Speed Cameras Kill!

[feds]

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/01/22/20090122pinalradar0122.html

Sorry, it's been too quiet on here... The highlights:

***
He reported Wednesday that the two cameras were activated 11,416 times from September 2007 through last month. Of those activations, 7,290 resulted in citations, but only 3,711 were paid.

Babeu said most of the total $134,199.43 in fines and fees from the paid citations covered administrative and operational costs, leaving the county with a net profit of $12,391.58 that Babeu dismissed as paltry.

Moreover, Babeu said, total motor-vehicle accidents increased by 16 percent in the same time period, and fatal collisions in the Queen Creek area doubled from three to six.

The sheriff said he couldn't be certain that speed cameras were to blame for the crashes, but he believes they were a factor.

Collisions were said to be the reason Redflex was implemented on county roads. Former Sheriff Chris Vasquez initiated the contract to minimize an increasing number of crashes on Hunt Highway, the main thoroughfare connecting north-central Pinal County with Maricopa County.

Babeu thinks that putting more deputies on patrol offers the best way to improve safety, instead of relying on cameras that "can't catch drunk drivers" or stop motorists involved in illegal or dangerous activities.
***

There's even a surprise plot twist at the end. Seems police chiefs are about the same when it comes to applying logic.

[Marsh]

Jim Kenzie, presented similar statistics several years ago, on Motoring, for either Alberta or BC (can't remember now). But the gist of the stats was that accidents and death rates went up every year that they increased the number of speed cameras until eventually at one point they went down. The provincial ministry and RCMP then promoted the hell out of the fact that deaths went down 8%, but failed to point out they were still well over 15% higher then when there weren't any speed cameras at all.

[Dr.Smooth]

Jim Kenzie, presented similar statistics several years ago, on Motoring, for either Alberta or BC (can't remember now). But the gist of the stats was that accidents and death rates went up every year that they increased the number of speed cameras until eventually at one point they went down. The provincial ministry and RCMP then promoted the hell out of the fact that deaths went down 8%, but failed to point out they were still well over 15% higher then when there weren't any speed cameras at all.

Unfortunately, the police and government will spin things in their favor.

But the gist of the stats was that accidents and death rates went up every year that they increased the number of speed cameras until eventually at one point they went down.

How do the government or police spin things?

Random Government Official: "The increase in accidents and deaths, only highlight the need to increase the use of speed and red light cameras."

[blur911]

I recently heard an interesting spin on the Ottawa transit strike. Apparently there had been an 50% increase in accidents thus far this year. Police and city officials are saying it has nothing to do with the roads being jammed as there is no public transit, rather they are blaming it all on the weather.
The punchline is they are saying the transit strike is helping as it's keeping the speeds down in the gridlock otherwise there would be more accidents.

How's that for a spin?