Hey Just a heads-up Houston City Council just added 20 new intersection cameras to the 50 currently camera-monitored intersections in Houston. The cameras are now also busting people who do not come to a complete stop before turning right or left from a red light. They intend to cite people who roll through turns. They'll make a short video clip of your car from behind. As of today, those cameras have cited 95,579 citations. At $75 each, that's $7,168,425 worth of red light citations. (link) The Chron has an interactive map of the red light cameras. Check it out here.
Personally, I love this idea. I hate waiting at a red light only to have to wait longer or possibly miss my green because 20 cars roll through the opposite direction after it is red. It's espcecially annoying when Tracter Trailers do this.
As driver, I think this is ass. Rolling stops are something that are going to be tough to nail with certainty with these cameras. What happens if you stop, and then scoot a little at a time so you can see if you're clear or not? As a cyclist (I ride in 9 mi and back each day for work), I love it. Jacks that swing right turns only looking left for oncoming cars are the biggest problem I have riding the bayou. I couldn't even try to put a number on the amount of times I have a "protected" cross signal and have cars swinging right turns or diving left turns. Naturally, they all curse/honk at me if I'm inconveniencing their ass for 3 secs. Evan
ok, do these cameras catch faces of the drivers? if not, i dont understand how it stands up in court. i let a few people borrow my car. if they run the light or "roll", are they just going to send the citation to me?
I was wondering why the guy in front of me on the SWFW feeder was waiting for the green before turning right onto bellaire. He didn't want to chance it.
I try to adhere to all driving enforcements, and even I am having difficulty with this law. It is stupid. When you come to a desolate 4 way stop, it is simply time consuming to come to a full stop before you turn.
this was in the "efficiency" thread. i think it fits nicely here. edit: removed b/c it autostarts. don't quote me.
Thanks for that. When I heard they were busting people turning right, I thought they had turned a little too anal with these cameras. But, you reminded me the practice is a danger to cyclists and pedestrians. And, I wouldn't worry about inching up. Once you come to a stop, you're allowed to inch up.
Yesterday, on Beechnut between the tollway and Dairy Ashford (only about 5 or 6 lights), I witnessed at least a dozen people run a red light (where the light had gone from yellow to red) and about half of those were blatant. Like 2 seconds after the light had turned red. It was ridiculous. I say the more cams the better.
if by "under my car" you mean under my policy, then no. but they do have their own insurance policy though.
So, if you come up to 30 desolate four-way stops a day, that adds about a minute to your total drive. I stand corrected, great point.
