Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy I just did a story on the news of how a red light camera in Dallas has resulted in 1748 citations so far. WOW. So what do you think of red light cameras? I love the idea---anything to stop idiotic drivers from running red lights and causing accidents and deaths. Yet some cry out it's an invasion of privacy. Personally I think that's silly and "reaching". In a perfect world, folks would just stop when it's red.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy That's red light camera *program*---I don't think a single camera got 1748 people, lol.
Originally Posted By cmpaley Most of the time, it's not the stopping on red that's a problem, it's a misjudged (or in some cases an illegally shortened) yellow phase.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Oo, we have a new angle...this thread may get juicier than I thought, lol. You'd think if any lights were "illegally shortened" something would be done about it.
Originally Posted By cmpaley >>You'd think if any lights were "illegally shortened" something would be done about it.<< Actually, something was done about it. People got rebates and the tickets expunged and the city had to retime their lights back to specification.
Originally Posted By friendofdd Glad you posted, CMP. Don't want TGD to be talking to himself, do we?
Originally Posted By thenurmis We have had them for a while ( in Vancouver) and frankly they work. It dosn't stop all the fools, but it does stop most of them, and it makes you think befor you try. Really if it stops one death, it's worth it. As far as the shortened yellow light concept..ha ha you got busted, quit trying to hide under some fufu story.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder They're cash cows for the cities that employ them. We've got them here in Long Beach, and the city makes a mint on the stupid drivers who still blow through them despite their huge and obvious presence. Moreover, they take really good pictures of the drivers.
Originally Posted By cmpaley >> As far as the shortened yellow light concept..ha ha you got busted, quit trying to hide under some fufu story.<< I've never been nabbed by a red-light camera. I am VERY careful about signal lights. As to shortened yellow lights, California law requires minimum yellow phase times based on speed limits. Several cities have been shortening them in order to get more "catches." Just search Yahoo or Google under "red light camera short yellow" and you'll see dozens of links about this issue.
Originally Posted By SuperDry I don't understand what is so difficult about putting a cop on a motorcycle with a citation book who pulls people over that go through red lights. Here in Texas, the new "red light cam" tickets aren't even moving violations, as they make no attempt to figure out who's actually driving - they just send the ticket to the registered owner. And, there's no penalty against just ignoring it, other than civil collection efforts.
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle >> As far as the shortened yellow light concept..ha ha you got busted, quit trying to hide under some fufu story.<< I've never been nabbed by a red-light camera. I am VERY careful about signal lights.<< I think thenurmis was "speaking" to the person who got caught, not to you specifically. I think red light cameras are a good idea - I was in a car accident when I stopped at a red light and the truck behind me, well, didn't. (That's the SECOND time today I've got to whine about this on these boards!! I haven't even mentioned it for ages before today. Impressive). So anything that makes drivers think a bit more about the consequences can only be a good thing...
Originally Posted By cmpaley What I wish they'd use cops for more often around here are pedestrians who start to cross in front of one ever-so-slowly AFTER the DONT WALK hand has started flashing...as they look RIGHT AT YOU! Or worse, an intersection in Downtown LA is infamous for long waits to turn right because it's also a pick up point for bandit taxi drivers. They'll be in the middle of the turn and will STOP so as to pick up one more person. >:O I say, TICKET THOSE %&$*(#@!! ARGH!! Rant over.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I think red light cameras are a good idea - I was in a car accident when I stopped at a red light and the truck behind me, well, didn't. >>> Actually, the statistics show that red light cameras actually INCREASE the type of accident you describe, so if that's your concern, you'd actually be against them. The benefit is that they decrease the "T-bone" type of accident where cars traveling in perpendicular directions collide, and those types of accidents tend to create more serious injuries.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 ,What I wish they'd use cops for more often around here are pedestrians who start to cross in front of one ever-so-slowly AFTER the DONT WALK hand has started flashing...as they look RIGHT AT YOU! Or worse, an intersection in Downtown LA is infamous for long waits to turn right because it's also a pick up point for bandit taxi drivers. They'll be in the middle of the turn and will STOP so as to pick up one more person. >:O I say, TICKET THOSE %&$*(#@!! ARGH!! Rant over.> You wouldn't do too well in NYC, cmpaley. Here, red lights are merely a (rarely-taken) suggestion for pedestrians, who walk whenever they can. Taxis stop everywhere. Trucks clog the already narrow streets. And the bike messengers go the wrong way down one-way streets, scoff at traffic lights, hold on to the back bumpers of cars and then whip themselves past when traffic slows down, and when running over a pedestrian will typically give the pedestrian a heaping helping of attitude for being in the way.
Originally Posted By DAR Does anyone have the digitized speed limit stands where they live? It's basically a contraption on two wheels and of course it shows how fast your're driving. But when they're up there's never any cops around. However it never fails as soon as people see that thing people just hit the breaks, it's really quite comical.
