[Cyfan4good]

Originally Posted by alarson

Its ********, when you can tell way, way out from many intersections whether you're good to make the turn or not.

Why do we have red lights and stop signs at all then, and laws against running them?

[Cybyassociation]

Wow...I opened up this thread expecting "Red Light Camera" to be something completely different...wow.

[bugs4cy]

Originally Posted by Cybyassociation

Wow...I opened up this thread expecting "Red Light Camera" to be something completely different...wow.

Ahhh - you've confused the red light CAMERA with the red light DISTRICT. Common mistake.

[Cybyassociation]

I thought it was going to be about someone putting a camera in the red light district and some sort of fascinating discovery that came from the film.

[Tornado man]

I thought someone's Canon or Nikon had some malfunctioning indicator light flashing.
Now I'm scared to drive to the store...

[CyLoboClone]

you can contest it, saying that it was you, not your husband, but then you would get a ticket in the mail and would be screwed by your own admission.

[Clonehomer]

I would think that speeding tickets would be easier to fight than red light. The sensors in those would need to be calibrated on a regular basis and I doubt they are doing that on the side of the road. Also, if they are using the same sensors as those stupid "your current speed is" signs then my car is off at least 4 mph.

[Dino]

I just wonder how sensitive the cameras are. If you just blow right through the turn you deserve a ticket but if you come to nearly a full stop but are barely moving then turn cuz there is no one coming, most cops wouldn't ticket you for that. Do the cameras? Or are they set for a certain speed too?

My problem with the intersection cameras are that they cause more accidents than they prevent under the guise of public safety. Its all about the money so just admit that, don't try to pretend its making us safer.

Don't believe me?
Red-Light Cameras Increase Accidents: 5 Studies That Prove It

[jbhtexas]

I got a red light cam ticket for making a right turn on red without coming to a complete stop. I was crawling up to the intersection as traffic cleared. After traffic cleared, I proceeded without really coming to a complete stop. I appealed, and the officer let me off. He showed me the law, which says you must come to a complete stop for 3 seconds. However, since I exercised caution before proceeding, he cut me some slack.

[alarson]

Yeah, the 'full 3 seconds' law is a bit bogus. You're likely to get honked at if you sit at an intersection that long.

[Clonehomer]

This is also why I like Ames' new cross walk system. Since they added the countdown clocks on the crosswalks you can see exactly how long that yellow light is going to last and you can drive accordingly. Since yellow lights are different everywhere you go, it is really hard to determine whether you should stop or not. I've had several instances where I came to a stop when there is 1-2 seconds of yellow light before the light turns. In other intersections I would have run the red light if I kept going. The timer is a much more reliable measure.

BTW, in this kind of weather you can always use the reasoning that you don't feel that you could have safely stopped in time.

[Me State]

Originally Posted by Cybyassociation

I thought it was going to be about someone putting a camera in the red light district and some sort of fascinating discovery that came from the film.

Film? You must be old.

[Cyclonepride]

Originally Posted by bellzisu

People will... How much of a warning do you need saying a light is going to turn. In drivers ed didn't they teach you to be cautious during a stale green light???

Indianola has a light outside town in a 45 mph zone. It changes quickly enough that if you are going 45 mph, and it turns yellow, you may easily be in a spot where you're too close to the intersection to stop, but too far to get through before it turns red.

[BKLYNCyclone]

Yellow lights in Iowa are already incredibly long... I was blown away in Ames last time I was there as the light turned yellow and I immediately began to stop. Anyway, I stopped, waited for the yellow to go red for another second or two and got an earful from the car behind me.

In NYC, the yellow lights last no more than 2 seconds, and I'm not exaggerating at all.

Funny story here though: Apparently the cameras they use are actually high end Nikon professional DSLRs in a custom watertight housing. There was a couple that was driving around the city in a rented cherry picker pretending to service the cameras while actually stealing them. They ended up getting something like 20% of NYC's cameras before they were finally caught. (All to pay for heroin). They were selling them to a camera resale shop for $300 each. ($88,000 of equipment stolen)

[JY07]

Originally Posted by bellzisu

The law is the law... Sole criteria.. Not seeing a grey area in there. The law is what it states. It catches people breaking the law. Just like cameras catching people breaking into a building. It catches people breaking the law.

I don't see a problem with them.

That is an incredibly naive statement... As the others have mentioned, have you ever taken off from a stop sign/red light without coming to a complete stop for a full 3 seconds (before the sign: if you can't see the road, after the 3 seconds you are then allowed to pull forward past the sign and stop again if you can't see the other vehicles)? Have you ever crossed a street that was not marked as a cross-walk?

To compare someone who thought it would be safer to proceed through a yellow light rather than slamming on their brakes (and misjudged the light) to a thief/murderer, as some of you have done, is ridiculous.