Cities Shortening Yellow Light Duration for Profit



A lot of cities in the United States are strapped for cash but a handful of them are taking extreme measures of raising funds by taking these steps:

1. Install red-light cameras
2. Shorten the yellow light duration
3. Profit!

Here is an article at the National Motorist Association about 6 cities that were caught shortening yellow traffic light durations for profit. Take Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example:

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. (Source)

Link - Thanks Christophe! (Photo: Tmuna Fish [Flickr])


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Posted on April 1, 2008 at 5:24 pm by Alex
Category: Car & Vehicle, Politics



17 comments to "Cities Shortening Yellow Light Duration for Profit"

  • sd
    April 1st, 2008 at 5:53 pm

    more successful list:

    1. Install red-light cameras
    2. Shorten the yellow light duration
    3. ????
    4. Profit!

  • jessleigh
    April 1st, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    I SWEAR I was just telling my boyfriend today that the yellow lights seemed shorter. I need to look for a camera next time. I’m reporting them!

  • Parker
    April 1st, 2008 at 6:09 pm

    Hello Chicago! Horrible parking police techniques (hidden and confusing signs) and short yellow lights with cameras on every corner. You can tell when a picture is taken sometimes by a quick flash. It took me so long to get used to the short yellow lights that I was afraid I had accumulated a bunch of tickets when I first moved here. None so far, only two parking tickets that were contested successfully. It’s very common to see people run red lights here..maybe it’s just overlooked the majority of the time. Who has legal control over city light lengths?

  • xander
    April 1st, 2008 at 6:14 pm

    So they’re hoping to force more people to run reds so they can make $ of more tickets.

    Hey, they’re onto something. And when fatal collisions are more common, the money will spread around the community more thickly.

  • CheeseDuck
    April 1st, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    What the…? So they want people to run red lights?

  • Thespian24601
    April 1st, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    Sounds confusing. But if it works, it works.

  • caitlin13
    April 1st, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    I’m in agreement with Xander. People already run the red lights as it is. Making it more widespread problem will have it’s consequences.

    There are other ways to rip citizens off.

  • darelparker
    April 1st, 2008 at 7:27 pm

    We have long yellow lights in my home town, but a nearby city has red light cameras installed, paired with what seem like unreasonably short yellow lights.

    This is obviously the city’s subtle way of encouraging me to slam the gas pedal to the floor and accelerate through the intersection at dangerous speeds when I’m within 50 feet of the light. I suppose I could be wrong, but why else would they do it?

  • Moon
    April 1st, 2008 at 8:06 pm

    This is SO unlikely. In Chicago, 3 cars run every red light anyway. All they have to do to write tickets is go to any light and write them.

    It’s so bad that pedestrians cross in the middle of the block rather than at the light because at least in the middle of the block you have a few seconds to dodge the cars.

  • Chakolate
    April 1st, 2008 at 10:23 pm

    In Florida, at least, the red light cameras are *causing* more crashes - people stomp on the brakes to avoid getting a ticket and get rear-ended instead.

  • Justin
    April 1st, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    This is so outrageous! The whole scam ticketing for speeding, and running red lights is so preposterous! And the most absurd part is police will justify it that it saves lives and makes us safer.

    You want to go after the guys going 100 mph on the highway and running lights while the opposing light is green fine! But stop lining your pockets by shortening the yellow light, and keeping the max speed as low as possible.

  • Sean McKenna
    April 1st, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    I believe Ayn Rand put it best CheeseDuck.

    Loosely…

    “There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”

    In short, yes, they want people to run red lights, as well as any of the other untold number of fools laws on the books.

    The fear and paranoia of breaking laws are powerful tools in the hands of the state.

  • John M.
    April 2nd, 2008 at 12:47 am

    Actually, cities in America are finding red light cameras to be so effective that they’re actually losing money.
    Many cities are shutting the cameras off.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23710970

  • luke
    April 2nd, 2008 at 7:07 am

    I think the smiley looks evil.

  • OddNumber
    April 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am

    Basing a budget for a community on traffic citations is irresponsible of the local government, and shortening yellow lights to prey on the public is reprehensible.

    I’ll give these guys the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the yellow lights were shortened to lengthen the green lights, which might ease traffic congestions slightly.

  • fsmarch
    April 2nd, 2008 at 10:28 am

    Several years ago, on my way to work, I went through one of the same intersections I do every morning. As I entered the intersection, the light flashed yellow momentarily, then red. Immediately, an unmarked NYPD car came out of nowhere, lights flashing. After being ticketed, I went around the block to see how short the yellow light actually was.

    The cop was parked by the light, and actually had the control box for the light open! He was controlling the light manually!

    I fought the ticket in court, and managed to get the points on my license dismissed, but still had to pay the fine.

    Talk about a rip off!

  • ihateallex
    April 2nd, 2008 at 2:35 pm

    This world is going to hell. As if parking enforcement isn’t horrible enough, then stuff like this happens.

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