Forum Discussion
- Is there a red light camera at this intersection?
There have been several cases of shortened yellow light times that yielded increased red light camera revenues. Fremont CA is offering refunds for tickets at certain intersections. Chicago was caught short timing to increase red light tickets. BurbMan wrote:
valhalla360 wrote:
The yellow time is typically set to account for perception/reaction time plus the time to come to a stop.
The issue is that many yellow light times are set too short...compounded by the fact that many roads regularly run faster than the speed limit.
It's not uncommon for the traffic on a 45 mph-limit road to run 55-60 on a regular basis. Cars today, even the cheap ones, perform so much better than the cars we drove when speed limits were set on these roads, it's no issue for a car to run 60 in a 45 and stop with ease, even in sub-par road conditions (rain, snow). The big rig guys (semis and RVs) run with the traffic and now don't have sufficient time to stop on yellow.
Not sure why state DOTs are determined to set yellow times at the minimum calculated times instead of making them a little longer and a little safer.
I think that was touched on earlier, in trying to increase revenue from red light cameras.
Then there are those that push lights all the time, I have been pulling our 5er and had a light change to yellow, and stop easily, only to have a car next to me run the light, after it changed to red.
There is no way around it some drivers just do Stupid things.valhalla360 wrote:
The yellow time is typically set to account for perception/reaction time plus the time to come to a stop.
The issue is that many yellow light times are set too short...compounded by the fact that many roads regularly run faster than the speed limit.
It's not uncommon for the traffic on a 45 mph-limit road to run 55-60 on a regular basis. Cars today, even the cheap ones, perform so much better than the cars we drove when speed limits were set on these roads, it's no issue for a car to run 60 in a 45 and stop with ease, even in sub-par road conditions (rain, snow). The big rig guys (semis and RVs) run with the traffic and now don't have sufficient time to stop on yellow.
Not sure why state DOTs are determined to set yellow times at the minimum calculated times instead of making them a little longer and a little safer.troubledwaters wrote:
cbshoestring wrote:
If you're saying you are not smart enough not to kill someone, then I guess my prayers for you are in vain. Generally big rig drivers are a pretty smart, responsible, and safe lot. Your statements depict something less. Do you really fear you'll lose the load by stopping for a red light?PDX.Zs wrote:
troubledwaters wrote:
cbshoestring wrote:
I pray in reality you're really smart enough not to kill someone; because that statement represents a pretty irresponsible attitude for a big rig driver.
Once that point is crossed, I'm coming through the intersection no matter what color the light is.
Read the whole post again.
He is talking about the simple physics of driving a big rig.
Thanks for clearing that up. I was busy trying NOT to kill someone in Cincinnati's rush to leave the city.
Too keep it RV related...those physic apply to just about any heavy vehicle. In my opinion...those lights are sequenced for passenger vehicle traffic. Hence all the skid marks others have mentioned seeing.
Skid marks normally occur when the trailer is EMPTY...if the light truck locked them up, what chance does a fully loaded semi..or RV
..have? ????
Walk a mile in someone else's shoes . ....
I drove big rigs for years, and YES... There is a point of no return with ALL vehicles.. It just so happens that the point is far different with a loaded big rig..
Have I run 1 or 2 lights because of it, yes... did that make it right.. no.. but it is a fact of life..
Not because I wanted to injure someone.. because I had just no other choice.. sometimes what is behind you dictates the decisions you make.- That stretch of road which I see everyday with my work has had many issues. I am sure to be driving from LA area to get to Glamis at that hour of the morning that the guy has driven that stretch before and possibly tired. Morning sun had to be in his eyes and he never saw the yellow until to late, or wanted to beat the light because of the traffic of trucks ahead. That road is busy in the morning on a normal day let alone a holiday lets go to the sand dune weekend and party.
cbshoestring wrote:
If you're saying you are not smart enough not to kill someone, then I guess my prayers for you are in vain. Generally big rig drivers are a pretty smart, responsible, and safe lot. Your statements depict something less. Do you really fear you'll lose the load by stopping for a red light?PDX.Zs wrote:
troubledwaters wrote:
cbshoestring wrote:
I pray in reality you're really smart enough not to kill someone; because that statement represents a pretty irresponsible attitude for a big rig driver.
Once that point is crossed, I'm coming through the intersection no matter what color the light is.
Read the whole post again.
He is talking about the simple physics of driving a big rig.
Thanks for clearing that up. I was busy trying NOT to kill someone in Cincinnati's rush to leave the city.
Too keep it RV related...those physic apply to just about any heavy vehicle. In my opinion...those lights are sequenced for passenger vehicle traffic. Hence all the skid marks others have mentioned seeing.
Skid marks normally occur when the trailer is EMPTY...if the light truck locked them up, what chance does a fully loaded semi..or RV
..have? ????Grit dog wrote:
RVnet CSI trainwreck thread of the week here gents.
Indeed........LOL.
And now for a PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGECummins12V98 wrote:
Thanks for posting this. Newbies PLEASE watch this video.
Why? What information do you want them to gain?- I was not trying to start a debate on responsible driving, or the laws pertaining to traffic signals.
I was merely pointing out that slamming the brakes on when you have 50,000 strapped to the deck is not always an option. As any RVER can tell you, hard deceleration is no fun when fully loaded. Now add in the option of loosing the load..you may understand my point.
These type of lights scare the beetle-juice out of me.
Can I get stopped? Do I blast through? What if that guy turns right on red because he thinks I am stopping? troubledwaters wrote:
cbshoestring wrote:
I pray in reality you're really smart enough not to kill someone; because that statement represents a pretty irresponsible attitude for a big rig driver.
Once that point is crossed, I'm coming through the intersection no matter what color the light is.
In most but not all states, the rule is you must stop on Yellow unless it's unsafe to do otherwise.
The formula is such that if you enter on red, you had time to safely stop and the deceleration rate assumed is easily achieved by trucks and RV's. Cars can easily exceed the assumed deceleration by wide margins.
The yellow time is typically set to account for perception/reaction time plus the time to come to a stop.
The all red time is the time to clear the intersection if you do enter at the instant it goes from yellow to red (an upper limit is often used but if you were in the intersection for a couple seconds, cars on the side road had plenty of time to see you before entering).
So the original statement implications varies greatly depending on if the poster was suggesting they entered on yellow or on red.
