Schaumburg Giving Red Light Camera The Boot

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 6, 2009 9:40PM

Citing a lack of results, the city of Schaumburg is getting rid of the one red light camera they had installed. Curious to see how the cameras worked, the city installed one at a particularly busy intersection close to Woodfield Mall. What happened next led to the eventual decision to scrap plans for more.

Like other municipalities, Schaumburg began issuing $100 tickets in November to those found blowing the red light, generating some 7,000 tickets by the end of 2008, according to the Daily Herald. By February, that number climbed to over 10,000 and $1 million in revenue. Apparently very few accidents were prevented, however, and the city got numerous angry phone calls from citizens and tourists alike, resulting in the camera being switched off in February.

"The result is very few crashes at any of our major intersections have been the result of traffic signal violations," Police Chief Brian Howerton told the Herald. He reiterated that other cities may want to change driver behavior by using tickets to force drivers to stop, but Schaumburg's goal was always to prevent collisions. As a result, Howerton is recommending the city take down the camera and not install any more. "It was not our intent to use them as a revenue generator," Mayor Larson added.

There are, however, rumblings that it was a move so as not to upset out-of-towners who frequent the mall. [Ars Technica via Windy Citizen]