They don't like the RLCs being turned into a revenue generator, especially for a private firm. Lowering the yellow light length to the shortest legal amount of time is BS. And turning over disputed tickets to collection agencies is further BS.
I understand there are some flaws in the system but those are easily correctable. Yet everyone wants to scrap the whole idea because they don't like getting fined for their own traffic violation. And don't cite the studies that say cameras cause more accidents because you're being willfully ignorant if you actually read them. Yes, more total accidents can go up, but it's a trade off between more rear ends for less t-bones. That's the better alternative.
They are not flaws in the system. They are specifically designed to generate revenue. To reiterate, this is why they are largely unpopular. Red light camera intersections are notorious for setting the yellow light timing to the shortest time allowed by law. There are numerous studies that show longer yellow lights lead to dramatic reduction in ticketing and a drop in accidents. https://www.motorists.org/issues/red-light-cameras/yellow-lights/ The all-red time is minimal 2 seconds, typically a couple seconds longer than that. By the time it takes the first driver to accelerate on a green(who should be checking cross traffic instinctively regardless of the color of light), its 5-10 seconds later when they are in the intersection after the end of the last yellow. If someone is running a red light 5 seconds after the light turned red, a red light camera will have no impact on the violation. That said, if someone intentionally runs a red light, then I am all for them getting a ticket. Or anyone blocking the intersection because they got stuck in the traffic.
The cameras setting shorter yellows than allowed is a flaw that can be adjusted. Timing of the violation can be fine tuned, as well. Drivers shouldn't be ticketed if they enter the intersection on a yellow, but if someone disputes that, the camera will have recorded video evidence that will confirm or disprove the violation. The studies that you provided claim that drivers won't adjust to longer yellows. But they only adjusted that specific intersection. Drivers will adjust if yellows are extended across the board, but maybe engineers should only extend the most problematic intersections. The car that runs a red after 5 seconds is problematic. Either they are distracted or knowingly violate traffic signals because a lack of enforcement. Traffic enforcement will change that behavior and improve traffic safety.
When I was in China I saw that the red lights had a timer on it so knew when it would turn green again. I feel like people gun it through red lights because they don't want to be stuck 5 mins (at least thats what they think in their head) but often times it's less than a minute. The new Audis tap into the city's light system and tells you how long you have to wait. My buddy had an A4 as a rental last week and it worked in sugar land. When I see someone tap their brakes 10 ft before an intersection when it's green...i instantly know they are a bad driver with zero sense of distance/braking awareness. I just glance over at the pedestrian countdown for an idea of how many seconds are left.
NBC just ran the most pro red light camera bs story I've ever seen -- they didn't really present any of the negative facts about the system.
Wow, no witness helped you out and the guy who hit you didn't cop to it? So.. I've been t-boned twice with both cars totaled. Honestly speaking, red light camera wouldn't have done anything or made it worse because they traveled at a even higher speed to "make" the light. One guy was probably looking at his phone (claimed he was messing with the radio) and just blew through the light while his car was hidden by trees in the median so I had no chance of seeing him until it was too late. I'm not a fan of red light enforcement because it makes drivers too paranoid, and they just start breaking on greens. Timers really should be the default so no one has to guess if it's a long or short yellow.
I had one witness say he saw my light turn yellow after hearing the accident, the other driver had a witness saying I ran a red. The other driver wouldn't take responsibility because in this day, who really does? Cop gave me the ticket any way despite conflicting witnesses. Thankfully the judge threw it out. Nothing short of automated bollards or cars will stop a red light runner. But traffic enforcement is about improving driving behavior to improve safety and reduce accidents.
I disaprove of RLCs primarily because it's a first-step in a bad direction. We must not allow ourselves to become a society that is constantly policed through automated machinery. It's the first step toward a more Orwellian society, and there will be no end to it - once they start making money off of it. You cannot put that Genie back in the bottle. The movie Demolition Man made fun of it, but it's quite serious.
I don't have numbers but if you'd actually drive a car instead of take a helicopter everywhere, you'd see plenty of bad drivers.
Not obeying traffic signals (lights, stops, yields) and right of way, excessive speeding, cutting drivers off, timid driving, last minute turns/lane changes, hard braking, road raging, etc.
Driving education needs to be dramatically improved. It should be much more difficult to get a driver's license than it currently is. I didn't even have to take a driving test to get my license.
Houston drivers can do a few things to improve. 1. Pleaseeeeee use your turn signals! 2. Drive the speed limit in the appropriate lanes and minimize staying in the left lane so others can safely pass you. Don't be a speed vigilante. 3. Share the road and merge properly. Zipper merge! 4. Drive with confidence. Learn the limits of your car and how to drive when the roads are wet or how fast to take turns. If a posted yellow sign says 40mph turn, you won't die at 45mph! Bonus tip: learn to drive efficiently. if you are at a 4 way stop and the car next to you is going straight, guess what? you can also go with him! If the car in the opposite direction is going, you can also go!
Question about the red light cameras in Texas (Arkansas hasn’t implemented this). Do the cameras capture your vehicle and lice plate number? Or is the individual driving actually captured in the picture as well? If an individual is given a ticket based on the fact that the car is registered to them...yet there’s no actual proof they were driving the vehicle that day, it’s a constitutional violation of due process to be given a citation for it.
License plate and vehicle. It isn't a criminal offense. They can't send an arrest warrant for you or place it on a driving record. Not sure this has changed or not, but I think the only penalty for not paying ticket is that car can't be registered in county (or state) of violation until it is paid.
I'm not a fan of that legalese. The fine should be given to the owner, and the owner can sort out who pays for it and gets cited. Your vehicle, your responsibility for who drives it. Same thing applies for hit and runs. You can get the plates, but the police can't cite anyone unless he/she admits to it. It's too easy for irresponsible drivers.
Stupid to ban them. I don't think they should be used to generate revenue because we've seen how those things go, but consistent enforcement of the traffic laws would make the roads safer. The right timing for the yellows or no-go is just an engineering question and not relevant if you structure a RLC system the right way. We should have made some rules about the best way to implement them instead of going straight to the ban hammer.
The RLC's are setup specifically for revenue generation, not safety. To put it in a different perspective, the municipalities have no interest in having RLC's if it is not generating revenue. I dont want to try to 'fix' something that was never broke. If the municipalities ONLY interest is not to reduce accidents, then it will be abused, no matter how many fixes you want to implement. If a RLC system is setup in a reasonable way, it will never generate enough revenue to maintain the system. Basic economics are at play here. The municipality does not want the responsibility of liability and maintenance, so it must be farmed out to a private company. Private companies sole purpose is to make as much money as possible. If there are true problematic intersections, let actual officers sit out there and hand out tickets. At least the municipality is getting 100% of the revenue. That said, eventually AI can run the system, expanding to all forms of traffic violations. The vehicle itself would actually do the monitoring. Instead of having a flat rate fee for every violation, an individual will be fined on an incremental basis, with the initial fine starting out very small. The more an individual breaks laws, the higher the fines become. As the driver becomes more responsible, his fines will start going down. Its all moot as we will eventually go to autonomous driving
