Study: Better Alternatives To Red Light Scameras -- Increase Yellow Time
from the who-needs-facts? dept
Bob Dole writes "Sometimes technology creates problems in search of a solution. As regular readers know, yellow signal timing is closely related to red-light running. A recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute shows just how essential it can be. The researchers found that adding one second to the current ITE formula for yellow signal timing yielded a 40% reduction in crashes, but shortening the timing by one second caused violations to skyrocket 110%. A few years ago a congressman named Dick Armey compared the old, pre-camera timing formula to the current one and argued that engineers had jiggered the variables so that the new equation would yield one second less yellow time, making cameras more profitable. It worked -- except it also made our roads far more dangerous. "
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I invite you all to join me in sending a response back to the editor (if you agree with me that is). I've sent mine...
They can drop the price to a penny per song and I still won't be interested in music files that dictate when and on what ordained player I may listen to what I've payed for...
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Key Point
The study also found that the vast majority of red light camera tickets are issued within the first second a light is red -- in fact, the average ticket is issued when the light has been red for half a second or less. Yet right-angle crashes, which account for the majority of red-light related collisions, "with one exception, all of the right-angle crashes occurred after 5 seconds or more of red" (5-16). In other words, tickets are being issued primarily for split-second violations where collisions are not occurring.
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Re: Key Point
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Re: Key Point
Most of the time, they will get away with it. But it is dangerous and anti-social behaviour caused by thinking more about your own convenience than about those around you.
The fact of the matter is - no one has any business being in the intersection at all when the light is red. "split-second" violation or not - the fact is that you should be stopping when you see the yellow light. So if you actually are in the intersection when it is red, you've already had several seconds where you should've been stopping.
Red light cameras may be somewhat arbitrary, but they do seem to modify driver behaviour (we have one at a formerly dangerous intersection just up the road - it's still not exactly safe, but the accident rate dropped and it is now possible to cross the street without taking your life into your hands)
And yes, I feel this way in part because a red light runner totalled my car (luckily not me).
I think far too many people think about how it was only a "split-second violation" and a collision didn't occur so it isn't actually serious. This is the same reason some people think that it is "okay" to drive while impaired.
You shouldn't need to seriously injure someone (or worse) before gaining a little consideration for those around you.
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Red light running
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