Do traffic light cameras flash immediatly when the light turns red and someone passes through?

Today i went through a red but very shortly after an amber light. I am all about safe driving i never break the speed limit and i never run red lights.

But today as i was approaching a set of lights which i know are monitored by cameras a driver from behind pulled in behind me and was driving very close, as the lights turned amber i felt if i were to slam the brakes on the driver behind may go into the back of me, so i went on through, did not see a flash. I now feel very guilty and worried that 3 points might be heading my way!



Be nice to hear you're knowledge of traffic cameras rather than telling me i'm a danger to the road, because i assure you, i'm very safe.



many thanks.Do traffic light cameras flash immediatly when the light turns red and someone passes through?
The problem is not with you, and it is not with the red light camera.



The problem you experienced is a fault in the equation that determines the yellow light duration.



1. No one can stop within the time the light is yellow. The yellow duration is actually half the length of the required stopping time. Surprise!



2. Because the yellow is so short, it forces situations like yours: rear-enders.



3. The equation sets up a gamble, and then a bias for us to run red lights. The red light camera companies bank on this.





4. The author of the yellow light equation is the Institute of Traffic Engineers. ITE introduced this equation in 1965. The red light cameras, by analyzing the disparate data, simply point out the engineering defect in this equation. Truly, there hasn't been a legitimate ticket given in 45 years.
Hi, if ur in the UK go back and check the area around the lights, if theres a camera there it'll be a fixed speed camera looking thing but it'll be gray, standing seperatly to the lights(anywere up to about 15 meters away) secondly, those cameras on top of the lights are just sensors to control light changes and thirdly(and luckily for you) the camera(if there is one)is only active once the lights change to red.NOT AMBER.Do traffic light cameras flash immediatly when the light turns red and someone passes through?
Worries me when people keep saying they are a safe driver then ask a question about doing something dangerous. If you never run red lights what did you do?



You must have been approaching it too fast if you didn't have time to stop (especially as you know it has a camera) as lights give you plenty of time to stop when they change to amber. You will have the 14day wait for the NIP to come.
It depends if the traffic lights even had a camera there. If they did, yeah the government wouldn't wanna miss one split second of the light going red. 'Course the camera goes off as soon as it goes red.



Funny thing is, once I saw a camera by the traffic lights, and they were wired incorrectly, and ended up taking the pictures when the lights were green instead of red.Do traffic light cameras flash immediatly when the light turns red and someone passes through?
would help if you told which country you're from as some of the answers are from other countries.

im assuming UK as you mention points.



In this case, it only flashes if you speed through the light, if you're driving at normal pace, you SHOULD be ok!
First, lets deal with the UK law on this. Amber means STOP. Red means no vehicular traffic beyond the solid white line painted on the road. So, if you ran the red, then yes the camera would have flashed.
1;Never "Slam" on your Brakes, Slow to a Stop. 2; Yes as soon as the Amber goes off the Cameras set to flash.
You just will never know until the letter lands on the front door mat
In the UK...



Not all camera systems rely on flash now due to the high sensitivity of the digital components.



I too second the fact that UK law states amber means stop legally ...but can be intepreted as "if its safe to do so"... However if a vehicle was too close behind and you stop they are usually intepreted as to blame by both the Law and Insurers for several reasons:



-not allowing a safe distance between them and the vehicle in front

-not reading the road ahead properly (knowing that a set of lights are coming up one should ALWAYs approach with caution as you know)

-not obeying the 2 second rule (which can double the distance in the rain iirc)



There may be a plus side to this if you are fined. If they have footage and photos you can use those to back up your case that stopping would have been unsafe. Its part of the appeals process usually outlined in the letter you would get.
I got caught by a red light camera. The light turned from Amber to Red before I got all the way throught the intersection. A few months later I got the ticket in the mail. It refered me to a website where i could see the pictures. They had several pictures of before the light turned red and after it turned red. They even had a video with a timer that showed how long the light was amber before it turned Red and showed me driving through as the light changed to red.



I was only in the intersection for about 1/2 second after the light changed and they still got me.



I was in Houston Texas. The camera in UK or where ever you are may be different.