Two years ago red light cameras were seen as a new cash cow for New York, but something interesting has happened since then: the number of red light camera tickets have dropped precipitously. The Bloomberg administration says it is because they are working—but isn't it just as likely drivers have simply learned where the cameras are?
According to data from the Post, "the city issued 668,709 red-light camera tickets, down from 880,922 in 2011." And with that drop, the revenue from those tickets slipped to "$42.7 million last year, compared to $60.3 million in 2011." In fact, the number of red-light tickets has been dropping since a high in 2009 when the city was allowed to increase the number of cameras on the street from 100 to 150.
"It’s because the red-light cameras work. We are getting the result we want—fewer people running red lights, fewer fatalities and less revenue," a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, who wants the cameras on every corner, tried to brag to the tabloid. And we'd like to believe them, except we also have a strong hunch that thanks to maps like these (and the cameras' static nature) New York City drivers have simply learned how to better avoid the cameras. We honestly don't think this is a situation like tobacco where stiff penalties is keeping people from skipping through red lights. Though, considering things like the below video, we'd really like to believe the city is right about this one:
