Shortin Yellows

camperpaul wrote:

rk911 wrote:

camperpaul wrote:
Red Light Camera Scams

In one Chicago suburb It did improve safety.

When word got around, all traffic slowed down to 15 MPH (45 zone).

Those cameras are now GONE.

Naperville and I believe Schaumburg removed them as there was no demonstrated improvement in safety. many to most of the tickets issued is DuPage county were for right-turn-on-red infractions and not for the speed racer blowing through a red light. initially I was a supporter of red light cams but after watching how this program has morphed and changed in my county it's obvious to me that the primary reason these cams were installed was to raise revenue.

Schaumburg removed them because of the increase in rear-end accidents on the roads around Woodfield Mall.
IIRC there was a class action suit involved.

I don't recall a lawsuit or the threat of a lawsuit and I know that an increase in rear-end crashes is often cited as a by-product of the red light cams. so I did a bit of digging online and found several Tribune articles that were written about Schaumburg's decision to remove the red light cams.

Article 1

Article 2

cited in both stories was the reaction not only of Schaumburg residents but also from shoppers at the Woodfield Mall. in response Schaumburg instructed the company overseeing the cams to stop forwarding right-turn-on-red infractions and forward only left-turn-on-red (where that was illegal) and drivers blowing the red light when driving straight thru the intersection). doing that dropped the number of tickets issued from the thousands down to a dozen or so. no mention of a lawsuit or rear-end crashes.

the cameras were sold on the premise that they would reduce the number of T-bone crashes at intersections and that was a lofty goal. what the cams morphed into was a revenue stream from drivers not coming to a complete halt before turning right on red. sure, that's a legitimate violation but is it reasonable? not from my perspective.

then there's the issue of corruption. Redflex, a red light cam company based in Phoenix, AZ, admits that it engaged in bribery to secure the contract for the City of Chicago. many Redflex executives rresigned their positions but AFAIK nobody was indicted. and the beat goes on.

bottom line for me...regardless if cams were removed because of a threatened lawsuit, pressure from merchants or because of no safety improvements...i'm glad they're gone.

rk911 wrote:

camperpaul wrote:
Red Light Camera Scams

In one Chicago suburb It did improve safety.

When word got around, all traffic slowed down to 15 MPH (45 zone).

Those cameras are now GONE.

Naperville and I believe Schaumburg removed them as there was no demonstrated improvement in safety. many to most of the tickets issued is DuPage county were for right-turn-on-red infractions and not for the speed racer blowing through a red light. initially I was a supporter of red light cams but after watching how this program has morphed and changed in my county it's obvious to me that the primary reason these cams were installed was to raise revenue.

Schaumburg removed them because of the increase in rear-end accidents on the roads around Woodfield Mall.
IIRC there was a class action suit involved.

Several years ago the state increased the major local hwy artery through our city from four to six lanes. In doing so they created a ton of new intersections and of course each with its own traffic light. The idea was to increase traffic flow and accidents do seem to have dropped in the last several years. It never ceases to amaze me how many people actually fail to stop for a red signal.

2oldman wrote:
And all this time I thought traffic light timing was based on sound engineering principles.

It is, they found a sound way to engineer the movement of money from your pocket to their pockets.

camperpaul wrote:
Red Light Camera Scams

In one Chicago suburb It did improve safety.

When word got around, all traffic slowed down to 15 MPH (45 zone).

Those cameras are now GONE.

Naperville and I believe Schaumburg removed them as there was no demonstrated improvement in safety. many to most of the tickets issued is DuPage county were for right-turn-on-red infractions and not for the speed racer blowing through a red light. initially I was a supporter of red light cams but after watching how this program has morphed and changed in my county it's obvious to me that the primary reason these cams were installed was to raise revenue.

Red Light Camera Scams

In one Chicago suburb It did improve safety.

When word got around, all traffic slowed down to 15 MPH (45 zone).

Those cameras are now GONE.

p220sigman wrote:
"However the City says it could take the cameras down all together if they're no longer profitable."

Like when people stop running red lights?

daily double wrote:
I'm surprised this thread hasn't been hijacked by all the people who say "I don't care, I never run red lights"!

I don't care! I never run red lights. happy? ;)

Funny this topic is here now. We had this story on our local news last week. When the red light cameras went up, the city claimed it was all for safety and there were allegations then that the yellow lights were shortened. If you want to see what red light cameras are there for, notice the next to the last line in the print story... "However the City says it could take the cameras down all together if they're no longer profitable."

Of course, I just stop when the light turns yellow :B

If you can prove it, and you've gotten a ticket, start a class action lawsuit, you'll make millions. If you can't prove it or have never gotten a ticket, well I guess you're outta luck, no harm no foul. P.S. A news story doesn't constitute proof in court.