According to Allstate, the District of Columbia is the riskiest city in which to drive from an accident perspective (although James Joyner quibbles with the methodology). I find that statistic quite interesting, given that DC also has more red light and speed cameras than almost any metro area in the country. Indeed, DC has nearly 10% of all the traffic cameras in the United States. (The Los Angeles / Riverside / Orange County Area has one more than DC, but our metro area has 4,850 sq. mi, while DC has 61, so the density of traffic cameras in DC is vastly greater than here in LA.)
Could it be that DC really is less concerned with safety than it is with revenue?
Speed cameras in Washington, DC are targeting drivers from Maryland. Only one out of every five photo tickets issued last month went to a resident with a say in local District elections. The bulk of the citations, 64 percent, were directed to drivers from Maryland. The remainder went to vehicles registered in Virginia and other states. ...
DC has for several years tried to impose a two percent income tax levy on workers who live in neighboring states. Congress blocked this "commuter tax" in 1973, but for the past thirty years, city officials have looked for new ways around the law. Last November, a federal appeals court panel considered a District government lawsuit designed to allow the tax. Judge John Roberts, now chief justice of the Supreme Court, joined in the unanimous ruling upholding the 1973 law.
Figures also show that mobile speed cameras were used primarily along major commuter routes including New York Avenue, Interstate 295 and along the border between DC and Maryland. Other cameras are set to trap Virginia commuters who must cross a limited number of bridges to enter the city. On the most popular route, the 14th Street Bridge, a red light camera lies in wait at the first intersection one comes to upon entering the city.
The simple fact is the speed and red light cameras are about revenue. So DC being the riskiest city (by at least one measure of accidents) and having the most traffic lights are perfectly consistent.
Indeed, according to some studies, there may be causation and not just correlation (admittedly, the evidence is very mixed).
