Let the Laura Bush vs. Everyone Else flame war begin!

http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/0103photo03-ON-CP.html

Scottsdale's Loop 101 speed-enforcement cameras met city officials'
expectations in slowing drivers and reducing the severity of freeway
collisions during the technology's 2006 debut, according to a
preliminary report released Wednesday.The early data, part of an
ongoing analysis by a team of ASU traffic researchers, also suggests
photo-enforcement could save Arizona drivers as much as $45 million per
year in medical and insurance bills by decreasing the chance for
serious wrecks.

Scottsdale officials will continue to work this winter with the Arizona
departments of Public Safety and Transportation, in addition to other
agencies, to determine if the positive early feedback could make the
cameras a permanent fixture on the state's freeways.

A final report by ASU traffic expert Simon Washington will not be
complete until this spring, though the Scottsdale City Council will
review Washington's early findings Jan. 16.

The early numbers also estimate as many as 1,260 drivers are now
speeding daily through Scottsdale's seven-mile test stretch between
Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard - an increase of more than 850
percent from the 130 drivers caught daily, on average, before the
cameras were switched off in October after a $1.4 million nine-month
test.

"Detections are still increasing at those locations on the Loop 101,"
Washington said. "More and more drivers are exceeding 76 mph."

The freeway cameras at six locations along Scottsdale's stretch of the
Loop 101 are still collecting freeway data as Washington and his team
complete their findings. Oct. 23 was the last day citations were issued
to drivers clocked at 76 mph or faster.

Washington conducted three different analyses of the Loop 101, looking
at freeway driver behavior before, during and after the program, taking
various factors into account - such as population growth, slow rush
hour traffic, and other changes since 2001.

"These are our best estimates as to how the program benefits Arizona,"
Washington said. "We've made a 6.5-mile stretch of the Loop 101 a lot
safer, but what about the rest of the freeway?"

According to Washington's preliminary report:

· The mean speed of drivers on Scottsdale's camera-controlled stretch
of the freeway dropped by 10 mph, from 74 mph to 64 mph under
photo-enforcement.

· Depending on the type of wreck, the total number of collisions was
reduced by as much as 70 percent based on a comparison to a comparable
stretch of the Loop 101 in the West Valley.

· Injuries from rear-end collisions and sideswipe incidents were
down, which could translate to more than $45 million saved on accident
damage per year.

Washington added that his team is still collecting speed and crash data
from other parts of the Loop 101, and will update the numbers this
spring.

In fact, much of Scottsdale's program is still in flux months after the
last speeding citations was captured on digital video.

As many as 11,000 freeway photo-enforcement tickets are still pending,
according to Scottsdale City Court Administrator Janet Cornell, and
Scottsdale has collected nearly $1 million from the program after
expenses.

State officials have collected more than $2.3 million in surcharges
from freeway photo-enforcement tickets through November.

DPS Cmdr. Tom Woodward, who oversees East Valley highway patrols, said
he hopes, if the technology is proven effective, that the state will
take control of the program from Scottsdale.

However, he added there needs to be an efficient way DPS patrols can
avoid being flashed by the cameras while speeding to emergency calls.

"It has become a big deterrent for our officers working in that area,"
Woodward said.

"We haven't put out (or commented) a lot because we didn't want to rush
to judgment until we could see some statistics."