Iowa Senate OKs ban on traffic enforcement cameras as foes predict more traffic deaths

[TBoneTX 45,543]

5 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

What is this strange thing you call slow down?! Yellow means speed up

In our area, green means "go," yellow means "go faster," and red means "3 more cars."

[Steeleballz 7,550]

Just now, IDWAF said:

Until you run that red light, and the opposing traffic was trying to be the first thru the intersection, and you hit them.  Or run over and kill the pedestrian that was in the crosswalk.  Kind of hard to “afford” that.

 

    I agree, but I'm not sure the camera is going to stop any of that. It's usually large trucks I see doing it here. I'm not sure if it's a one time thing - just passing through, or if it's the same drivers and just the cost of doing business.

 

   The light I deal with most often has a short green turning arrow followed by an extremely short yellow light then a lot of revenue. I just slow down now when I see the green turning arrow. I notice a lot of people do the same. You hear a lot of horns honking at that intersection nowadays.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

8 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

    I agree, but I'm not sure the camera is going to stop any of that. It's usually large trucks I see doing it here. I'm not sure if it's a one time thing - just passing through, or if it's the same drivers and just the cost of doing business.

 

   The light I deal with most often has a short green turning arrow followed by an extremely short yellow light then a lot of revenue. I just slow down now when I see the green turning arrow. I notice a lot of people do the same. You hear a lot of horns honking at that intersection nowadays.

So it sounds as if the camera is having the intended effect - slowing down drivers.  Annoying perhaps, but I am sure it ends up being safer.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

2 minutes ago, IDWAF said:

So it sounds as if the camera is having the intended effect - slowing down drivers.  Annoying perhaps, but I am sure it ends up being safer.

 

   Since they legalized MJ here, we already have enough drivers stopping at green lights. Stopping at green lights doesn't make anyone safer than running yellow lights.

 

   If they were legitimate, don't shorten the yellow light time just because there are cameras, and put up signs that traffic control is enforced by camera so everyone pays attention, not just the people who have been ticketed previously.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

5 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

   Since they legalized MJ here, we already have enough drivers stopping at green lights. Stopping at green lights doesn't make anyone safer than running yellow lights.

 

   If they were legitimate, don't shorten the yellow light time just because there are cameras, and put up signs that traffic control is enforced by camera so everyone pays attention, not just the people who have been ticketed previously.

That’s akin to saying it’s not fair to get a ticket for speeding because the cop was hiding his car behind a tree.

[TBoneTX 45,543]

4 minutes ago, IDWAF said:

ticket for speeding because the cop was hiding his car behind a tree

All traffic cops should be operating marked vehicles as follows:

 -- painted with glow-in-the-dark tie-dye colors

 -- huge pink pinwheels extending 10 feet up from every quarterpanel

 -- neon signs on both bumpers, saying "Traffic Cop"

 -- all the above visible from all directions in a 2-mile radius, including in fog

 -- tyres inflated to a full 10 psi

[Steeleballz 7,550]

1 minute ago, IDWAF said:

That’s akin to saying it’s not fair to get a ticket for speeding because the cop was hiding his car behind a tree.

 

   It's not about fairness, it's about safety. It should be about safety.

 

  If the intersection is really dangerous and you want people to slow down, then let them know you have camera's. Let them know there will be tickets. Put signs up in advanced so people slow down. Heck if you really want it to be about safety,  why is there just a fine and the points not being assessed/deducted from the drivers record? That's pretty much the first giveaway that it's more about the money.

 

  

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

34 minutes ago, Steeleballz said:

 

   It's not about fairness, it's about safety. It should be about safety.

 

  If the intersection is really dangerous and you want people to slow down, then let them know you have camera's. Let them know there will be tickets. Put signs up in advanced so people slow down. Heck if you really want it to be about safety,  why is there just a fine and the points not being assessed/deducted from the drivers record? That's pretty much the first giveaway that it's more about the money.

 

  

It all boils down to following or not following the law.  If you follow the law, things are (theoretically) safer for all.  If you disobey the law, or break a traffic regulation, there are fines to be paid.

 

I disagree that the cameras are making anything more unsafe. The behavior of people who KNOW they will get spotted breaking the law, and their abrupt responses... now that is where the issue lies.  If the cameras were not there, or unknown, people would just rush thru the light, breaking the law.  Now they know about it, and they stop.

[charmander 692]

Due to traveling and work I was away from VJ and  CEHST for a while...let's get back to business.

 

I think traffic cameras are good. They are no different than a police-favorite hiding spot. In police case you know they "might" be there, in camera case you know they "are" there. There is a police-favorite red light on my commuting route, I don't remember how many times I witnessed someone trying to catch that last millisecond of yellow getting pulled over. They could as well setup a camera and ease police's workload but we all know the trade-off between giving out a ticket for every single violation and keeping residents (and hence voters) happy. Local officials eventually opt out to ban these cameras instead of jeopardizing the next elections.

 

 

 

 

 

[cyclone27 710]

Yellow= proceed with caution though experience tells me most speed up not slow down.

[Boiler 45,673]

Very big in the UK, big issue was deciding who would get the money they generated.

 

Where I live is not currently incorporated, my plan is to re incorporate and include a section of local highway to fund our operations, we will have Cameras and a variable speed limit depending on how much we need to raise.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

52 minutes ago, IDWAF said:

It all boils down to following or not following the law.  If you follow the law, things are (theoretically) safer for all.  If you disobey the law, or break a traffic regulation, there are fines to be paid.

 

I disagree that the cameras are making anything more unsafe. The behavior of people who KNOW they will get spotted breaking the law, and their abrupt responses... now that is where the issue lies.  If the cameras were not there, or unknown, people would just rush thru the light, breaking the law.  Now they know about it, and they stop.

 

   Short yellow lights cause more accidents. As you can see in the linked article,  a red light camera in Fort Collins caused a 45% increase in accidents,  and later increasing the yellow light duration by one second dropped that rate by 30%.  

 

   If they are purposely putting traffic cameras at intersections with short yellow lights, it's not being done for safety. Keep in mind Colorado law allows you to enter the intersection on a yellow light but you must be clear by the time the light turns red. There is a big difference between a 4s yellow light and a 3s, and again, that shouldn't be the driving factor behind camera locations.

 

   

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

2 hours ago, Steeleballz said:

 

   Short yellow lights cause more accidents. As you can see in the linked article,  a red light camera in Fort Collins caused a 45% increase in accidents,  and later increasing the yellow light duration by one second dropped that rate by 30%.  

 

   If they are purposely putting traffic cameras at intersections with short yellow lights, it's not being done for safety. Keep in mind Colorado law allows you to enter the intersection on a yellow light but you must be clear by the time the light turns red. There is a big difference between a 4s yellow light and a 3s, and again, that shouldn't be the driving factor behind camera locations.

 

   

Now that I completely agree with.  Changing the light timing to generate revenue should never be allowed.  I was thinking of just having a camera installed at an existing light with “normal” timing, or those portable cameras that can be setup anywhere to catch speeders (damn things are GOOD!  Had my brights on one dark morning, and the camera still shot my license plate and my face as if it were broad daylight).

 

If you have a light you are suspicious of, you can use these guidelines and address it to your local constabulary if it’s too close to dangerous:  http://www.shortyellowlights.com/standards/

[jg121783 3,918]

9 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

All traffic cops should be operating marked vehicles as follows:

 -- painted with glow-in-the-dark tie-dye colors

 -- huge pink pinwheels extending 10 feet up from every quarterpanel

 -- neon signs on both bumpers, saying "Traffic Cop"

 -- all the above visible from all directions in a 2-mile radius, including in fog

 -- tyres inflated to a full 10 psi

All police cars should also have GPS tracking devices on them with their location viewable on the police departments website. If you need their help you should know where to find them. In all seriousness though in some states the law says unmarked police cars can't be used for traffic stops but they do it anyways because people are ignorant of the law.

[TBoneTX 45,543]

3 hours ago, jg121783 said:

in some states the law says unmarked police cars can't be used for traffic stops

Wasn't aware of this, but sure wish that Texas were one such.