00:00In recent days, the so-called photo fines have returned to the center of the debate.
00:04I have given instructions to the Minister of Transport, Elsa Noguera,
00:08so that it can move forward immediately with the construction of a new, fair, modern traffic code.
00:13and in accordance with the needs of the country.
00:16The government of Abelardo de las Priaya put these systems under scrutiny and proposed reviewing the
00:21Fines and speed cameras amid questions about whether any of these cameras are being used
00:27used more to raise money than to improve road safety.
00:31But the health and road safety experts we consulted believe that,
00:35Before we focus on how much these cameras cost, there's something more basic we should ask ourselves.
00:41Do speed cameras work?
00:44The answer, according to international evidence, is yes.
00:47But let's start by understanding why.
00:49Speed is one of the most important factors when we talk about road safety.
00:54The faster a vehicle is going, the less time the driver has to react and
01:00It needs more distance to stop. And if a crash occurs, the consequences are also greater.
01:05They can be much more serious. The World Health Organization estimates that for every increase
01:11With an average speed of just 1 km per hour, the risk of an accident with injuries increases.
01:17around 3%. In the case of fatal accidents, the increase is between 4 and 5%.
01:23A pedestrian hit by a car traveling at 65 km/h may be up to 4.5 times more likely to
01:31You're more likely to die than someone hit by a car traveling at 50 km/h. That's why controlling your speed is important.
01:38Now, are cameras useful for this? There is considerable evidence that they are.
01:43A study conducted in England, for example, compared hundreds of locations with speed cameras,
01:49compared with other similar studies and found a reduction of between 14.4 and 15.5% in collisions with people
01:57wounds. Another review that compiled 35 studies from different countries found reductions in both
02:04The speed, as in accidents, after installing cameras. And a more recent review,
02:09Published this year, which compiled some 94 studies, it found an average reduction of 7.57 km per hour
02:18in the average speed after implementing these systems. So, it doesn't seem correct to say that
02:24Photo tickets are useless. But that doesn't mean putting a camera anywhere will necessarily work.
02:30to solve the problem or to ensure everything is working properly with these systems. That's precisely what they told us.
02:37Experts we consulted. The traffic camera system has a long-standing legitimacy problem stemming from the use of cameras.
02:44poorly located, unclear speed limits, and situations that fueled the perception that
02:50Some were simply camera traps. Therefore, if a camera is installed to contribute to the reduction
02:57Regarding the number of accidents, it should be possible to demonstrate that it is actually reducing them. And that information
03:03It should be public and easy to access. It's about transparency. Experts also suggest
03:10Other ways to improve the system include, for example, monitoring the average speed over a section of road.
03:16And not just at one point. This avoids the so-called kangaroo effect. Stopping in front of the camera and turning around
03:23The acceleration is barely noticeable. And of course, there's the discussion about fines. A penalty aims to...
03:29Among other things, to deter. If it's too low, the opposite might end up happening. And someone might think,
03:36Well, I pay and accelerate. So the solution isn't simply to halve the value of a
03:42The fine has to be high enough to make a person think twice before breaking the law.
03:49the rule. But we can discuss how it's enforced. For example, that the fine be proportional to the
03:57severity of the infraction. Exceeding the limit by 5 kilometers per hour should not be the same as
04:03Do it in 30 or 50. And before reducing the value of the sanctions, experts say, it would be necessary to
04:10to study what amount actually deters a driver from committing the offense again
04:16violation. Then, in the midst of all this debate, the experts we consulted recalled a figure.
04:22In 2025, 8,697 people died in road accidents in Colombia. That's almost 24 people.
04:31every day. And they believe that with that number, what the country should be thinking about is how we can...
04:36that these cameras better fulfill their purpose: to reduce speed and prevent fatal accidents.
04:43and not so much on how we can protect anyone's wallet.
04:47If you want to learn more about this topic, visit the Health and Health Awareness section of El Espectador.
04:53and follow us on all our social media channels.
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