title: An evaluation of the red-light camera programme in the city of Dammam, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
abstract: This study evaluated the effectiveness of red-light cameras in Dammam, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two methods were used to assess changes in crash risk at the intersections at which the red-light camera programme had been operating. Geospatial analysis was used to visualize trends in road crash density over the geographical region of Dammam and a pre--post-camera crash analysis was undertaken. The distribution of injury crashes was greater than that of crashes which included property damage, the latter of which was concentrated around central Dammam. The five red-light cameras installed in 2012 were located outside areas of high-crash and injury density, and the total number of crashes reported in the three-month periods after installation was double that before the cameras were installed. This increase in the number of crashes also occurred at the five comparison sites (without red-light cameras), indicating a null effect. The findings from this study are contrary to previous evaluations of speed management programmes associated with red-light cameras. The study highlights the challenges in obtaining data for such research and illustrates that a reliance on overt, fixed camera's to manage speed is unlikely to deliver significant reductions in road trauma.
authors.affiliation: a The University of Melbourne , Melbourne , Australia.|c Saudi Aramco Chair of Traffic Safety, University of Dammam , Dammam , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stevenson
authors.affiliation: c Saudi Aramco Chair of Traffic Safety, University of Dammam , Dammam , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Sayed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faruque
authors.affiliation: c Saudi Aramco Chair of Traffic Safety, University of Dammam , Dammam , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abd
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Almajil
authors.affiliation: c Saudi Aramco Chair of Traffic Safety, University of Dammam , Dammam , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farhan
authors.affiliation: b Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.|c Saudi Aramco Chair of Traffic Safety, University of Dammam , Dammam , Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fildes
authors.affiliation: b Monash University Accident Research Centre, Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lawrence
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010781:Photography; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control
keywords: Saudi Arabia; red-light cameras; traffic safety