Letter to the Editor: Strong Support for Red Light Cameras

To the editor:

We write to encourage Abington to utilize a crucial life-saving technology for which it has now been authorized — traffic safety cameras. 

See the initial story here.

We recently commemorated the tenth anniversary of the death of our daughter Sarah. She was killed by a red-light runner when she was only 31 years old. Since then, it has become our mission to advocate for safety initiatives that reduce crashes and prevent needless deaths.

The bottom line is, when it comes to saving lives, photo enforcement works. A 2011 study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety concluded that traffic safety cameras reduce fatal red light running crashes by 24 percent, saving 159 lives in the 14 largest cities using them. Locally, safety cameras at Philadelphia’s most dangerous intersection led to a 96 percent reduction in red light running.

Red light cameras are an effective way to ensure that drivers slow down and pay attention at intersections. The threat of a citation will certainly encourage drivers to think twice – and potentially avoid a deadly crash – the next time they approach a red light.  We hope Abington officials will bring this important technology to their intersections.

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Paul and Sue Oberhauser

 Somerset, Ohio

National Co-Chairs, Traffic Safety Coalition