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Cities Tampering With Traffic Lights To Generate Revenue
Techdirt is reporting that there has been a rash of reports indicating that red light cameras are being used to generate revenue rather than to promote safety. "Time and time again studies have shown that if cities really wanted to make traffic crossings safer there's a very simple way to do so: increase the length of the yellow light and make sure there's a pause before the cross traffic light turns green (this is done in some places, but not in many others). Tragically, it looks like some cities are doing the opposite! Jeff Nolan points out that six US cities have been caught decreasing the length of the yellow light below the legal limits in an effort to catch more drivers running red lights and [increase] revenue."
Would these sneaky moves be grounds to contest the validity of all of the tickets given by traffic cameras in these cities?
-- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
Quite simply, if they were there for safety, cities would put warning signs up at intersections that have cameras, people would slow down, less people would run lights, and less accidents would occur. I have never seen a warning sign at such an intersection, so their financial motives are pretty clear.
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Dallas recently installed red-light cameras. I'll testify that red-light runners were a major problem here, but I didn't support the cameras because of the potential for abuse. There was concern at City Hall, too, especially from the city's most with-it councilperson, Angela Hunt.
To the surprise of just about everyone, the cameras worked! People actually started slowing down in time to stop if the light turned yellow. The city became safer.
But there was an inevitable downside... the cameras' revenue no longer supported their operating cost.
Once again, the unexpected happened. Dallas did NOT tweak yellow light timing to generate more tickets. Instead, they turned off some of the cameras. Apparently, the contract with the third-party camera operator has a clause that reduces the monthly charge from $3,800 per camera to "a fraction" of that cost (blame the Morning News for failing to tell whether that fraction is 1/10 or 9/10). So they're turning some of them off, noting that "most motorists won't realize this and behave as if the cameras are operational."
Which is what we wanted all along.
The city of Dallas is mired in several messes of its own making, resulting in high-profile FBI probes and even a suicide pact between two of its best-known (and most-troubled) behind-the-scenes power brokers. But in this case, the city comes shining through. And the Rangers won a double-header last night, too. Wonders never cease.
More info available from the Dallas Morning News article.
More info NOT available from "theNewspaper.com", a self-described "journal of the politics of driving" that never hesitates to pass on a story of red light camera *abuse*. I sent a link to the DMN story, but it never showed up. Agenda much?
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
I like driving when the intersection has a pedestrian countdown, 3..2..1, I know when the yellow light is coming and can stop/dash.
Give enough information to make an informed decision whether I can make it or not.
but for crying out loud, HARMONIZE YOUR ROAD LAWS, there's nothing more likely to cause accidents than different people expecting roads to work in the same way as other roads which look pretty much the same, when they infact work differently. There is no reason why individual cities should be able to set the length of the amber light AT ALL. There's no reason to have some states where you can turn on a red, and some states where you can't, red should mean the same thing everywhere. When driving you need as little distraction as possible, and that includes having to apply local interpretation to the traffic signals and road markings.
Your idea is interesting, but do you actually have studies to back it up? At http://www.motorists.org/, they have links to studies that lenghthing yellow light time is sufficent to lower accident rates.
Sure, the original, and perhaps main intent in most installations is still to discourage the behavior of running red lights. But the problem is that the traffic control systems are being tweaked to maximize revenue, and not safety (obviously, the whole point of this story). The system now takes on a whole new purpose for its existence, and consequently works against its original intent.
It's akin to putting a 55MPH (or 90kph) speed limit, followed by a 25MPH (or 40kph) then followed by a 55MPH sign all with a stretch of 100 feet. It doesn't make sense, and it increases the danger of someone who is flagrantly disobeying the traffic controls getting tangled up with someone that is slowing down to anticipate and comply with the traffic controls. Meanwhile the speed camera is set in place, ready to capture as many hapless "speeders" as possible.
I'm just glad that the state I live in has a law that essentially makes any kind of automated traffic violation system unconstitutional. You need to be confronted by your accuser (i.e. cop) to be issued a traffic citation.
---We shall temporarily suspend the moratorium on car analogies for the duration of this story...
We need to standardized the timing on all yellow lights.
"It's gonna turn red soon" doesn't mean shit.
"It's gonna turn red in 5 seconds" is useful information.
I would love standardized timings. The duration of yellow lights greatly affects traffic patterns, and a fixed time of 4 seconds or something would not be ideal.
We can't put a visible timer on them either, because that costs $$$, and some people will see it and think "1 second is PLENTY of time!".
A good solution is to simply scale the delay of the yellow light to the speed of the road.
45 MPH zone? 4.5 seconds.
25 MPH zone? 2.5 seconds.
Also - the solid white lines (dividing lanes) before many intersections are a good rule of thumb.
If you're traveling at/near the speed limit, look at the light when you reach the solid white line.
I believe they are measured out so that if the light is green when you reach that line, you'll make it. If the light is yellow once you reach that solid line, you should stop.
I believe they are measured out for this, but there's definitely no standard, and since they keep fucking with the timing on yellow lights, it's all gone to shit.
According to this site the legal yellow light times in the state of California are:
Posted Speed or Prima Facie Speed Minimum Yellow Interval
MPH KPH Yellow SECONDS
25 40 3.0
30 48 3.2
35 56 3.6
40 64 3.9
45 72 4.3
50 80 4.7
55 89 5.0
60 97 5.4
65 105 5.8
Sorry, the lameness filter prevents this from being easily read.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
For major roads with higher speed limits, there is a simple solution. Install flashers ahead of the light such that if you reach that point and see them flashing, start slowing down because by the time you reach the intersection, they'll be red. If the lights aren't flashing, keep on going at the speed you are going (the speed limit, presumably) and you're guaranteed to make it through the light on green. For those cars close to the intersection when this happens, the yellow light is long enough to let cars that are already committed through. No more slapping on the breaks or racing through. There's just no need for it, and no excuse for it either.
Another good idea is how many countries in the world operate their lights. When the green is getting pretty stale, rather than switch to yellow, they blink green. That's a sign to slow down or speed up, depending on where you are. After that a short yellow light is sufficient. There are not many excuses to end up running red lights in this system. It works extremely well, particularly on city roads. The difference between a yellow and blinking green light is just a psychological thing, but it does work very well in the cities I've seen it.
When I was in Okinawa many years ago, I got a local drivers license. Learning their traffic customs was a real eye opener. The first thing I learned is that driving is not a right, but a privilege. The second thing I learned is there are no amateurs. Everyone is a professional driver and professional courtesy is required. As professionals and trained in moving traffic, they treated light a lot diffrently. The hardest thing to get used to was the courtesy at Right Turns (left turns for the US). If you waited for a light, the green meant go to everyone already in line. The greens were very short. On green the turn lane started and the light turned yellow and red right away and the other direction turned green. The turn lane continued to run the red while the green cross traffic professionally waited for the intersection to clear. It is illegal in Japan to proceed into an intersection unless it is safe to do so. This means wait for the turn lane to clear before entering the intersection. If you enter on a green light and hit someone making the turn, it's your fault for entering while unsafe to do so. The was normal, worked and prevented the overflow of traffic trying to get into a turn land from grid locking the straight traffic. There were few turning T-bone accidents. If you weren't in the turn line when it was green, you were expected to stop because the cross traffic was going to go as soon as the intersection was clear. Never try to catch up to a lane of turning traffic to squeeze on through because the gap will clear the intersection and the cross traffic will start.
It was professional, courteous, and efficient. Why can't we do it? No long amber or green is required. Professional drivers make all the difference. I loved it. Returning to the states was very scary as the traffic would launch at a green light regardless if the intersection was clear!... Intersections are very dangerous here. It's not the lights. It's the professionalism. On another note.. If picked up for intoxicated driving, you got your first phone call after a 3 day dry out period. They have very little problems with repeat offenders.
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While I agree with your Yellow interval explanation, I disagree with your All-Red one. The Yellow time should give enough time to clear the intersection alone without the All-Red added to it. This may depend on your area laws though if you have to be clear of the intersection by the start of red or if you can be in the intersection at the start of the red. I think most areas assume you are clear of the intersection at the start of the All-Red though. An All-Red of 6 seconds would greatly lower your Level of Service (LOS) of that intersection I would think. Most All-Reds that I am familiar with are 1 or 2 seconds long. Obviously there are a few with higher speeds or different geometries that are longer though.
I never got this "lights timed for 35 mph are also timed for 70 mph" thing. Let's go thru it in ascii art...