Yellow Light Timing
02-06-2006, 01:47 PM
#41
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Originally Posted by Umrswimr,Feb 6 2006, 04:07 PM
Interesting... According to the link provided by cedelena:
Red-light cameras lower violations by 40-59%. Increasing the yellow length by 1 second yields a 53% reduction.
I'm finding it hard to "justify" the added expense of a camera when the alternative is free.
Red-light cameras lower violations by 40-59%. Increasing the yellow length by 1 second yields a 53% reduction.
I'm finding it hard to "justify" the added expense of a camera when the alternative is free.
-Doug
02-06-2006, 01:52 PM
#42
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Part of the CITY SCAM (per one of the links above) is an abnormally short green light to encourage the hotheads to bust thru the yellow so those figures may be skewed. This means we aren't talking a 45 second delay here. At the red light at Campbell and 75 I can wait from 3-5 minutes to cycle thru and that is late at night, I don't know what it would be at rush hour since I don't drive during rush hour.
It just goes against the grain to say that the cities set things up to make you run red lights but running a red light by milliseconds or even a full second isn't the same thing as busting a red light late enough to cream someone.
Keep in mind lights have a "dead time" when all the lights are red. Most of the red light camera tickets are for less than half a second violation.
It just goes against the grain to say that the cities set things up to make you run red lights but running a red light by milliseconds or even a full second isn't the same thing as busting a red light late enough to cream someone.
Keep in mind lights have a "dead time" when all the lights are red. Most of the red light camera tickets are for less than half a second violation.
02-06-2006, 02:32 PM
#43
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I don't think it's right for the city to manipulate the light timing for any reason other than public safety (with or without cameras there)... I've never had to sit at Campbell & 75 for more than a few seconds at night... but I have been at some intersections where the weight was broken and you had to be in a specific lane to cycle it (or sit for 10+ minutes until another car comes along and goes in that lane) but I don't think that's a yellow-light-camera issue so much as a poor maintenence mark against the city.
On the other hand if there is enough time to stop and you run it by half a second then guess what, you ran a red light... that's not legal and a cop could ticket you for it just the same as a camera... a decrease in the time changes nothing (except the accuracy at which a cop would be able to cite you)... and one second late is late enough to hit somebody because of the way the lights are timed... if somebody catches that green light at just the right time/speed to not have to slow down much and then goes... that second that the light has been red could be a fatal second (even with the delay because it's usually not that big of a delay).
A lot of lights don't have that delay, some are timed so that if you're driving at a reasonable speed from one light to the next you'll catch the green just after the other light turned red... That delay is put in there for the people that CONSTANTLY run red lights (especially in times of traffic) and all it really does is provent the smoother flow of traffic for everybody else (and in turn the people running it because they had to wait to get to the light like everybody else) because of the increased "dead time" at that intersection.
As I've said before, none of this really applies to any city that is tweaking the yellow/red light times though because then they are just putting revenue before public safety... If used properly I think these cameras could greatly increase public awareness of the penalty of doing something so dangerous as running a red light. People don't consider the risk they are putting OTHER PEOPLE in when they run red lights, even by a second... which is a shame.
On the other hand if there is enough time to stop and you run it by half a second then guess what, you ran a red light... that's not legal and a cop could ticket you for it just the same as a camera... a decrease in the time changes nothing (except the accuracy at which a cop would be able to cite you)... and one second late is late enough to hit somebody because of the way the lights are timed... if somebody catches that green light at just the right time/speed to not have to slow down much and then goes... that second that the light has been red could be a fatal second (even with the delay because it's usually not that big of a delay).
A lot of lights don't have that delay, some are timed so that if you're driving at a reasonable speed from one light to the next you'll catch the green just after the other light turned red... That delay is put in there for the people that CONSTANTLY run red lights (especially in times of traffic) and all it really does is provent the smoother flow of traffic for everybody else (and in turn the people running it because they had to wait to get to the light like everybody else) because of the increased "dead time" at that intersection.
As I've said before, none of this really applies to any city that is tweaking the yellow/red light times though because then they are just putting revenue before public safety... If used properly I think these cameras could greatly increase public awareness of the penalty of doing something so dangerous as running a red light. People don't consider the risk they are putting OTHER PEOPLE in when they run red lights, even by a second... which is a shame.
02-06-2006, 03:16 PM
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I think that short lights and poor light sensors result in more light running... there is one light on my way to work that takes 3 minutes (I have timed it) to turn green if I "just miss" the green light... 3 minutes... and there is NO CROSS TRAFFIC!!! The light use to be a stop sign, but due in part to semis needing access to the intersection, that changed a while back.
Yes... at that one light, I have known to slide through at a somewhat less than parallel to the road manner just to make it through the light to avoid having to sit and wait...
Yes... at that one light, I have known to slide through at a somewhat less than parallel to the road manner just to make it through the light to avoid having to sit and wait...
02-06-2006, 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Doug0716,Feb 6 2006, 06:18 PM
So why not contact your city about it? If nobody complains then they're not going to spend their time/resources to fix it.
-Doug
-Doug
If it were my city, I would be able to say that I voted for you and what not.
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