Why are citizens very upset about the red light traffic cameras?

The guy above me got it right. Departments of Transportation set the yellow light duration arbitrarily. They ignore the Laws of Physics.



The shorter the yellow, the more people run the red light. For every 1/2 second the yellow is cut short from the requirements of Newton's Laws of Motion, the number of people running the red light doubles. Cities capitalize on the ignorance. And people get killed because the yellow lights are not long enough to allow cars to stop in time.



There is an equation which DOTs use to set the yellow duration. The equation is a function of the speed limit and the grade of the road. That equation has been around since 1965. You'll find this equation in the Institute of Traffic Engineer's Traffic Engineering Handbook.



The equation is wrong. There's a mistake in it. A crucial physics mistake which shortens the yellow duration time for the braking distance by half. That mistake, by the Laws of Nature, literally forces a large number of cars to run red lights. It is for this reason, and this reason alone, why it is profitable for cities to operation red light cameras.



There's a giant lawsuit beginning in the Town of Cary North Carolina over this topic. California, Florida, Texas, Illinois . . . your time is coming as well because you have also used this erroneous equation to set your yellow light durations.



You cannot enact legislation which countermands the Laws of Nature. You cannot make a law that says, "There shalt be no more gravity" any more than you can set a yellow duration using the speed of car that doesn't stop.



Take the information at the URL below and sue the town that gave you a citation. You cannot lose. A judge cannot rule that 2 + 2 = 1. The problem is this obvious. Lawyers will take your case pro bono.



BTW, I have no problems with the existence of red light cameras. But the public is ignorant of one important fact. The guilty party are not the drivers getting flashed by the cameras. Instead, the red light cameras point the guilty finger at the Depts of Transportation who set the yellow lights contrary to Laws of Motion. It is your Department of Transportation, not drivers themselves, who cause the accidents and kill people.



The Towns who operate the cameras simply capitalize on the math mistake.Why are citizens very upset about the red light traffic cameras?
invasion of privacy
Because they like speeding. If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to be afraid of.Why are citizens very upset about the red light traffic cameras?
Good point. If they're obeying the rules of the road i don't see what the big deal is. And if they're angry about invasion of privacy then I guess they dont realize that there are cameras and hidden cameras EVERYWHERE.
Most view it as an invasion of privacy and increased government interference in their lives. Personally I don't care for the thought of them myself.Why are citizens very upset about the red light traffic cameras?
invasion of privacy. its just one more way for the government to gain control of us.
Studies done show they cause more accidents then they prevent. They are nothing more than a way for local governments to squeeze every last penny out of its citizens. While they are at it, why not put cameras all along highways and just check the speed of every car? If you're speeding you get sent a ticket. All of it is too big brother for me.

Here's a link for more info...
Invasion of privacy. I like that. Wrong as it is I like it. How is running a red light on a public road and getting caught by a camera doing so. Invasion of privacy? Things that make you go hmmmm.

Have a nice day.
because in a criminal trial the constitution guarantees that i have a right to face my accuser. normally that would be the police officer who gave me a ticket for running the red light. but the cities who have those cameras have suddenly, magically, turned running a red light from a criminal to a civil offense - so you have no right to discuss your alleged transgression with your accuser in court.



that should be illegal. but it makes those cities so much money that they don't care about the law, and illegally change it to something more profitable.
Because they are arbitrary and always watching. If all yellow lights lengths were consistent, it might be a different story, but there are too many variables depending on where you are, speed limits that changed without the yellow timing changing accordingly. Different enforcement rules depend on where you are. Back east there are places that don't consider you have run the red unless you are after the two other cars that ran the red according to our standards.



Further, the ticket is issued to the owner of the car, not the person driving the car. Is that fair? What do you do then? Rat on the guy driving? Eat the ticket because you don't want to rat on the guy? Find a guy you don't like then tell them HE was driving the car?



The whole thing is just a funding scheme for the government, and very little to do with safety.