My city is installing red light cameras because of course milking drivers for missing the yellow by 1/2 second is better than actually fixing the problem of having hundreds of right angle crossings between roads with speed limits over 40mph (so people routinely go 50+ simply because they can)…
If we replaced some of those with roundabouts, others with over/underpasses, that might actually reduce fatal collisions, but that would cost money rather than rake it in, so…
If we replaced some of those with roundabouts, others with over/underpasses
That’s definitely another approach, although these kinds of infrastructure changes are expensive and come with their own risks. Roundabouts take up more space than four-way stops, while underpasses flood and overpasses freeze. Your essential problem - moving too many overlarge vehicles through too small a space - is mitigated, but not resolved.
But yes, a camera that functions as a revenue stream is far more attractive than anything that might actually save lives.
My city is installing red light cameras because of course milking drivers for missing the yellow by 1/2 second is better than actually fixing the problem of having hundreds of right angle crossings between roads with speed limits over 40mph (so people routinely go 50+ simply because they can)…
If we replaced some of those with roundabouts, others with over/underpasses, that might actually reduce fatal collisions, but that would cost money rather than rake it in, so…
That’s definitely another approach, although these kinds of infrastructure changes are expensive and come with their own risks. Roundabouts take up more space than four-way stops, while underpasses flood and overpasses freeze. Your essential problem - moving too many overlarge vehicles through too small a space - is mitigated, but not resolved.
But yes, a camera that functions as a revenue stream is far more attractive than anything that might actually save lives.