Portion of red-light camera fine goes to spinal injury research

As residents of Florida are all too aware, car accidents happen frequently throughout the state. Because car accidents can result in serious injuries such as spinal injuries, communities throughout the country do what they can to try to limit behavior that causes them to occur. One way in which Miami area communities are doing this is through the installation of red-light cameras.

At certain intersections, the red-light cameras have been installed. When a car proceeds through the intersection against the light, a ticket is issued with an accompanying $158 fine. The use of the cameras is at times controversial. According to those who support their use however, they save lives, particularly those of passengers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety issued a report last year that indicates two-thirds of the time it is they, and not the driver who die, when the car enters an intersection against the light.

Whatever one’s feeling on the use of the equipment, most likely support the way in which a portion of the proceeds from the tickets in one community, Hallandale Beach, is being used. Some of the fine is given to the Miami Project. The focus of the organization is to develop better treatments for those who have sustained injuries to their spinal cord or brain. The fit is quite logical considering a majority of the 10,000 to 12,000 injuries to brains and spines are the result of car accidents.

What are your thoughts on red-light cameras? Do you think they are an effective tool in the reduction of car accidents in Florida?

Source: Sun Sentinel, “Red-light cameras save lives, fund essential research,” Joy Cooper, July 22, 2012