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Cities View Red Light Cameras As Profit Centers
Houston 2600 writes "Chicago could rake in 'at least $200 million' a year — and wipe out the entire projected deficit for 2009 — by using its vast network of redlight and surveillance cameras to hunt down uninsured motorists, aldermen were told today. The system pitched to the City Council's Transportation Committee by Michigan-based InsureNet would work only if insurance companies were somehow compelled to report the names and license plates of insured motorists. That's already happening daily in 13 states, but not here."
because of the DROP in revenue. People weren't running enough red lights to pay for the system any more.
I am not left-handed, either!
Ahh, sorry, I have an update coming in. That should be "too bad for the motorists that Chicago is not a bastion of integrity".
You'd think more people would be worried when law enforcement is publicly billed as a revenue source.
It's why they'll never end the war on drugs or even legalize pot: the departments couldn't afford to lose all the free money they get from drug related forfeitures. And pot heads make very easy targets. Which do you think a cop would rather bust: a vegged out pot head or a well armed group of Mexicans with a meth lab in the middle of a corn field?
Some cities decided to shorten the yellow phase to have more violators and therefore more profit from those cameras. It's just too tempting. See reports here http://www.motorists.org/blog/6-cities-that-were-caught-shortening-yellow-light-times-for-profit/ and here http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/03/trolling-for-trouble-in-the-red-light-district/
While I'd like what you're saying to be true, with some people it simply isn't. I stop for yellow lights, and I routinely get honked at by people behind me for stopping when they wanted to keep going -- even when it means they would have been running a red light. This is particularly egregious when it's a left turn lane that has a red "no left turn permitted" arrow. I often (as in daily) see fully five cars go through the intersection after the arrow has turned red, obstructing cars that are trying to go straight through the now-green light.
This is not a matter of poor timing, just a matter of people deciding that it's more important for them to get through the intersection than to obey the traffic rules. We have horrific crashes around here on a regular basis because someone comes through the green light and hits someone who was running the tail end of a previous green that is now red.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
Then the greedy-ass city council wanted more revenue, so they shortened the yellow-light timing. They now have yellow-light times that are around 2 seconds on most of the camera-watched intersections.
Do you have anything to back that up?
This report suggests that rumour isn't true, and the Texas Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices defines 3 to 6 seconds for the yellow light. ftp://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/final_report_rlc_1008.pdf (last page).
Correct. ITE shortened the yellow light timing in their 1985 updated standard. It was further reduced in 1989. This coincided with the time that New York City started testing red-light camera systems.
--You will rephrase your request for me to go to hell. Goto statements are not acceptable programming constructs