Makes a difference. Fact is, folks should know how long it takes them to stop. You won't get a ticket for going through when it's yellow.

You're not supposed to "enter" the intersection if the light is yollow. It's not a matter of being out of it before the light turns red.

One alternative to cameras is to lengthen the yellow light. A 2004 paper (fn. 2) showed a 69% decrease in violations when a yellow was increased from 4.0 seconds, to 4.5 seconds. There are many other studies (fn. 1) with similar results.

Lengthening the yellow also reduces severe accidents. A 2004 study (fn. 3) by the Texas Transportation Institute found, "…an increase in the yellow duration of 1.0 second is associated with an MF [crash frequency] of about 0.6, which corresponds to a 40 percent reduction in crashes."

A second alternative to cameras is to improve street markings. 2005 research (fn. 4) sponsored by Florida's Department of Transportation concluded that improving street markings near intersections reduced red light running by up to 74 percent without increasing the likelihood of rear end collisions.

For additional safety improvement, increase the size of all the lights, to 12" diameter. I don't have a study to cite for that, but it is known to have an effect.

I hope that the City will try alternatives before installing cameras.

Red Jim

Footnotes:

1. http://thenewspaper.com/news/04/430.asp (Red Light Camera Studies Roundup)

2. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06242004-230619/unrestricted/Thesis_3.pdf at page 67

3. http://thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/04-alternatives.pdf at page 2-20

4. http://thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/05-simulator.pdf at page 69

My thoughts are if you rear-end someone, you are following too close. You should ALWAYS be able to stop without hitting the car in front of you. Am I wrong with this thinking?

I realize accidents do happen, but following too close isn't an accident.

2ndly my thoughts on the cameras...If they will put more officers patrolling shopping centers/neighborhoods instead of revenue producing, I'm all for it. But keep in mind, I don't run red lights.

I don't run red lights either; in fact, it angers me when people do. If our officials were concerned about safety, they'd be out there at this very minute watching a ticketing people for running one. As soon as the lower courts held that these tickets can be written to the owner of the vehicle despite proof that they were driving they have been chomping at the bits to get these installed. I can't wait to see what's coming next: perhaps speeding cameras or GPS microchips for our elderly? Glad to see Fayette County has the time to focus on these issues having solved that crime problem.

I can live with it.

There have been cameras for speeding in other jurisdictions.

Are you for hiring more cops to patrol the intersections or letting a camera nail a few folks in a hurry?

We need more cops doing their jobs rather than sitting in parking lots talking to each other or sneaking up on inmates' back porches and shooting thier dogs.

Hopefull the revenue from the red light camera's will pay for them. The first year they put camer's for red lights in Cobb county they made a cool 2 million. We need that money here.
Those cameras catch more than just Fayette residents, we will make money off of everyone who comes here. If we want to keep crimedale.....ooppps I mean Riverdale out; we need these cameras at both of the entrances to the car theftavilion ooppps I mean the Pavilion. If we hit these out of town "guests" hard enough with fines maybe they will stay away.

If we take in 2 million dollars here as Cobb County did with the cameras, I think we should immediately put one in at each and every traffic light and also at every four way stop and also at every stop sign in the county, and in the cities.
What with us paying up to maybe ten million dollars with such a setup, everyone would then be so ticked off they would then really hate the cops worser. Yeah, have them stop everyone they see for eight hours per shift and issue a ticket for just about anything---if nothing can be found, beat out their taillight with a wand.
Let's lease ten helicopters and pilots with cameras and lasers. We could zap the electronic system in offender's cars and land and write many, many tickets. Do we really have people in these positions who have no leeway or judgement? Controlling crime doesn't come from tickets. Take the license sooner and teach driving in school.

Go up and let'em know. You can't tell me that at some point during the day you don't need a break..

I think they do a good job myself.

What office are you running for McDonoughDawg? You support do-nothing government and no accountability. If you start talking about a pay raise too, we'll know your Harold Logsdon.

Where have I supported no accountability? Are you suggesting our Police "do nothing" all day long? I think for the most part, they do a very good job.

As far as running for office, I couldn't afford the pay cut. I hear being a Lobbyists pays much better.

They do a great job when they get around to it. And I'll make it a point next time I see them chilling to go up and ask them to stop wasting my money, I'm sure they'll appreciate that.

You don't know any cops do you? Right now the police depts and the sheriff's office are short staffed. They wouldn't have to work 10-12 hours days if they weren't. This county isn't the little "Mayberry" you think it is. On an average shift they only get a 15 min. lunch break, if they get one at all.

You are so out of touch with what is really going on here.
Is it painfull for you to be dumber than the rocks in my backyard? Just curious.....Are you related to the mouth-breathing idiot who was complaining about the sheriff's dept. helicopter last week? The one who thought it was so outrageous that they used the helicopter to track armed bank robbers. What is the world coming to, if armed bank robbers can't get away?

SkyDude - you sound like Basmati - the other rude guy with the mouth breathing comments.

Why all the hostility? You guys so need to relax. You'll die young from heart issues if you don't!

Just calming the public -
MainFrame

The average response time for Fayetteville and PTC police is 5 minutes. Longer for the Sheriff's deputies, but they have larger territories to cover. When they're not responding to calls, they are patroling their beats, as a visible force *is* a deterrant to crime. If you ever see a car just sitting (and I don't mean when they're sitting running radar), you can bet that they are writing reports from calls they've already been on.

Just chilling? Doing nothing? Not the officers I know.

I think a longer yellow light at certain intersections, like around the old courthouse, would increase the likelihood of opposite-direction traffic being blocked, because drivers do not have the common-sense to not pull into an intersection when there is not room to get out of it (you see this at the 54/74 intersection ALL the time).

Welcome to the board.

I have to ask....are you being silly or what? Do you think our politicians are really concerned about safety? If they cared about safety they would, as you say, lengthen the yellow light time. This is all about the massive revenues these cameras would bring to the city.

PS..I don't think you're silly. I just don't believe our politicos are as noble as portrayed with this safety issue.

Yes, I have to believe there is a concern for safety! I sit at a light waiting for it to change and it scares me to see how many will run the other light. Around here, drivers seem to think "red" means "two or three more" instead of "stop". Down deep, the problem is there is little respect for the law and the lawbreakers are passing their terrible example along to the next generations. Local communities SHOULD be collecting revenue from the people who refuse to abide by the law. You might call it "the law of consequences".

We already have a law prohibiting people from running red lights with "consequences." The issue here is that a red light camera is controversial as local governments treat them as infallible tools of enforcement when clearly they are not.

That's right, we already have the law. The problem is that it's unenforceable because we can't have a traffic cop at each intersection 24 hours a day. So why not use some technology? Any controversy created takes back seat to safety and law enforcement.

Security cameras don't lie. They will send you your picture with the ticket. When you see the flash just smile and wave....they got you.
It's sad that I know this.

According to the article the "Tickets are issued to the owner of the vehicle" not necessarily the person that was driving the vehicle.

Seriously, just a question.

Ok all you lawyers, pony up.

Our legal system guarantees us the right to face and cross examine our accusers. Red light cameras deny us that right. Supporters of red light cameras would gladly jeprodize our entire legal system just to make a few bucks. I will personally contribute time and money to the the opponents of ANY politician who supports such an attrocious violation of our due process rights.

And for you politicians making the preposterous claims that the ticket was issued to the vehicle.

1) Calling a turnip a rose, does not make it one.
2) Your constituents are not so stupid as to not realize that.
3) It takes someone extremely self-absorbed to make such a preposterous statement *and* actually think everyone else is just dumb enought enough not to realize just how absurd it is.

That said, I'll play along with your little charade: Since my car received the violation, you will need to coordinate with it about paying the fine. As it's legal representative, I can tell you that my car suffers from a severe mental disability that renders it unable to care for itself, and is unable to perform meaningful work without a full time caretaker. As a result, my car has been unemployed for many years and receives no substantial income. To that end, I will be filing a petition to have the fine waved as my client is clearly indigent. You may elect to assign my car community service in lieu of the fine, but be aware that you will need to provide transportation and a caretaker for my car during the duration of the community service period. And be warned, should my car be neglected or receive injury while under your supervision, I will be filing a lawsuit seeking actual damages, pain & suffering, and punitive damages.

Sound ridiculous? No more so than issuing a citation to an inanimate object. What a bunch of nitwits we have elected...

The more they do, the more trouble they cause. I said on this forum elsewhere, that our elected Representatives do too much.

Your post makes way too much sense for Politicians.

What you're saying is Westmoreland may actually be our best congressman because he is the biggest do-nothing-er of all. Which means the less they legislate the better off we are?