6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit
March 26th, 2008 Posted in Red-Light Cameras, Yellow Light Duration
Short yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection.
Some local governments have ignored the safety benefit of increasing the yellow light time and decided to install red-light cameras, shorten the yellow light duration, and collect the profits instead.
Here are some of the cities that have been caught with short yellow light times over the past few years:
Important note: These news stories were collected from the archives of TheNewspaper.com, an excellent resource for anyone interested in traffic laws and other motorist issues. If you subscribe to TheNewspaper.com’s feed, you’ll never miss the latest news. It makes an excellent complement to this blog.
1) Chattanooga, Tennessee
The city of Chattanooga was forced refund $8800 in red light cameras tickets issued to motorists trapped by an illegally short yellow time. The refund only occurred after a motorist challenged his citation by insisting that the yellow light time of 3.0 seconds was too short. LaserCraft, the private vendor that runs the camera program in return for a cut of the profits, provided the judge with a computer database that asserted the yellow was 3.8 seconds at that location.
The judge then personally checked the intersection in question was timed at three seconds while other nearby locations had about four seconds of yellow warning. City traffic engineer John Van Winkle told Bean that “a mix up with the turn arrow” was responsible and that the bare minimum for the light should be 3.9 seconds.
2) Dallas, Texas
An investigation by KDFW-TV, a local TV station, found that of the ten cameras that issued the greatest number of tickets in the city, seven were located at intersections where the yellow duration is shorter than the bare minimum recommended by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).
The city’s second highest revenue producing camera, for example, was located at the intersection of Greenville Avenue and Mockingbird Lane. It issued 9407 tickets worth $705,525 between January 1 and August 31, 2007. At the intersections on Greenville Avenue leading up to the camera intersection, however, yellows are at least 3.5 or 4.0 seconds in duration, but the ticket-producing intersection’s yellow stands at just 3.15 seconds. That is 0.35 seconds shorter than TxDOT’s recommended bare minimum. Dallas likewise installed the cameras at locations with existing short yellow times. A total of twenty-one camera intersections in Dallas had yellow times below TxDOT’s bare minimum recommended amount.
The ticket camera program in Dallas made the news recently for shutting down some of its cameras because they were no longer profitable.
3) Springfield, Missouri
The city of Springfield, Missouri prepared for the installation of a red light camera system in 2007 by slashing the yellow warning time by one second at 105 state-owned intersection signals across the city.
The city defended its effort to the Springfield News-Leader by claiming it was “standardizing” and had increased the yellow time at 136 city-operated lights to meet national standards. During the city council meeting last October where the red light camera ordinance was approved, however, Assistant Director of Public Works Earl Newman gave a different explanation for the reduction. Newman said he was, “concerned that many individuals run the light if the light remained yellow too long.”
4) Lubbock, Texas
KBCD, a local television station, exposed the city’s short timing of yellow lights at eight of the twelve intersections where the devices were to be installed.
Prior to the news investigation, Lubbock City Engineer Jere Hart assured city council members that he would not increase yellow times. According to the city council’s traffic commission minutes of September 19, 2006, Jere said, “if [the red light camera program is] implemented, the public would prefer to have an increased amber cycle,” but he stated that, “the program will not adjust the amber/yellow time.”
Shortly after the investigation became public, red-light cameras were installed in Lubbock. However, after they proved to be both unprofitable (due in part to a new state law giving 50% of the ticket camera profit to the state) and unsafe (accidents increased where the cameras were installed), they were taken down.
5)Nashville, Tennessee
Even without red light cameras, police in Nashville, Tennessee have been earning hundreds of thousands in revenue by trapping motorists in conventional ticket traps at city intersections with the shortest yellow warning time.
In 2006, Nashville resident Joe Savage obtained the data on every red light running ticket issued on Broadway street since 2000. He said that yellow lights are longer at intersections along Broadway until the areas where police are issuing tickets. At those locations, Savage clocked the yellow signal time at less than 3 seconds, in violation of both state law and federal regulations. A local newspaper, The Nashville Scene, then confirmed his findings.
6) Union City, California
In 2005, Union City, California was caught trapping motorists with a yellow signal time 1.3 seconds below the minimum established by state law. As a result, the city was forced to refund more than $1 million in red light camera fines.
The city’s violation came to light after Dave Goodson, an engineer, received a ticket and realized that he did not have sufficient time to stop before the light had turned red. As a result of his inquiries, Union City’s traffic engineers admitted that they had set the yellow signal time at Union City Boulevard and Lowry Road at 3 seconds, despite the state law mandating the time be 4.3 seconds or greater.
Authorities said that the yellow was too short long before the cameras were installed, but that no effective system was in place to verify the timing of the traffic signals despite their direct impact on safety.
Closing Notes:
These are only the cities that have been caught; it’s likely that this happens much more than the general public has been led to believe. Many cities avoid the bad publicity involved with shortening yellow lights by installing the cameras at intersections with inadequate yellow light times from the beginning.
If you or a family member receive an unjustified red-light violation ticket, it may be worth your time to check the yellow light duration at the intersection where the ticket was given out.
Also, if you know of any city currently shortening yellow lights in your area, let everyone know by posting it the comments of this post.
Image Credit: jaqian
Other Related Articles
- Increased Yellow Light Times Make Ticket Cameras Unnecessary
- Short Yellow Light Times No Longer Going Unnoticed
- Essential Material For Ticket Camera Activists
- Help Us Stop Short Yellow Lights
- 9 Ways To Improve Traffic Safety That The Government Will Ignore Because They Are Too Busy Ticketing You
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[...] what about shortening the yellow light time so that they can generate more red light tickets? 6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit ————————— I have the power to channel my imagination into ever-soaring levels [...]
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There is nothing worse than paying your hard earned money to these ” Money Grabbing Polioticians”.
Looking for a good attorney caught man with electronic box with buttens for everyone of the lanes on face of box. I have also more detail I would like to share with a attorney. please submit your attorney information to sharon_hensley@att.net Subject matter: Red light camera attorney needs to talk.
TUCSON ARIZONA: THIS PAST YEAR OR TWO, TUCSON HAS BEEN PLACING VIDEO CAMERAS AT MAJOR INTERSECTIONS AND ALTERNATING CAMERA CARS IN A VARIETY OF HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS.
DRIVING SCHOOL IS MANDATORY FOR INSURANCE REASONS AND OWNED INDIVIDUALLY.. THE TRAFFIC SCHOOL TEACHES THAT IF YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION WHEN THE LIGHT TURNS RED, YOU ARE IN VIOLATION.
THE SCHOOL I WENT TO HAD ABOUT 50 PEOPLE, WITH AN AVERAGE OF OVER 70% OF PEOPLE THERE FOR THE SAME VIOLATION.
THE LAW USE TO BE AND STILL MAY BE; THAT IF YOU ENTER AN INTERSECTION ON YELLOW YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO GET OUT OF THE INTERSECTION.
ALSO, THE SCHOOL INSTRUCTOR INSISTED THAT THE TEST THE CITY HAD TAKEN REGARDING THE LENGTH OF THE YELLOW LIGHT, PER LARGE INTERSECTION, HAD NO BEARING. THEREFORE IF THE LIGHT IS YELLOW FOR 2 SECONDS OR 5 SECONDS, PEOPLE WILL STILL RUN THE LIGHT SO IT DOES NOT MATTER THE LENGHT OF THE YELLOW LIGHT
THE LIGHTS TURN YELLOW, RED AND THEN A GREEN TURN LIGHT APPEARS. EVEN IF YOU ARE IN THE INTERSECTION AWARE THAT IT WILL TURN GREEN, YOU WILL GET A $350 TICKET.
AT THE SAME TIME, IT SO HAPPENS THAT
THE CITY, AS WELL AS ARIZONA, IS GOING BANKRUPT.
IS THIS THEIR WAY TO CREATE INCOME?
THE MANDATORY CLASSES ARE AN ADDITIONAL $50. AND LAST EIGHT HOURS. AND JUDGES ARE STUBBORN
THE CLASS TEACHER SAID YOU CAN SEE YOUR DRIVING ON THE INTERNET. I COULD NOT FIND IT AFTER HOURS ON THE INTERNET
Chicago has numerous (camera) stop lights that they have shortened the yellow…so much that its less than 1 second before it changes from Yellow to Red. I received a ticket and via the pictures enclosed with ticket, you can plainly see the time stamp that shows when the light changed..0.99 yellow, 1.03 red.
I replied and tried to fight the ticket; I was informed that all traffic lights are set correctly, but, if I want to pay $45 i can fight it (non-refundable) thur the courts, if the case is won I still lose my $45 and or i can pay the fine of $90! Either way, they get there money! UGH
[...] can check… I thought I go one downtown, and I had to call the camera company that manages it… 6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit [...]
I posted here back in July about a ticket I got in paradise Valley at Tatum and McDonald. Luckily I had videotaped the intersection showing th e3 sec yellow before I brought it to the attention of the city.
Get this: before they found out I videotaped it, they tried to change it back to 4.3 seconds, as it was supposed to be, when I initially complained. I pointed out later that I had videotaped proof they changed it, and they started denying everything.
It turned out PV had to dismiss ALL the tickets within a 2-3 month window when the yellow was out of spec. I didn’t even have to take time off from work to fight this thing, so it was the best possible outcome. Not only did I get out of it, but EVERYONE got out of it!
This just proves you CAN fight and WIN these things, but you need to get as much evidence on your side as possible.
sign seen on a telephone pole before a red light camera:
RED LIGHT CAMERA-NEXT INTERSECTION !!
I guess if people can post garage sale signs on telephone poles and get away with it….why not that !
You need to add League City Texas to the list.
I have noticed that the college campus city of Davis in California has very short yellow light times. I have not timed it but the time is noticablly shorter than every other city in the US I have been in. I wish someone would check into the legality of that.
[...] Originally Posted by wolfcub And this is justification for running a red light because???? Most people don't intentionally run red lights. The vast majority of red light violations caught on camera are due to people thinking they have enough time to make it through the yellow light. Incresed yellow lights have proven to drastically reduce the number of red light violations. So much so, that some local jurisdictions have found the cameras to be unproffitable once the yellow light duration is extended: (http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/27/2705.asp) (Cities Upset That Increasing Yellow Light Time Length Reduces 'Revenue' | Techdirt) If cities are more interested in safety than money, they would increase yellow light duration. However, many cities tend to decrease them so that they can collect more revenue (The Truth About Shortening Yellow Lights at Red Light Camera Locations | The Truth About Cars) (6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit) [...]
Okay now that I found a short yellow turn around 2.5 to 3 seconds how do I pursue the city and win a case and get refunds for everyone? I have it documented and sent video to City Manager. No action was taken except invited Me to come in and talk with Him and Asssistant Chief of Police. I asked for what purpose and goal and He never replied back to Me. Algonquin , Ill.
I forgot to mention its 45 mph I got a ticket, and fought it and lost, at the Kangaroo Court, judge is a hired lawyer, from the City, no one wins! except them. They raised My fine to 250.00 for 2.5 second amber arrow thats impossbile to make . Its criminal what Algonquin ,Ill is doing. I will not pay the ticket and couldn’t care less that it goes on My credit report. I want to sue the city, are there any lawyers around that will take it on a principle issure?
You forgot to list Savannah Ga