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Posted on 05/27/2013 11:11:10 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
You will find the city of Dallas had an interesting study that may be informative.
They removed their Red Light cameras because revenue went down. People figured where they were and quit running red lights.
Obviously the accident rate went down, but removing the cameras shined a light on the true motivation of the city. The motivation of revenue trumps safety.
“”The answer is YES you should be responsible. You pay the insurance that will cover the accident they get in when they run a red light and kill someone. You own the car/truck, you pay the driver, you pay the insurance, you are responsible.””””
So I am responsible for the actions of anyone that borrows my car. Interesting. Are you sure you are on the right site? DemocraticUnderground is just down the block.
yup, politicians put these in, think they can keep spending without raising taxes, and sell it to sheeple as making roads safer.
Now it’s deemed a civil offense, like a tort or something that one would sue for.
It’s the grody details of civil law which have gotten things this way. Insurance customarily follows vehicles. However if the driver does have his own policy that is secondary to the one that the vehicle had (and may prove useful if the vehicle’s policy is exhausted). I’m not saying good-or-bad, only that’s how the practice shakes out now.
They could tax gas to be fairer, but that would be easier to see. I hate cynical games. I’d sooner see gas taxed if they need the money.
I think they are a great tool for safety. I used to run yellow lights but now I slow down and stop as the light turns red. It would be interesting to see the accidents before cameras and the accidents after. I bet they are down a ton.
If they are/were administered sanely they could be a “safety help.” Usually the contract goes not to the most conscientiously implemented system but the one that promises the most direct financial return on investment to city treasuries (which are generally not impacted by the losses incurred by foolish/unlucky drivers that get into accidents).
So, you won't obey the law unless you fear getting caught? You need Big Brother watching over you for everything?
I used to use my motorcycles for all of my business year-round. The red light cameras in downtown DC worried me because someone was always tailgating me and if I put the binders on they would have flattened me.
I actually ended up running at least two or three red lights (turned red while I was still partially in the intersection) and the radar never triggered with all the plastic on my bikes.
If one knows the customary yellow, one knows what is feasible and what is not. A camera that snapped half a second after the red, and on a light whose yellows at least met Federal standards, and which allowed maybe a second of mutual red time, would be more practically fairer. Give people some credit for having good will even if they do not have the best physical perception... and sooner or later the Napster will probably get barrelled into from behind where she wouldn’t otherwise have.
Just use a digital display to tell all drivers how long it is to the next light change. If you do that, there is no substantive reason why the cameras are objectionable. If you don’t do that, there is no reason to suppose that you are putting cameras in for any other reason than revenue.
A rear view video recorder with time stamps could prove useful if one had to try to prove in traffic court that the running was necessary to avert an accident. Still it stinks.
Decades ago I saw an invention outlined in what, I think, was Popular Science. The stoplight had a rotating arm and the position of the arm designated where the stoplight was in its cycle.
The Federal guidelines are not to do less than 3 seconds on the yellow. States are all over the map on how they time everything.
There is a formula for yellow lights
Y = t + V/(2a+2Ag)
Y= Yellow clearance interval in seconds
t= reaction time (use 1 second)
V= 85%percentile approach speed in ft/sec/sec [can use speed limit]
a= deceleration rate of a vehicle(use 10 ft/sec/sec)
A= Acceleration due to gravity (32.2 ft/sec/sec)
g= percent grade in decimal form(+for upgrade,- for downgrade) this is
unknown.
*Calculate the yellow clearance interval to the nearest 0.1 second
I had a ticket dropped because the yellow light was too short for the posted speed of the road and I proved it. :)
It’s true, you at the least want a vehicle with normal stopping ability in normal conditions traveling at normal traffic speed to be able to come to a complete stop between green and red, arriving at the stop line, upon yellow alert. Less yellow is asking for trouble, and why. Unless there is a system of pre-yellow alerting (blinking green?)
Agreed, all it is is a money raiser for the powers that be. Let’s face it, the job market is down, more people are out of work and/or underemployed, on the dole, etc., so where else can “The Man” get more money from us? So red light cameras are one way and lowering the blood alcohol limit is the other.
Semi’s operate on different rules (seriously that’s why regular police don’t usually deal with them and “DOT” police do)... they can’t stop as quickly and although it seems contrary to “normal physics” their braking is even worse when empty or lightly loaded.
You are taught when you get your class “A” license to blow through intersections if you can’t stop and to use your horn.. it’s safer than getting a big truck sideways. You should ALWAYS look before entering an intersection even if you have a green ...
The reduced yellow time is deadly because it takes half a second for an average driver to recognize the light change and at least another half second to begin brake application so you really only have 1.5 seconds to stop on a “2.5 second yellow” and 2.0 seconds on a “3 second yellow” ,,, the yellows are SUPPOSED to be a minimum of 3 seconds on streets with speed limits of 35 or less and go up 1 second for every 10mph higher speed limit...
It’s all about the money. The people crying “safety” are collecting blood money from the camera manufacturers and operators.
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