More on St Marys Red Light Cameras.

[glhs837]

Then perhaps that light needs a longer yellow to account for the higher speeds through there? Or perhaps one of those "When flashing, trafiic signal head is red" yellows a 1.4 mile up the road. One thing the NHTSA recommends before even considering RLCs or speed cameras is engineering solutions. One oh which is longer yellows. They have been shown to reduce red light violations by the same or better percentage as cameras. Note I don't say crashes, because in this debate, we don't debate crashes, right? Only violations

http://www.orangetraffic.com/images/products/orange-traffic-6060-red-signal-ahead-front.png

I'm going to mention in passing that not once have I heard any county official other than the automated enforcement employed commissioner whose company cannot bid on this mention engineering solutions. Why not? Because when you are selling automated enforcement, you don't talk about "free" ways to achieve the same goals, of course.

 

[bilbur]

Then perhaps that light needs a longer yellow to account for the higher speeds through there? Or perhaps one of those "When flashing, trafiic signal head is red" yellows a 1.4 mile up the road. One thing the NHTSA recommends before even considering RLCs or speed cameras is engineering solutions. One oh which is longer yellows. They have been shown to reduce red light violations by the same or better percentage as cameras. Note I don't say crashes, because in this debate, we don't debate crashes, right? Only violations

http://www.orangetraffic.com/images/products/orange-traffic-6060-red-signal-ahead-front.png

I'm going to mention in passing that not once have I heard any county official other than the automated enforcement employed commissioner whose company cannot bid on this mention engineering solutions. Why not? Because when you are selling automated enforcement, you don't talk about "free" ways to achieve the same goals, of course.

They actually did increase the time between the red and the next green but I don't believe extending the yellow would work. These trucks and other people that run this light know exactly what they are doing, when the light turns yellow you can hear the engines rev up from way beyond where any sane person would attempt to run the light. Even with the extended time between the red and the green I have seen people start to go on a green light only to stop suddenly as a dump truck goes through at speed. Why should anything have to change to accommodate people intentionally breaking the law and risking lives. Shouldn't they do something to punish those people to change their behavior?

 

[glhs837]

Yep, nice fat fines and points sound wonderful, and I think CDLs get extra attention beyond that. Like any police officer can hand out. Unlike cameras, which cannot get you points, and cost a measly $70 bucks. So, why not ask the Sheriff to get more deputies out there making that intersection safer by handing out citations. The "no safe place to pull anyone over" surely doesn't apply there, where the shoulders are nice and wide.

 

[bilbur]

Yep, nice fat fines and points sound wonderful, and I think CDLs get extra attention beyond that. Like any police officer can hand out. Unlike cameras, which cannot get you points, and cost a measly $70 bucks. So, why not ask the Sheriff to get more deputies out there making that intersection safer by handing out citations. The "no safe place to pull anyone over" surely doesn't apply there, where the shoulders are nice and wide.

My family has contacted them in the past and it resulted in a few days of increased activity in the area but after a week or two it is back to the same old same old.

 

[glhs837]

Yeah, regular random enforcement doesn't seem to be a thing that's done in problem areas. Seems like it would be a good deterrent.

 

[bilbur]

Yeah, regular random enforcement doesn't seem to be a thing that's done in problem areas. Seems like it would be a good deterrent.

I agree as well as a financial windfall from all the tickets they would issue in this area. I constantly see them at Tom Hodges enforcing speed but it seems to me speed is less dangerous than red light running. This is why I would rather see more enforcement of light runners than speeders. I guess the light running is harder to prove and turns into a he said she said while with speeding they have the radar gun to back them up.

 

[glhs837]

Exactly. No windfall really. Enforcement by officers never makes any money, costs too much for their time and equipment. But numbers of citations is a metric used to quantify the effectiveness of enforcement hours spent, and so, enforcement actions that net a larger number of citations per hour spent are favored, I believe. And while a lot of officers don't really believe that makes the roads safer, what do believe is that the more windows they get to look into, the better chances of catching a real criminal. So, spend an hour at the red light, get to look into say five or so windows. But pulling over speeders, you might double or triple that number. So, from an officers perspective, who is thinking more in terms of how many ancillary things he might find, drugs, drunk, weapons, warrants, that sort of thing, doing speed enforcement nets him a far better chance of catching those guys if he gets to look into 15 cars.

 

[Pete]

The deputy who stopped me yesterday on 235 north in Hollywood didn't need a camera. The 100 or so cars who slowed down passing us in the parking area I pulled into for my AND the deputy's safety also benefitted. I am completely against red light cameras and speed cameras strictly out of principle.

 

[glhs837]

So, Pete, what were you stopped for? Were you really being unsafe?

 

[Pete]

So, Pete, what were you stopped for? Were you really being unsafe?

No, I was speeding. Now some people would say "speeding is unsafe" but that is pure bull####. I was going 67 on a 4 lane divided highway. I was not going lunatic speed, I was going the natural speed most people travel on that road everyday without incident. "Safe speed" is decided by some traffic engineer and some agency using a guide and most of them are stupid.

 

[glhs837]

67 through there can be unsafe. Depends on circumstances. Mostly not though. Officer on the side of the road, or on patrol?