Red Light Runner at Carlisle and Montgomery

Red light cameras are an imperfect reaction to a larger problem: our car dependent culture. Whether its Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, or Houston — all cities I have visited recently — this country has major driving issues. I do support the red light cameras (and think there should be more of them), but wish the money was directed at improving driving in this city through more roundabouts and other traffic calming solutions. In the book Traffic: How We Drive and What It Says About Us, author Tom Vanderbilt writes that the second most dangerous thing a driver can do is drive through an intersection. The single most dangerous thing a driver can do is to make a left turn at an intersection (as illustrated in this video). Roundabouts, while not practical at all intersections, greatly reduce the danger of the second concern, and all but eliminate the danger of the first concern.