Do Speeding Stings Make Roads Safer?

Last Monday, South San Francisco police officers saturated Hillside and Sister Cities boulevards armed with high-tech lidar devices that catch speeding motorists using laser beams.

At the end of the day, they isssued 57 speeding tickets, one citation to an unlicensed driver and one citation to a driver with a suspended license, according to a statement. Police also arrested one driver in possession of cocaine, according to the statement.

The SSFPD used part of a $137,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to targeting Hillside and Sister Cities Boulevards Monday because they've had major injury and in the last few years, according to police.

"If you choose to drive in an unsafe manner in South San Francisco you are not only taking the risk of being caught and cited, but you are risking your life and the lives of innocent motorists around you," said Lt. Keith Wall in a statement. "These unsafe driving habits won't be tolerated."

Police say they're planning numerous other enforcement operations to combat speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving and red-light running over the next six months. 

But we want to know: do you think that this kind of one-day enforcement program is effective at making the roads safer? Or other factors, such as road design and location of traffic signals, more influential over driver behavior than fear of tickets?

Vote in the poll below, and please elaborate in the comments.