Seeing (and running) red

[robotech_master]

You know, I thought that yellow lights around here seemed awfully short lately. Turns out that Springfield, MO is one of six towns that have been caught shortening yellow times in order to lead to increased red-light-camera ticket violations. Springfield cut the yellow time at over 100 intersections while preparing for its cameras to go in.

If you're not all the way through the intersection by the time a yellow light goes red, you just "ran the red" for the purposes of law-enforcement. If yellow light times are too short, it gives motorists the hard choice between going ahead and hoping you don't run the red, or braking hard and hoping you don't get rear-ended.

Yay, my town.

Comments

[foomf.livejournal.com]

There should be a minimum time for which a light may be yellow. It may even be in state regulations.

[dpawtows.livejournal.com]

But, like most legal minimums, you don't want to apply it everywhere.

[foomf.livejournal.com]

?? It's a minimum, of course you want to apply it everywhere. In the event of an emergency vehicle flasher-override, the yellow can certainly be shortened, but normally, the minimum should be universal and mandatory. You never want to make it shorter than the minimum because it's unsafe to do so.

[robotech-master.livejournal.com]

I think what he means is that a minimum should be a minimum—some places should have longer yellow signals than the minimum. When you think about it, the faster the traffic is on a thoroughfare, the longer you need the yellow to be so they will have time to come to a complete stop.

[foomf.livejournal.com]

That's what the word "minimum" means. At no point did I say that it should be the maximum time.

Really, this isn't a difficult concept.

[masonk.livejournal.com]

Here in Texas, the rule is Enter Legally, Exit Legally, or ELEL. If you're in the intersection before the light turns red, then you're legal even if the other light turns green. That's so you can pull into the intersection prepping to turn, methinks.

[point5b.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's an increasingly common scam, along with simply inaccurate red-light cameras. And it has actually lead to increased accidents at intersections.