The Rally is not over for me

[henzilla]

My .02...I hate the cameras, but not as much as the red light runners. Austin,TX is trying them as a "wake up " call more than revenue enhancement. They have installed them at heavily known dangerous intersections. I avoid those areas anyways... It is controversial only to those who run them IMHO. The city is way up there on the national list of fatalities and incidents of red light runners..in Texas,yellow means haul ass. I am sure it is where you live as well.
I have had my share of questionable speeding on the highway tickets, but running lights ,especially on a two wheeler is not in my gamebook. Yes, there may be some very short cycled lights, but yellow still doesn't mean to haul ass. Have seen too many near misses too close to me. Had several city trucks with my employees t-boned from them, one flipping a 2 ton bucket truck,luckily not hurting the employees.

If the camera shows you and the red light...how ya gonna question that? Pay the ticket and move on.

[wezul]

Darn right, Steve.
On the way to Pontiac this weekend we were pulling up to a 4-way. From my right here comes a trike, I see him, we are waiting. Right through the stop sign he goes like he's immortal. Cameras, schmameras. If they catch one bad guy I say it's a good thing. Those who oppose have their day in court. In some countries you wouldn't even get the chance to plea.

I think I'm done.

[darrylri]

I agree about the need to stop red light runners.

However, the experience in neighboring town Capitola-by-the-Sea is that the red light cameras are difficult to set up and keep correctly set up. If not properly set, they trigger on right turners, on left turners with an arrow, and even people who stop a bit before the limit line and then creep forward. As the cameras are operated by a third party who sends the results to the city, I don't want to be judged by them.

[osbornk]

I agree about the need to stop red light runners.

However, the experience in neighboring town Capitola-by-the-Sea is that the red light cameras are difficult to set up and keep correctly set up. If not properly set, they trigger on right turners, on left turners with an arrow, and even people who stop a bit before the limit line and then creep forward. As the cameras are operated by a third party who sends the results to the city, I don't want to be judged by them.

Improperly set up cameras are a different issue than red light cameras themselves. Another issue is when the timing of the lights is changed when the cameras are installed. When you have been using the same route for years, you get accustomed to the timing of the lights and how long it takes them to go from green to yellow to red. If they dramatically change the timing, you can easily run a red light due to habit. The cameras are sold to the public as a safety enhancement but in reality, they are simply revenue enhancers. In almost all cases, the cameras increase accidents. They do change from accidents from intersection accidents to rear enders.

Ken

[The_Veg]

Improperly set up cameras are a different issue than red light cameras themselves. Another issue is when the timing of the lights is changed when the cameras are installed. When you have been using the same route for years, you get accustomed to the timing of the lights and how long it takes them to go from green to yellow to red. If they dramatically change the timing, you can easily run a red light due to habit. The cameras are sold to the public as a safety enhancement but in reality, they are simply revenue enhancers. In almost all cases, the cameras increase accidents. They do change from accidents from intersection accidents to rear enders.

+1!

One town in the Dallas metro area had to turn theirs off, as some concerned citizens found that the yellow lights had been shortened by 50% at intersections with cameras.

Also in most (bot NOT all) cases, the cities do not seek out cameras- the companies that run them sell them to money-hungry municipal governments.

Some European countries have radically reduced intersection incursions by setting their traffic signals to not turn green until a second AFTER the intersecting street's signals have turned red, or in other words, all lights are red for second before any turn green. It's very successful and it works a treat. US traffic engineers refuse to believe that it could possibly work, claiming that it would really screw up traffic-flow and essentially be the end of the world on our streets. As usual, the rest of the world outsmarts us and we just stick our collective head in the sand of denial.

[mneblett]

Some European countries have radically reduced intersection incursions by setting their traffic signals to not turn green until a second AFTER the intersecting street's signals have turned red, or in other words, all lights are red for second before any turn green. It's very successful and it works a treat. US traffic engineers refuse to believe that it could possibly work, claiming that it would really screw up traffic-flow and essentially be the end of the world on our streets. As usual, the rest of the world outsmarts us and we just stick our collective head in the sand of denial.

Huh? That's exactly how many of the lights here in Northern Virginia operate.

Too easy to generalize and condemn a whole group of people with no basis.

[osbornk]

Some European countries have radically reduced intersection incursions by setting their traffic signals to not turn green until a second AFTER the intersecting street's signals have turned red, or in other words, all lights are red for second before any turn green. It's very successful and it works a treat. US traffic engineers refuse to believe that it could possibly work, claiming that it would really screw up traffic-flow and essentially be the end of the world on our streets. As usual, the rest of the world outsmarts us and we just stick our collective head in the sand of denial.

As strange as it seems, my dinky little town of 6,000 in Southwestern Virginia does that. The red light I use most often (we don't have many) keeps both lights red for a second or two (seems like a long time). I've only been back for ten years but I don't recall a single red light accident. Our area is usually 10-15 years behind the rest of the world so somebody must have thought this up years ago.

I always treat redlights like a railroad crossing. I look both ways before I proceed regardless of the light.

Ken

[39520]

I taught my two teen age daughters that when they are first in line at a red light they should count to three before moving when the light turns green. We live about two miles from a light where there is at best a weekly accident from red light runners, and the girls have seen some pretty grisly reminders that green doesn't mean the intersection is safe.

[RickHillMt]

The State of Montana legislature in the 2009 session banned the use of red light cameras in the state. The original legislation would have grandfathered exisiting cameras, but after several municipalities tired to enter into contracts to be grandfathered, the legislators banned them all. An interesting coalition of conservative and libertarian politicians. It became clear through the process that the cities are revenue driven, not safety driven.