Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

This whole red light camera thing is really confusing me. Am I the only one who thinks it is a good thing? All this talk about slamming on brakes...why wouldnt the intersection work like any other? The yellow is a grace period, but everyone knows you are not supposed to speed up to make the light, you're supposed to slow down and stop for the red. What I find more irritating are those who feel that just because its rush hour, or a high volume intersection, that they can continue going through a red light. IMO there should be a camera at EVERY intersection on 83. Half the time I have to wait three rotations to make a left onto 83 from Horseblock because people are going through the red light even though we have a green arrow. IMO that's MORE dangerous then the person who stops at a yellow (like they're supposed to do to begin with).

And I am stealing eddiesmomy's disclaimer:

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

even though yellow means slow down anyway, people are SO afraid of getting a ticket that they now SLAM on their breaks when a light turns yellow. i've witnessed more than one accident, and my dh has responded to countless accidents at red-light camera intersections. it's dangerous. for now.

eta: i suppose technically I shouldn't have responded since you asked who's in FAVOR lol i'm sorry.

Message edited 10/29/2010 8:25:31 PM.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

Posted by Bearcat

even though yellow means slow down anyway, people are SO afraid of getting a ticket that they now SLAM on their breaks when a light turns yellow. i've witnessed more than one accident, and my dh has responded to countless accidents at red-light camera intersections. it's dangerous. for now.

eta: i suppose technically I shouldn't have responded since you asked who's in FAVOR lol i'm sorry.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

I'm torn.

On one hand I feel like we need them. I feel that lately everyone is out for themselves. I see people using shoulders as lanes and cutting in front of the "line" when the shoulder ends. People make rights on "No Turn On Reds" all the time. People have no freaking clue what 'right of way" means anymore. At least where I drive, anyway. This is mostly on my 15 minute commute to work/home from work where the biggest road I take is 2 lanes in each direction. I can't imagine what happens on parkways.

It kills me when people run red lights and then there's no space for the people who have the right of way to go and the intersection gets backed up. IMO that's how a lot of traffic is started.

BUT On the other hand, I go through a red light intersection twice a day. I have learned to "read" the light. If the cross walk is the man walking (or WALK) in the direction that i'm driving, then I know I am safe. If it is a blinking hand, I know I there's a few seconds before the hand goes solid. Once the hand goes solid (or DON'T WALK appears) I know that the light is going to turn yellow. I can't tell you how many times I've gone back and forth from my gas pedal to my brake pedal freaking out about if the light is going to turn when I'm in the intersection.

I could totally see this causing an accident bc people are in such a RUSH (myself included!!) to get every where, which ironically is why I think these cameras are important.

The ticket is $50 I think? I pay a ton of money to drive on LI, between DMV fees and insurance, and I don't want to have to pay $50 every time I get caught in an intersection.

So I'm kinda torn. I can see both sides. But I think they s*ck bc I'm broke!!

Sorry for the long winded response! Hope I made some sense!!

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

I drove through that intersection like an hour ago and thought the same thing.....why would you have to slam on your breaks? If youre close enough to the light that you would need to slam on your breaks, then you are probably close enough to proceed through during the grace period. If you are at the end of the yellow, then you shouldve been paying better attention 10 cars length back and noticed you had to stop. If you were 10 cars lengths back or whatever when the light turned yellow, and still had to slam on your breaks....youre driving too fast.

I had the exact same thought. Plus its a ridiculous argument, there are red light cameras ALL over and I cannot think of ONE major accident caused by someone slamming on their breaks bc of the camera. The accident is NOT caused by the camera, if you are going the speed limit, left enough room between you and the car in front of you and are paying attention, there should be no problem. Plus, even without cameras, if you were stopping at the light like you were supposed to, that guy, camera or not, is still going to hit the back of you....its not the cameras, its the drivers.

What difference does it make, if its a camera or an actual cop?
Love the use of my disclaimer!

Message edited 10/29/2010 10:53:42 PM.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

i didnt read the other post but i have no problem with redlight cameras, and i have gotten one ticket from one of them,

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

its not so much a problem, but its not going to stop at red light cameras

I have heard that eventually there will be radar's that detect speed and will results in tickets in the mail as well.

I just feel like where is it going to end, its also replacing jobs of actual humans

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Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

I was COMPLETELY in favor of them until we got a ticket for something that was beyond our control and there was NOTHING we could do to fight it.

we were in an intersection waiting to turn for an entire green light. when it turned yellow we could finally turn and were still partially in the intersection when it turned red. we got a ticket. so ridiculous when it was a legal turning area and we didn't run a red.

i commute to work every day and have had to slam on my brakes so many times because of people stopping for the cameras. not that i want anyone to blow a red, not at all. but now people are slamming at yellows and it's extremely dangerous.

i think something needs to be done about the people who blatantly run red lights. i see it ALL the time. but when there's no way to fight your ticket, that's wrong. there are times where you have to make a split second decision.

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Message edited 10/30/2010 7:36:41 AM.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

After two situations I have seen I am actually for them.
I saw a school bus go right through this week and it could have been any of our children. Shame on that driver.
And
i just found out 2 people in my company went through lights and the pics were taken. These are handicapped people.
Sorry, but if it stops innocent people from getting hurt, I am all for it.
In fact i am for these people getting fired as well.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

I don't have a problem with them - if you are following the rules of the road there should be no issue. If they were at every intersection then there would be less people slamming on their brakes b/c they would always have to follow the rules of the road.

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Message edited 10/30/2010 9:35:28 AM.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

I visit LI enough to have concerns about the way people drive there. Granted, I see some dangerous stuff where I live but there are way fewer people and more rural-ish roads that kind of lend themselves to safer driving. And I am ALWAYS on the lookout for deer.

That said, ideally red light cameras should result in more caution on the part of drivers, but as others have said, they may not. Also, the cameras by themselves won't be enough to end aggressive and reckless driving. ETA- I do think they are a good thing regardless.

Message edited 10/30/2010 9:42:13 AM.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

http://www.motorists.org/red-light-cameras/bedard-crashes

Second to last paragraph says it best.

The granddaddy of all studies, covering a 10-year period, was done for the Australian Road Research Board in 1995 (cameras went up in Melbourne in 1984). Photo enforcement "did not provide any reduction in accidents, rather there has been increases in rear end and [cross-street] accidents," wrote author David Andreassen in the page-one summary.

Message edited 10/30/2010 9:56:43 AM.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

I am personally in favor of them. LIers are bad drivers - they speed, have a me-first attitude and go through a lot of red lights. (we can say tri-state area. having lived outside of it, I really can see how bad it is.)

I don't mind this taking the job away from humans. I want the humans patrolling the streets and not wasting their time on people who can't leave a few minutes early.

DH's grandfather used to say "Better to waste a minute of your life, than your life in a minute." One day I got stuck at a red light and I decided to start counting and did this everytime I stopped at a red light. Do you know I have never counted over one minute. Even intersections of minor roads to major roads.

Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?

first of all, the source is like 10 years old....AND its so biased without offering substantial and backed up numbers or studies.

Plus, isnt this thread about people who support it? I dont understand the need to change our minds, and have the same argument in two separate threads???

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Re: Redlight Camera Spinoff - Who's in FAVOR?