Yellow Lights Shortened to Increase Red Light Camera Violations
Many cities across the United States have reduced their yellow light durations after the installation of red light cameras. This has been documented to have occurred in Chattanooga, TN; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Springfield, MO; Nashville, TN; Union City, CA and most recently Chicago, IL. It has undoubtedly been implemented elsewhere as well.
How short are the yellow light durations? In Chicago traffic lights have only a 3 second yellow light duration according to Brian Steele of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications. This has also been confirmed by the Chicago Department of Transportation.
In fact, based on federal guidelines, the 3 second yellow light interval is the extreme minimum time a municipality can designate.
Most suburbs surrounding Chicago have longer yellow light intervals, typically 4 to 5 seconds as recommended by federal guidelines for traffic safety. The 3 second yellow light interval in Chicago makes it very easy for suburban motorists or visitors from out of town to get caught blowing a Chicago red light because they are so used to longer yellow lights.
This strategy increases the ticket revenue while actually making Chicago intersections more dangerous since motorists are used to longer yellow light durations. The shorter yellow light duration increases the risk of an accident. This is completely counter-intuitive to the justification of Red Light Cameras being used to reduce accidents and to promote safety as Chicago and other cities claim.
Many traffic studies have shown that increasing the duration of a yellow light actually reduces accidents at intersections with no cost to taxpayers nor the need for expensive camera systems operated by private companies. The yellow lights are shortened to increase the revenue generated by red light cameras.
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com
