Another "Duh!" Moment
- Cars and trucks slammed into each other 28 times at Western Avenue and 63rd Street in 2006, the year before the Daley administration installed red-light cameras there in the name of safety. In 2008, the year after cameras went in, accidents at the Southwest Side intersection soared to 42, according to state data.
It was not an aberration. Cameras are said to reduce accidents, but collision records compiled by the Illinois Department of Transportation indicate that accidents increased at many city intersections the year after red-light cameras were installed. In fact slightly more intersections saw an increase than a decrease, the data show.
This has been noticed time-after-time in most studies that at camera intersections, people tend to "panic stop" lest they get a ticket. And given today's abysmal state of driving ability, tailgaters and speeders, rear end collisions increase dramatically in these instances. A number of states have ended up pulling red-light cameras from service because of the marked increase in accidents.
Also noted in the article (and pointed out here a few years back) is the dramatic falloff in revenue on a per-camera basis as drivers get used to the controlled intersections.
Also noted in the article (and pointed out here a few years back) is the dramatic falloff in revenue on a per-camera basis as drivers get used to the controlled intersections.
Labels: general
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
37 Comments:
If they were serious about preventing accidents they would post signs that the intersection is camera uped. Fuck them and fuck all those fucking new guys getting the city revenue by writing all those tickets to people.
"The city tells a very different story. Crash statistics compiled by the city reflect broad success in reducing accidents with cameras, and the city could not explain why the numbers are so different."
Thats national news and has been for some years but of course Chicago never bothers with any of that irrelevant stuff.
daley lacks the ability to see any further than the present. Some relative or croany mentioned these cameras could be a real money maker for him & apparently his mind became discombobulated with dollar signs ! I wonder what his monthly kick back is from these cameras. Which relative/stooge got a big $$$$ job with the company ?????
Sooner or later shanks is gonna really screw up. He's gotten away with it so long he's getting bolder & bolder. We all know this leads to a pair of handcuffs & a genuine fear of dropping his soap in the showers at the joint.
I sometimes panic stop on green lights at photo enforced intersections in fear of giving DICK a $100!
Lawsuit. Public hazard.
joe paranoid slams on his brakes for a yellow light...while joe hotrod hits the gas pedal.viola!
F this shitty. F Daley. F all those POS Chargers, ?Magnums, 300C's, Concorde's, Magnums, and of course, the blinged out Cadillac's and murdered out Infiniti's. Let them drive Hyundai's, Kia's, and Daewoos instead.
I drive a Japanese import by the way. Made here in the God blessed US of A.
They shortened the yellow light duration to catch more people @ the Red light Camera locations as well.Traffic light timing is a Safety standard set Nationwide. Not that The City would purposely endanger lives when it comes to generating revenue
Would They??
There have been traffic fatalities that can be directly linked to these "revenue generators".
Since when does Daley give a shit about safety if there's a buck to be made off the backs of working folks?
You'll see more of these damned things, not less.
The yellow lights at these intersections appear to be shorter then they should be. I will say that when I get rear ended at one of these intersectioins I will go after the deep pockets (the City).
These intersections force people to stop quicker then they need to. I've almost been rear ended several times
You forgot 'Braking and Texting'
"More accidents at intersections with red light cameras?????
How is that possible??
The red light cameras were installed for .....SAFETY...
Isn't that what they told us??
Are you telling me they lied???
The ones that are rigged are the right turn cameras in the burbs, what a scam. The white line is so far back you can't see traffic coming so you are forced to move up, FLASH you gotta ticket.
More folks should sue the city, I know some who have and won.
WESTERN MUST HAVE CAMERAS EVERY 6 BLOCKS ON THE SOUTH SIDE, IT NOW MUST BE ONE OF THE MUST DANGEROUS STRECTHES IN THE CITY.ALL YOU DO IS LOOK TO THE NEXT LIGHT TO SEE IF YOU MIGHT BE LOSING $100.00 BUCKS. TO BAD WE ALL DON'T HAVE DRIVERS TO GET US AROUND. PHOTO CAMERAS ARE NOT ABOUT SAFETY.
The yellow lights duration at these intersections are shorter, as per the federal govt. Most of the citations, 75%, are for right turn on red and not coming to a complete stop.Also, semi trailer trucks are not written citations in Illinois. because they cameras only photo the rea plates and the plates on the trailer are different than the tractor. But, if you want to protect yourself, go to www.photoblocker.com. The english and aussies have had red light cameras for years and have found a way to protect themselves.
Here's an idea....Why don't we use the same traffic lights as they do in Mexico. For those who haven't been, they have green, yellow, and red just like ours but when the green is about to change to yellow, it flashes 3x, warning you that its gonna change to yellow and then red. This would allow sufficient time to decide whether or not to speed up or slow down. Its kinda sad that a 3rd world country came up with that idea before us.
That same exact camera got the Panda the other day!
Some cities have taken the cameras out because people figure out where they are. Some cities take them out because they cause more accidents. The Daley mind works as follows, it doesn’t matter is they generate revenue or cost revenue as long as they annoy the taxpayer that is the important aspect.
They ought to check the stats at Belmont and Kedzie, too. A dark, dangerous intersection at best, adding the cameras (and the tiny little signs that announce there are cameras)just made it worse.
And, yes, the yellow is WAY too short to make it across six lanes of traffic before the camera flashes.
Harlem Ave. at Higgins and NW Highway is like "Death Race 2000" at rush hour.
Every man for himself.
You better be alert and know how to swerve to avoid accidents and tickets and get anywhere in this city in under 2 hours now!
if you stop at the red light and go through it, it doesn't appear that the camera gets you. that's what i've noticed.
More accidents, yes, but rear enders, less damage, less injury, less death then being broadsided by a red light runner. People stop at red lights now. Eventually, they'll quit tailgating and cover their breaks like they're supposed to when they approach a traffic control intersection also. I don't like Daley either, but anything that forces people to drive better in this me first atmosphere these days, I'm all for.
The city don't care about that stuff!
It's all and always about getting the money!
Fuck safety!
Some websites show where those cameras are I don't know where they are but my daughter does I ask her.
The folks in Canaryville love red light cameras during the Holidays. All you got to do is put the family in the back of the pick-up truck, run the red light at 47th and Halsted and you got yourself a Christmas card picture. Cheaper than going to Sears.
Anonymous said...
If they were serious about preventing accidents they would post signs that the intersection is camera uped. Fuck them and fuck all those fucking new guys getting the city revenue by writing all those tickets to people.
11/22/2009 12:06:00 AM
Sarcasm,I hope
"photoblocker" doesent work
Anonymous Anonymous said...
The yellow lights duration at these intersections are shorter, as per the federal govt. Most of the citations, 75%, are for right turn on red and not coming to a complete stop.Also, semi trailer trucks are not written citations in Illinois. because they cameras only photo the rea plates and the plates on the trailer are different than the tractor. But, if you want to protect yourself, go to www.photoblocker.com. The english and aussies have had red light cameras for years and have found a way to protect themselves.
11/22/2009 11:12:00 AM
I have tried this stuff and it cost me $95.00, no BS. I applied it exactly as instructed on new plates and received a photo ticket in the mail. This occurred during daylight hours in the city and was in rush hour conditions. I edged out in high congestion and bingo.
I wish it worked but it doesn't.
I believe the camera is actually a continious running video that shows you why you got the ticket. The "photo blocker" is just that, it does not work on video.
Please be careful, I hate to see anyone having to give this city another dime!
Put tape on your plates so your plate number looks like j-feds plate number and then runs thru red lights all over the city. I do it with Masters plate all the time. It's a blast. That guy needs to slow down!
Or you could use electricians black tape to write a clever saying like "fluk u" or "haha" or some such thing. They'll probably just get a chuckle out of it during their boring day at work and move along.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=455XrOrRpk0
I shot this one a few years ago, at North and Kostner. If you tape these things digitally, you can calculate how long the yellow light phase is. The Federal minimum, by law (MUTCD) is 3.0s. Of course, there's a formula spec'd by the ITE (Institute of Traffic Engineers) that takes into account 85th percentile speed and intersection width - but the drop-dead minimum is 3.0s. All red light camera intersections that I tested a couple years ago when attempting to fight this ticket, are 3.0s. Except for the one at Foster and Nagle (which I brought up in my hearing), which was 2.8s. I checked it again a few weeks later for shits and giggles, and it was mysteriously back up to 3.0s.
Now, if you do the same experiment in other locales on non-monitored intersections..you find something even more interesting. The yellow light phase is longer, and the incidence of red-light running is shorter. I read someplace that around 80% of red light running can be cured with an adjustment of the yellow light phase duration, and my observations indicate that this is the case - or better.
For instance, if you go to NW Hwy and Harlem..it's 3.0s. If you go to NW Hwy and Washington (a side street with a light, in Park Ridge, near St. Pauls), it's about 4.5s, and the s/l there is only 25mph. (not that anyone drives the speed limit - even the ITE knows it's bullshit so they base their calculations off the 85th percentile speed of ambient traffic as monitored). The point is, no one runs that light, unless they are drunk or blind.
As you can see from the video, this intersection is confusing. At the time my wife got the ticket, the sun was almost precisely behind the overhead signal, which is probably (I argued) the most unambiguous signal for drivers to see. I could prove this, and proved that the city failed to install contrast measures (backplates on the lights) and that affected drivers' ability to identify the signals in time. Coupled with the fact that the intersection is very wide and of poor design, it's only a given that people are going to blow these lights. I proved that too..and the hearing officer found me guilty anyway. I was told I had the option to go to a court and fight it out for real, but it would cost me a NON-REFUNDABLE fee of $98 and change. So I could fight it for ~$8 more and win, or just pay the fine. It was then I decided that I no longer do this city any favors.
According to federal regulation, the yellow lights have to be 3 seconds long at a minimum. So every intersection that has a camera has the yellow set at 3.01 seconds. You can see this tidbit (of yellow length) on the 'ticket' from the dept. of revenue. That way, you can't use 'the yellow was too short' as a defense. "sorry sir, it meets federal regulations" Pay Up !
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