<P> Nevertheless, the FHWA has concluded that the cameras yielded a positive overall cost benefit due to the reduction in more expensive right - angle injury collisions . Other studies have found a greater crash reduction . For example, a 2005 study of the Raleigh, North Carolina, red light camera program conducted by the Institute for Transportation Research and Education at North Carolina State University found right - angle crashes dropped by 42%, rear - end crashes dropped by 25% and total crashes dropped by 17% . In 2010, the IIHS looked at results of a number of studies and found that red light cameras reduce total collisions and particularly reduce the type of crashes that are especially likely to cause injuries . A 2011 IIHS report concluded that the rate of fatal collisions involving red - light running in cities with a population of 200,000 or greater was 24% lower with cameras than it would have been without cameras . </P> <P> A 2009 Public Opinion Strategies poll which asked, "Do you support or oppose the use of red - light cameras to detect red - light runners and enforce traffic laws in your state's most dangerous intersections?" found 69% support and 29% oppose . A 2012 telephone survey of District of Columbia residents published in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention found that 87% favored red light cameras . </P> <P> The National Motorists Association opposes red light cameras on the grounds that the use of these devices raises legal issues and violates the privacy of citizens . They also argue that the use of red light cameras does not increase safety . In the US, AAA Auto Club South argued against the passage of a Florida state law to allow red light cameras, stating that use of red light cameras was primarily for raising money for the state and local government coffers and would not increase road safety . Worse, there are allegations of corruption in shortening the amber to increase the number of tickets . The construction of speed breakers or road bumps were conventional methods of forcing motorists to lower speeds, but were dropped at locales in favor of cameras due to lobbying efforts . </P> <P> In Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands, a postal survey in 2003 showed acceptance of the use of red light cameras for traffic enforcement . For some groups, the enforcement of traffic laws is considered the main reason for using the red light cameras . For example, a report from civic administrators in Canada's Saskatoon in 2001 described the cameras as "simply an enforcement tool used to penalize motorists that fail to stop for red traffic signals ." </P>

When does it count as running a red light