A recent editorial claimed "speed cameras are a powerful tool for saving lives" ("Safety first," June 3) but the supporting evidence, "a reduction in speed-related crashes — 29 percent from 2009 to 2012" is about crashes, not lives.
On page 37 of the 2014 Maryland Highway Safety Office Annual Report, there are a listed 186 speed-related fatalities in 2009 and 199 in 2012 which represents a 7 percent increase! If we look at the numbers for work zones between 2009 and 2013, the percentage increase is much higher — 67 percent. Yes, I realize that these are small number, but as camera advocates trumpeted the drop for the first few years when the numbers declined, it certainly seems worth noting that the trend has changed (and if I really wanted to exaggerate, I could give the percentage increase from the low in 2011 — 150 percent)!
Based upon those numbers, I could claim the speed cameras are a major public safety hazard and should be shut down immediately. However, the reality is that either set of numbers just shows the truth of the much-cited statistical maxim that correlation does not imply causation. The problem is complex and any analysis can be challenged by many confounding factors. Those include increased seat beat use, auto safety improvements like electronic stability control or crash avoidance systems and highway safety improvements, all of which reduce fatalities.
The other side of the equation includes more distractions, more cars on the roads and more miles driven. Some by-products of deploying speed camera systems could also lead to an increase in fatalities. One is somewhat obvious — if an officer stops a dangerous driver, perhaps one who is intoxicated, the driver might be removed from the road before causing a fatal accident. Less obvious is that if, because a driver changes route to avoid the speed camera system and moves the speeding violation to a higher speed road, the result may be a fatal accident rather than an injury or property damage only crash (and yes, I can give an example of this).
Yet another is that someone who considers time more valuable than money may consider it a license to speed.
Ken Shotting, Ellicott City