132 reasons why Phoenix shouldn’t nix red light cameras

Phoenix is one of the nation’s deadliest cities for red-light runners, so naturally the Phoenix City Council has decided to get rid of the cameras that catch them.

Outrageous doesn’t even begin to cover it.

With absolutely no discussion and no warning to the public, the council voted 5-4 last week not to renew the contract to keep cameras operating at 12 intersections.

City leaders also decided to turn off speed cameras in school zones.

Few at City Hall are talking so it’s unclear whether someone just screwed up or whether the council really meant to end the contract.

Whatever the reason, I can think of 132 more why this bad decision must be reversed.

That’s the number of people who were killed by red-light runners in Phoenix between 2008 and 2017, according to a study by AAA.

The study found that Arizona is the deadliest state for red-light running and Phoenix is its deadliest city.

It’s easy to see how it happens. The roads are straight, the traffic is frustrating and drivers are in a hurry or distracted.

Easy to see how it happens, but harder to see the result.

I’ve the seen the result. How just one moment of impatience or distraction can cause a lifetime of pain. Every day, I go through the intersection that changed my son’s life courtesy of a redlight runner who lost his.

Every day.

A few statistics from that national AAA study, which was released in August:

❚ 28% of those killed in crashes at intersections with traffic signals occur because someone ran a red light.

❚ Just 35% of those killed are the redlight runners. The rest were innocents: passengers or other drivers, pedestrians or people on bicycles.

❚ Fully 85% of drivers acknowledged that red-light running is dangerous. Yet one in three drivers admitted they blew through a red light in the last 30 days when they could have stopped safely. Most said they didn’t think they’d be caught.

The Phoenix City Council, in shutting off the cameras, is ensuring that they won’t be caught.

Worse, they’re ending the one thing that might stop a driver, in that crucial millisecond, from making a tragic decision.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio — who along with Michael Nowakowski, Jim Waring, Betty Guardadao and Carlos Garcia voted to discontinue the cameras — told me the cameras are a money grab and that the city ought to instead fix the timing on the traffic signals.

“If we really want to save lives all we have to do is extend the time on the yellow light,” he said. “But, by extending the yellow light, it would mean less redlight runners and less money in the pockets of government.”

It makes sense that longer yellow lights might mean fewer drivers running red lights. I would guess a momentary red light in all directions also might help.

But I don’t see any of that as a reason to get rid of cameras.

Sure, the red-light cameras are a revenue machine both for the city and for

Redflex Traffic Systems. But that’s because red-light running is rampant. According to city records, the cameras brought in more than $7 million in net income over the last decade.

“Cameras increase the odds that violators will get caught, and well-publicized camera programs discourage would-be violators from taking those odds,” said Jessica Cicchino of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Camera enforcement is a proven way to reduce red-light running and save lives.”

Except in Phoenix, where beginning on Jan. 1 the cameras will go dark and drivers, sadly, will go merrily on their way with impunity.

Until they kill someone.

For shame, Phoenix.