The Length of Traffic Lights

Recently some locations around the country have started using cameras to photograph drivers going through red lights. These have sparked a bit of controversy because the person that owns the vehicle gets the ticket, but might not have been the person driving. There is also a controversial issue about proper legal representation if you were ticketed and you were not the driver. Aside from this issue several studies have collected data that indicates such traffic lights cause drivers to stop so quickly that there is a dramatic increase in rear end collisions.

While it is true that drivers running through red light signals can and do cause accidents and many of these accidents are serious and/or deadly it is likely that part of an increase in writing tickets has at least a partial goal to increase revenue. Traffic lights are now often timed with a red that then has a delay before a green is given to traffic in the other direction and this does lower the accident rate.

A very long time ago I remember a "Bob Newhart" television show in which he received a parking ticket and he fought the ticket on the basis that the time he had paid for into the meter was significantly less than the time he received. He took an expert on mechanical equipment and timing of such equipment to court with him and won the case. Over the years I have had a few tickets and most were absolutely my fault, but a few were not, but I never went to court over the issue. Recently however I noticed one traffic light that after 10:00 p.m. turns green for such a short time that at best only one car can turn left on the green signal. The second car will definitely be turning on an amber signal and without doubt the third will be turning on a red signal. It just happens that this traffic light is one block from a police station. This makes me wonder if this is a "ticket trap". I was wondering about the rules for traffic lights and you can find a lot of regulations governing the use of traffic lights, but so far I have not found anything on the length of the green. The length of the amber is relatively easy to find, but can be as little as 2 seconds. We have all been exposed to the concept that "Ignorance of the law is no excuse.", but the all laws should be reasonable.

Over the past few weeks I have seen a lot of police cars pulling over a lot of cars and it seems like we might be seeing a big push toward increasing revenue and in every case I am certain they would say that they are only concerned with safety. While people must drive more responsibly I would favor legislation that would require people to get a refresher course every 5 years on the rules and regulations. We do need to stop drivers that run red lights, drive while intoxicated, speed, make improper turns etc. and I can not complain when I do something wrong and receive a ticket, but I don't want to be set up. There have been a few recent situations where I was on a very dark street in a less than amicable part of town with absolutely not traffic and a very long traffic light. In a couple of these cases I did go through the light. While reviewing the information on traffic lights I found that some sensors in the streets may not sense some vehicles and you may have no choice. The article suggested placing a very strong magnet just under your bumber to trigger the sensor.

It was interesting to gather some information about the new "LED" traffic lights and how they are better because they last longer, work even when some of the LED's may be burned out and are more visible in otherwise very bright conditions. The new electronics does make it possible to better time and control traffic lights and create a better more efficient flow of traffic.