Poway’s red-light cameras turned off

Pomerado News ^ | March 14, 2013 | Steve Dreyer

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Red-light cameras at three Poway intersections were shut off Friday night to start a six-month trial period.

Meeting Tuesday night, the City Council agreed to have the cameras turned off to judge whether their presence makes a difference in the number of accidents at the three intersections.

City crews removed the related signs on Saturday.

The red-light camera vendor, Rediflex, will not provide any services during the six-month test period, Heidermann said. The city has paid for the service through the end of March but will not be charged the $18,480 monthly fee during the balance of test period, he said.

A report on traffic accidents at the three intersections will be available about six weeks following the conclusion of the test period, according to Heidermann.

Mayor Don Higginson had recommended Tuesday night the program be done away with entirely, but agreed that covering up the cameras a for six months, much like the City of El Cajon decided recently to do, would be a good way to determine whether the camera system is effective.

Councilman Jim Cunningham urged the sheriff’s department to keep an eye on the three intersections so that motorists don’t feel as “they have a free pass to run red lights.”

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

Councilman Jim Cunningham urged the sheriff’s department to keep an eye on the three intersections so that motorists don’t feel as “they have a free pass to run red lights.”

As if the only way citizens follow the law is under the thumb of law enforcement.

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

In the seven years the program has been in operation, the number of broadside, or “T-bone” crashes at the three intersections has declined 53 percent, according to a city report prepared for the mayor. In the seven years prior to the cameras there were 62 crashes, or 8.9 per year. With the cameras operating the seven-year total was 29 crashes, or 4.1 per year. However, the number of rear-end accidents at these intersections increased 8 percent during the seven years of the right-light camera program, the report said.

Interesting, but the pertinent stat is the total number of crashes at the intersections,

[cuban leaf]

Also, the numbers are pretty low. I don’t know if they are large enough to be “empirical”.

[Pox]

The first one on that list almost got me about 3 weeks ago. I was beginning my right hand turn and it went yellow, I couldn’t possibly stop, so when I completed my turn I looked back and saw the light was red already, so I spent the last 2 weeks anxiously looking in my mailbox for bad news.

I hate those things.

[Gunslingr3]

The method for reducing red light accidents is to increase the period of the yellow light.

Some cities have been caught reducing the yellow light period to increase infractions and revenue.

[Kenny Bunk]

These Red Light Camera statistics are misleading and self-serving, as a spot check of nearby body shops will show a dispassionate observer.

Jamming on the brakes at the instant the timing-jiggered-short light goes yellow is causing (the yellow light is supposed to be on for AT LEAST 1 second for every 8mph of the speed limit)
(a) an inordinate number of rear-enders.
(b)These lights were ALL installed without appropriate Environmental Impact Studies. The short stops cause air pollution, pavement degradation and
(c) the normal flow of traffic is disrupted, causing stop-and-go jams, where previously there was some attempt at maintaining an orderly traffic flow.
(d) with obamagas at $3.50+ a gallon, the fuel wasted at 5-minute lights is enormous, and itself causes more local pollution.
(e)The Timed Traffic Light is apparently beyond the ability of many local officials.

Please bear in mind that I report this from Florida, where the natives are called "Floridiots" and not without good reason. The most common yellow light killer: a tattooed, heavily siliconed, texting, somewhat pixilated "single Mom" on or from her way to "work" at the "Gentleman's Club." Think Casey Anthony on home-made steroids. Buy a local deputy a drink and ask him (IMHO the best kind of field research.)

Before allowing this anti-constitutional and dangerous "safety" travesty into your area, make sure that your county commissioners and county sheriff are at least Junior High Graduates. Also campaign for round-abouts instead of needless traffic lights. These will have the immediate effect of removing bad drivers from the gene pool with extreme prejudice.

Call it "collateral damage."

[1010RD]

a good way to determine whether the camera system is effective

That's the lie right there. What's the purpose of the camera system: stopping accidents or collecting money?

[Dr. Sivana]

“heriff are at least Junior High Graduates. Also campaign for round-abouts instead of needless traffic lights. These will have the immediate effect of removing bad drivers from the gene pool with extreme prejudice.”

I was with you until you mentioned ROUNDABOUTS. They are now being constructed in rural Wisconsin, sometimes several in a row. The Euroweenies who push these monstrosities do not countenance their effect on wide loads and farm machinery. This ain’t London. Worse, the promoters maintain that fatalities are reduced, even while increasing the raw number of accidents substantially, doing NOTHING for the gene pool.

[Kenny Bunk]

Dr., I will immediately report to Wisconsin and rectify this terrible situation with you It's west of here, right?.

Your Graduate Badger Engineers are all Liberal Pinko Greenies might be your problem. As Euroweenies, they are probably basing their designs on Denmark or somewhere where the farmers have teenie-wimp equipment. I will personally re-design these roundabouts to take out unskilled drivers on the very first pass, leaving ample room for your biggest bean harvesters, threshers, big tractors, and manure spreaders.

I also recommend a driver's training course for your Mexicans.(Don't lie to me, Doc! I know you are using illegal alien labor on those farms!) Once they get the hang of it, they are usually OK. Plus, with that Aztec background they ain't too squeamish about sacrificing the inept.

Gimme your address!

[barefoot_hiker]

If they mail the citation, how can prove you received it? Do they send it by registered mail? If not, then perhaps the Post Office lost it.

[BobL]

“The first one on that list almost got me about 3 weeks ago. I was beginning my right hand turn and it went yellow, I couldn’t possibly stop”

I still haven’t gotten a ticket at one of those new-age toll booths, but what I do now, depending on the layout of the intersection, is simply stop at the light, and wait, even if I’m turning right. They get 95% of their money from right turns. So, as a bit of civil protest, I don’t play their game - I simply wait out the light and hope people behind me figure out why (I doubt they do, but if enough of us do, maybe they’ll get it).