[Apparently a report was issued that red light cameras increase crash rates, read more why that report is flawed.]
\n
\nThe public health community should tout our contributions to society, but only when conclusions are based on sound science. The University of South Florida report on red light cameras (The Nation\u2019s Health, May 2008) doesn\u2019t meet the test.
\nIt\u2019s not challenging to make news with counterintuitive conclusions contradicting established research. Reporting that safety belt laws increase highway deaths might grab headlines, but what if false results based on poor research methods were used to change policies?
\nThe report from Florida isn\u2019t new research. It\u2019s an opinion piece based on several existing studies dismissed by experts in the highway safety field as having serious methodological flaws.
\nIn one study from Greensboro, N.C., for example, researchers treated data from intersections with and without cameras as if the cameras had been randomly assigned to their locations. In fact, officials in Greensboro installed cameras at intersections with higher crash rates \u2014 more than twice as many crashes as other intersections in the city before the cameras were installed. The study ignored this difference and concluded that because crashes at intersections with cameras outnumbered those at the comparison sites, the cameras must be the culprits. Another tudy cited in the report also reached dubious conclusions because the methodology used wasn\u2019t applied correctly.
\nSuch pitfalls are avoided by relying on methodologically sound photo enforcement studies subjected to peer review. Unlike the research cited in the Florida report, these studies have been thoroughly critiqued by impartial experts to determine the validity of the methods and appropriateness of the conclusions.
\nFew public health problems take as great a toll as motor vehicle crashes. We need sound scientific evaluations to help guide policy-makers on effective countermeasures. It\u2019s not just our opinion that red light cameras make intersections safer; the solid research shows that they do. The Florida report should be an embarrassment to public health researchers, not a point of pride.
\nAdrian K. Lund, PhD
\nArlington, Virginia
\nPresident, Insurance Institute of Highway SafetyoldId.20081022142234580<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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