collisions "normalize" after motorists get used to the   
   intersections' having cameras.   
      
   Authority officials say they hope to reduce the rear-end collisions by   
   working with the city to ensure that yellow lights give drivers enough time   
   to decide whether to stop or proceed without running the light.   
      
   Yellow signals in Pennsylvania are set in accordance with a federal standard   
   that recommends the light be between three and six seconds long.   
      
   Camera critics contend that setting the yellow lights closer to six seconds   
   and reengineering some intersections would eliminate the need for cameras.   
      
   Some critics have gone as far as to file lawsuits against cities and   
   camera-system companies, contending that yellow signals set below the   
   three-second minimum allowed municipalities and camera-system installers to   
   reap a financial benefit from fines as more drivers were caught running red   
   lights.   
      
   Two Baltimore residents, for example, filed suit in July seeking $10 million   
   in damages on behalf of anyone who received a citation since June 2001 at a   
   red-light-camera intersection there. They contend that the city and ACS,   
   which runs the city's camera system, have neglected to correct yellow lights   
   that are shorter than three seconds.   
      
   They also allege that neglect has profited both ACS and the city. Baltimore   
   fines violators $75.   
      
   Hannigan, of ACS, said the company does not control the timing of   
   Baltimore's yellow lights. Baltimore's city solicitor told a local   
   television news station last month that "we do not believe there is merit to   
   the case and we will aggressively defend against any lawsuit."   
      
   The winning bidder for Philadelphia's red-light-camera program will be paid   
   a fixed fee per installed system. The state and local laws authorizing the   
   city to use the cameras also require that the yellow signals be set in   
   accordance with state and local standards, which emulate the national   
   recommended standard.   
      
   The laws also require that signs be placed in "conspicuous" places before   
   the intersection to alert drivers to the cameras.   
      
   Anderson, of AAA Mid-Atlantic, said signs are critical if the cameras are to   
   be used for safety as opposed to generating revenue. "It would definitely   
   cut down on rear-end collisions," Anderson said.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)