Will More Speed Cameras Reduce Car Accident Injuries?

As of July 2019, New York City’s speed-camera network was the largest in the country with the City proposing to add 2,000 new cameras proposed to the existing system by the end of 2021. In 2019, NYC’s speed-camera network was expanded to include all 750 school zones with the law requiring the cameras to start operating on extended hours and logging vehicle movement beginning at 6:00 AM and going until 10:00 PM. This means that cameras are turned off between the hours of 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM.

The Coronavirus Pandemic has exposed a great flaw in the speed-camera program. A review of “fatal crashes in 2020 shows 36% of all traffic deaths that were not on highways occurred where cameras are located, but happened during hours when they were not operating. Meanwhile, speeding was reduced by more than 70% at locations that had cameras.” New York City transportation officials are proposing to bring amendments to the current law and have cameras operate 24 hours a day every day of the year.

The proposal to have 24 hour cameras can not come soon enough as the pandemic has turned New York City literally on it’s head as speeding has increased NYC car wreck incidents with pedestrians, cyclists and E-bike in the late hours when cameras are turned off. Through December 16 2020, traffic incidents where people have died show a “69% increase from the same period last year and the highest number of such deaths since 2006.”

Proponents of speed cameras claim they reduce car accidents and personal injuries as a result. However, some studies show that speed cameras cause an increase in rear-end collisions.

NYC Speed Camera System Expands

According to media reports, the city’s speed camera expansion is a gradual rollout. Starting in July 2019, transportation authorities began adding 40 new…