Caught on Click! Cameras Nab Speeders

Jan. 31, 2008— -- American drivers may be speeding, but states are finding ways to make sure they get caught.

Controversial as they are, speed cameras are now employed in 37 communities in 12 states and the District of Columbia.

A new report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety looks at the effect of speed camera enforcement in Scottsdale, Ariz. Before the cameras began snapping photos of speeding drivers, 15 percent were driving 10 mph over the limit. After the cameras were set up, that number dropped to less than 2 percent.

In Montgomery County, Md., the number of speeding drivers dropped by a whopping 70 percent.

"The goal with these programs is not to write a lot of tickets, it's to reduce speeding," says Anne McCartt, a senior vice president for research for the Insurance Institute. "And they're proving to be highly effective in doing just that."

Scottsdale, the first city to use the cameras on a major highway, implemented the nine-month pilot program in early 2006. The institute's study found that average speeds declined to 63 mph in a 65 mph posted speed limit zone, down from the 70 mph before the program started. When the pilot ended, traffic speeds increased. Average speeds shot back up to 69 mph in a 65 mph area, and 12 percent of drivers were going faster than 75 mph.

"When the cameras were turned off, there was a terrific up-tick in the number of speeders," said Scottsdale Mayor Mary Manross. "We kept the sensors in the pavement so we could just see if there was a difference, and there was -- about a tenfold increase in ... speeding, serious speeding."

Here's how it worked in Scottsdale: The six cameras set up on Loop 101 snapped a photo of the offending vehicle, and the city mailed it to the car's registered owner with the date, time, location and vehicle's speed.

"As soon as our demonstration program launched, the results were dramatic," said Mayor Manross. "Our program clearly worked."

Public opinion polls indicated that residents supported the program. After Scottsdale's brief success, Gov. Janet Napolitano directed the Arizona Department of Transportation to create a statewide program of photo enforcement. Permanent speed-camera enforcement began in February 2007.