Survey Finds Support For Traffic Cameras

A recent attitude survey has found there is strong public support for traffic cameras that catch motorists who speed and run lights, a research group said.

The findings by the Insurance Research Council were contained in a report titled “Public Attitude Monitor, Issue 1, Highway Safety.”

Elizabeth A. Sprinkel, senior vice president of IRC, said the study found that “the American public supports the use of automated enforcement devices to make highways safer.”

The report was based on an online survey conducted by TRC, a market research company that secured questionnaire responses from 1,005 members of a consumer survey panel, said IRC.

Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed strongly favor and 31 percent somewhat favor the use of red light cameras that photograph the license plates of vehicles that run red lights, according to IRC.

Sixty-one percent favor red light cameras that detect vehicles that drive in excess of the speed limit, said the report.

Of drivers who own a cell phone, 47 percent strongly favor and 30 percent somewhat favor laws that ban the use of cell phones while driving, according to IRC.

The report also said that 65 percent of drivers are distracted by cell phone use, while 30 percent are somewhat affected, said the report.

“Even though they [drivers] recognize an association between cell phone use and driving accidents, they are reluctant to give up the convenience of using their phone while driving,” said Ms. Sprinkel.