Red light cameras are automated traffic rules enforcement tool. It has been applied in many countries to capture vehicles that break the set traffic rules mostly at road intersections. Whenever a car ignores the red light on the traffic light, an image of the car is captured by the cameras. These captured images are used as evidence (Crawford, 2013). Whenever the red light is on, cars are not supposed to move beyond the stop line when it does it triggers the camera that captures the image of the car or the owner. The police identify the car owner and send a ticket to them via mail. Traffic officials have said that these are the solution to numerous road accidents that happen due to ignorance of the traffic rules. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety refer to the number of traffic accidents caused by jumping the red light at 22 percent. This is an equivalent of 880 lives and 7billion dollars in damages. (How Stuff Work, 2015)

Enforcement authorities say the lights have been installed as a safety measure for the public. A long view city council member Kasha Williams was quoted saying “Founded on the data that I have gotten, I have not noticed a statistically substantial fall in the number of accidents and exactly how (red light cameras validate) saying that this is for public safety.” In a 2009 report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, over 2.2 million cases of traffic accidents reported happened at intersections. This represented 41 percent of the national accidents and resulted to 7358 deaths and over 80,000 deaths. Results from 14 of the largest city that have enforced red light rules indicate an average of 14 percent in the number of lethal accidents this is compared to the 35 percent for the cities that do not have cameras this report concluded that indeed the use of red light cameras does reduce the number of fatal accidents and other accidents at intersection.

They further recommend the cameras for other cities that aim to reduce the rate of accidents (Hu, Teaoh, & McCartt, 2011). The implementation of this system is suitable for Worcester City as the city is now moving towards the 200,000 population mark. This is also backed by the large number of motorists in the city. The increasing number of traffic accidents will be by a significant margin be reduced by the installation of the cameras. The challenge floated by this system will be the financial burden of installation and maintenance. Adaptation of the people to the system will also be a challenge, but it can be overcome through an awareness program.

Opponents argue that contrary to the primary reason for their installation, the lights have become a cause of accidents as drivers make abrupt stops to avoid breaking the light rule. They claim that the red light cameras do not prevent intersection accidents. As accidents are accidents are just accidents. They argue that motorists do not run into other cars at intersections willingly, rather it happens because they might be unfamiliar with the place or distracted. Based on this they have put the effectiveness of the cameras in place. They have also argued that the cameras have been erected as cash cows for governments, and thus they have prevented synchronization of traffic which would remove the lights. They have also argued that there are better solution to stop intersection light violation like an increased yellow light time that would give motorists enough time to prepare (Association, 2015).

Many of the cities and counties where the lights have been implemented have resulted in a significant decline in the number of accidents that happen at road intersections. Adoption of these lights in Worcester is more likely to yield the positive impact reported in other towns. Further, opponents of the system have not brought forth any substantial fact backed information regarding their contribution to accidents. The lights will bring more good than bad to the Worcester road users. The financial burden that will come from installation of these systems is reasonable when compared to the benefits it will bring. Further, to avoid burdening the people of Worcester, the money used will be recovered from the fines paid by those caught breaking the intersection traffic rules.