Loop 101 Cameras
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Photo enforcement cameras affected drivers' speeds. The speeders slowed down. According to an article on azcentral.com, "Scottsdale's Loop 101 speed-enforcement cameras met city officials' expectations in slowing drivers and reducing the severity of freeway collisions during the technology's 2006 debut. ... A final report by ASU traffic expert Simon Washington will not be complete until this spring, though the Scottsdale City Council will review Washington's early findings Jan. 16." |
I would link to their article but azcentral rotates their content offline in a few weeks anyway (so they can charge you to read it), so why bother. Fortunately, this cub reporter works at ASU and I have a lot of powerful connections. OK really I just emailed Simon and he was nice enough to send me a PDF of the document that was circulated at yesterday's meeting. Preliminary Results Summary - Scottsdale 101 Speed Enforcement Demonstration.
Give it a quick browse, it is very enlightening. This is the most current data available to the public. All information will be disseminated through the City of Scottsdale or ADOT.
I seldom drive on the 101 but the topic interests me. I like the idea of drivers improving their driving habits. And the preliminary data is compelling. It appears to suggest that drivers are more likely to behave themselves if there is a threat of being caught and held responsible for their actions. What a novel concept!
- Drivers' mean speed dropped from 74 mph to 64 mph.
- Injuries were down resulting in a potential cost savings to Valley residents of ~ $45 million per year.
- "Detection frequencies" (speeds that is greater than 74mph) increased 840% after the program end.
In other words, cameras save us money and keep goofballs in check. And if I can just editorialize here a moment (hehe, that's half the fun of writing a blog). Really if people cannot get to work on time driving 65mph then maybe they need to wake up earlier. BTW, one of my pete peeves is when the dawdlers slow down to look at a crash (they can't help it...must...see...what...is...going...on...). Thanks.