Red Light Camera Timeline 2001

YOU BE THE JUDGE

January 11, 2001 - During annual push to sway the legislature in Florida for red light camera approval, a police officer in Polk County attributes tragic fatality of an elderly lady to "red light running". Just one problem - there was no traffic light at the intersection: "Stop Red Light Running Week, which began Sunday and runs through Saturday, is a state-wide effort to step up enforcement of traffic signals." .... "In 1999, drivers who ran red lights caused 9,348 car crashes, 127 fatalities, 14,259 personal injuries and $377 million in economic loss. This is the fourth year for the program -- in 2000, state law enforcement gave out 10,444 citations and 1,176 warnings during the week-long campaign." .... "Forgues [Sgt. David H. Forgues, Winter Haven Police Department] said that at 22 percent, running red lights is the leading cause of urban crashes in Florida, wrecks his officers have to cover. Forgues was at the wreck on Old Lucerne Park Road recently, where a 79-year-old woman died when her car was sandwiched between two semis after pulling into the path of one of them. "Red light running gets your mother squashed under a truck," Forgues said." ["Cops Crack Down on Traffic Signal Scofflaws", Sandi Martin, News Chief, http://www.polkonline.com/stories/011101/win_red-lights.shtml , 1/11/01]

""Sam" Sadek, the owner of the Marathon gas station and convenience store on the corner, said he was outside filling up a propane tank at about 11:30 a.m., when he saw the accident." .... "Reflecting on what he saw, Sadek added, "We need a red light. I see a lot of accidents here." ["Crash Claims Life of Woman, 79", William Bygrave, News Chief, http://www.polkonline.com/ns-search/stories/010401/win_fatal-crash.shtml?NS-search-set=/3aeac/aaaa29252eacd8c&NS-doc-offset=3& , 1/4/01]

"The statewide initiative has its roots in a similar measure enacted in Polk County in 1995 at the suggestion of the Federal Highway Administration, according to a news release. Due to its positive results, state officials administering the program decided to make it a statewide campaign concentrated in a single week for maximum exposure." ["Deputies to Zero In On Red-Light Runners", Maggie Large, Tribune Staff Writer, http://www.tcpalm.com/archive/0107fort2.shtml , 1/7/01]

January 2001 - Beaverton, OR commences red light camera enforcement: "In January, the city began a program using cameras to catch drivers who run red lights at five intersections, starting with Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway at Griffith Drive." ["Beaverton may extend photo-radar project's reach", Ryan Frank, The Oregonian, 3/29/01]

January 25, 2001 - Alexandria official, perhaps feeling guilty about what Alexandria had done to so many people, advises people in Georgia not to use red light cameras "irresponsibly" ...... "like a hammer". Red light camera researcher says there have been just a few "tiny glitches" ..... "here and there": "The technology promises a smooth ride. Retting [Richard Retting, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety] said there have been no reports of malfunctioning in the 50 cities employing traffic cameras to nab red-light runners. "This is not a robot that targets a red-light runner," he said. "I'm sure there are tiny glitches here and there, but the technology is well established and sound and does not screw up." .... "The cameras have been effective in Alexandria, Va., where they have been in place for nearly four years. Violations have dipped since shutters started clicking red-light runners, said Deputy Police Chief David Baker, and few charged with red light violations show up at court to dispute their fines. The only challenge has been educating those who enforce the law. "You need to make sure the courts (and) the prosectors understand the technology so there's no misgivings or misinterpretation," Baker said. "It's been accepted and people have been cooperative. If you use it responsibly and not like a hammer, it's going to be effective."" .... "The intersection of Windy Hill and Cobb Parkway was the state's most dangerous in 1999. There were 172 accidents reported at the crossroads. The goal of new camera technology is to deter red-light runners, making the intersection safer. ["Come April 1, cameras will help cite violators", Don Fernandez, The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, 1/25/2001]

(No mention of yellow light timing problems in Alexandria, using the red light camera irresponsibly for a long time like a hammer without success and having to do what should have been done in the first place, increase the yellow times on the lights)

Here is what people who use red light cameras irresponsibly "like a hammer" are prone to talk like:

"I think we need to be less polite and more aggressive," said [Alexandria] City Council member David G. Speck (D). "This is a deep-seated problem of epidemic proportions, and behavior is not easily changed." ["Alexandria Adds Fake Cameras; City Using Real, Phony Equipment to Deter Red-Light Runners", Patricia Davis/Peter Pae, The Washington Post, 8/26/1998] (nine months after commencing red light camera enforcement, about four weeks before the first yellow time increase in Alexandria and 8.5 months before the fatal Walsh accident under a dangerously inadequate three second yellow light at GWMP and Slaters Lane in Alexandria)

"Yet red light runners are law breakers, so why should we be concerned any more about their privacy than that of a thief caught in the act of a holdup." ["Cameras Required to Stop Red light Runners", Richard Retting, Letters, Detroit News, 12/31/00]

"On a national scope, it's a tremendous problem," Retting said. "It's like playing Russian roulette, except you're pointing the gun at everybody else. It's putting a lot of people at risk to save a few seconds." ["'Red-Light Runners in the Spotlight; Alexandria Camera Catches 7,500 Violators", Patricia Davis, The Washington Post, 7/14/98] (From the researcher who counted over several months an alarming number of red signal violations under a dangerously inadequate four second yellow light at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington...to promote red light cameras; yellow light later increased...after the counting. Who is it really that is playing Russian roulette?)

February 3, 2001 - Arizona legislature considers bill to stiffen "red light running" penalties. Phoenix gets tough: "The Arizona Legislature is considering a bill that would raise the fine to $250. Currently, the fines vary by community. The push for a fine increase comes after police in Phoenix -- ranked as the city with the highest number of fatalities as a result of drivers running red lights -- kicked off a campaign in September to ease the problem. The city added officers at some intersections and raised a $125 fine to $175, plus two points on the offender's license." ["Stiff fines may help drivers see the (red) light - Cameras also slowing traffic signal runners", Jessie Halladay, USA Today, 2/3/2002]

February 7, 2001 - Frustrated that red light cameras are not "working" and that proposal to more than triple the red light camera ticket fines have been rejected, Montgomery County, MD official calls for massive increase in number of cameras: "A significant increase in the number of red-light cameras in Montgomery County will be proposed by Councilman Philip M. Andrews, even as an effort to increase the fine for running a red light from $75 to $250 has fallen flat in the General Assembly. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg said the county should install red-light cameras at 50 to 100 intersections, up from 10 cameras today. There are about 700 intersections with signals in the county, he said, 15 of them wired for cameras. That many cameras could raise millions for the county in traffic tickets -- the first 10 cameras are budgeted to raise $1.6 million this year. Revenue goes into the county's general fund." ["Andrews seeks slew of red-light cameras", Steven T. Dennis, BowieStar, 2/7/01]

February 9, 2001 - Red light camera at US50 and Fair Ridge in Fairfax County VA activated for enforcement by Fairfax County.

February 16, 2001 - City of Falls Church, VA acknowledges correspondence about importance of yellow lights: "Thank you for your recent letter regarding traffic signals. The Mayor has received your letter concerning length of amber lights and photo enforcement and also the attachments from the Transportation Research Record. Be assured that all citizen comments are appreciated and considered." [Letter by Kathleen Clarken Buschow, City Clerk, City of Falls Church, 2/16/01, cc to Mayor]

February 19, 2001 - Sacramento County, CA goes for red light cameras: "Ruth Cosme works behind the counter at a convenience store located near one of Sacramento County's busiest intersections. From her vantage point, Cosme sees crashes caused by red light runners almost every week. "We hear the bang out there all the time," said Cosme. That may soon change." .... "Now, a controversial system that uses cameras to snap pictures of red light runners is about to expand from the City of Sacramento to the entire county." ["Cameras Going Up at Intersections in Sacramento County", KXTV10, Sacramento, 2/19/01]

February 20, 2001 - Montgomery County MD Police Chief expresses reservations about writing "tons of tickets": "Montgomery County Police Chief Charles A. Moose said a change of actions, not traffic tickets, will reduce the problem. "We have the capability to solve this problem by taking individual responsibility," he said. "We all need to change our behavior." Moose said he is not convinced tickets and putting offenders in jail is the solution. "If the community says they don't want any change except the police [writing more tickets] we'll do it, and people will be unhappy," said Moose." ... "Currently the county has 10 cameras, which are rotated among 15 sites, and Duncan said the police are "writing tons of tickets." ["More red-light cameras likely; County acts to fight pedestrian carnage", KELLY SMITH, Journal Newspaper, 2/20/01]

February 21, 2001 - Beaverton, OR early red light camera results in: ""The city's photo red-light enforcement at one intersection has captured half as many red-light renegades as officials expected." ..... "The lack of citations will not cause long-term financial problems, and Adlard [Beaverton Chief of staff Linda Adlard] predicts the numbers will reach her estimate by April, when media attention might die down. Adlard said she expects the project, with more than $200,000 in startup costs for all five intersections, to make money." ["Red-light cameras start slowly", Ryan Frank, The Oregonian, 2/21/2001]

February 25, 2001 - Washington Post reveals that DC was exempting city employees from red light camera tickets: "District employees driving government vehicles have been photographed running red lights more than 800 times, but many of the tickets will likely go unpaid because finding the violators may prove too cumbersome." ["D.C. Gives Its Agencies A Break on 800 Tickets", Arthur Santana, The Washington Post, 2/25/01]

February 28, 2001 - Fatal Seattle Red Light Accident, Bicyclist Killed, Controversy Over Who Ran Red Light: "Controversy hangs over the death of a 31-year-old bicyclist who was struck by a police car shortly before dawn yesterday in North Seattle. Some witnesses said the patrolman ran a red light and wasn't using his emergency lights or siren when his cruiser hit 31-year-old Joel Robert Silvesan. Police officials initially said Silvesan was at fault but later backed off, saying it's too early in the investigation to reach conclusions. There was no argument about the impact. The victim's bike landed nearly 50 yards away. As investigators tried to sort it all out, traffic on Aurora Avenue North was stopped for hours during the morning commute. Silvesan was hit about 6 a.m. as he tried to follow two vehicles westbound across Aurora on North 90th Street. He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where he died of head and chest injuries shortly after 7 a.m." .... "Several witnesses said the officer was at fault. "That kid never had a chance," said Shawne Karzmar, who was standing at the corner at the time of the accident. "The light was green; the kid followed two cars across and was in the middle of the intersection when he was hit," Karzmar said." .... "Police initially said the bicyclist crossed against the light. But department spokesman Clem Benton said later that further investigation is needed." ["Questions raised in death of cyclist", Gordy Holt, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 2/28/2001]

"Last week's crash happened about 6 a.m. at a difficult intersection for anyone to navigate: Aurora Avenue North and North 90th Street. A building on the southeast corner obscures the view of the northbound traveler looking east, as well as the westbound traveler looking south. We don't know whether the cyclist, westbound on 90th Street, was crossing Aurora against the light, or whether the officer, northbound on Aurora, drove through a red light." .... "Several witnesses told reporters last week that Officer Chris Hansen ran a red light and was speeding without using his emergency lights. A police investigation won't be complete for several days, but there's still plenty to learn from this tragedy." ["Helmets for bicyclists: An idea whose time has come", Candy Hatcher, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 3/7/2001]

"The Seattle police officer involved in a deadly crash with a bicyclist testified yesterday that he later asked fellow patrol officers, "I had the green light, didn't I?" The testimony from Officer Christopher Hansen was elicited under questioning by Chris Otorowski, attorney for the family of Joel Silvesan, who was killed after Hansen's car struck him at the intersection of Aurora Avenue North and North 90th Street Feb. 27. But Hansen said the question he asked at Harborview Medical Center, where he was being treated just after the accident, didn't represent doubt that he had a green light. Rather, he said yesterday at an inquest into the death, he was still trying to sort out events in his mind. "It was a rhetorical question: 'I did have the green light, didn't I -- why did he do that?'" Hansen said. The "he" referred to Silvesan, 31, who, Hansen maintained, had pedaled through a red light across Aurora." .... "Hansen testified Tuesday that he was driving north on Aurora at a reasonable speed, though probably over the speed limit while responding to a call for backup farther north on Aurora. He repeated yesterday that he was "100 percent sure" the "Do not walk" lights facing him on Aurora were flashing, indicating that the traffic light was still green, and that he had time to get through the intersection before the light turned yellow." ["Officer firm that he had green light in crash - Testifying in bicycle death, he says later question at hospital was 'rhetorical' ", Jane Hadley, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 12/6/2001]

"LAST FRIDAY, a jury determined Seattle police officer Craig Hansen was not at fault when he struck and killed bicyclist Joel Silvesan. Although the jury heard nearly two weeks of testimony, the outcome was preordained." .... "It has been decades and well over 100 such cases since any inquest in King County found any officer to be at fault in any civilian's death. Inquests are public, fact-finding procedures that are called by the King County executive when any civilian dies at the hands of local law enforcement officers." .... "Meanwhile, subpoenaed witnesses were not located; the judge did not allow Silvesan's family's lawyer to call a number of his own witnesses or pursue important lines of questioning. These sorts of limitations to the inquest process make it hard for police to be held accountable even when the evidence of wrongdoing seems clear. That was not the case here, but family members still felt the process was unfair and stacked against them." ["A preventable tragedy", GEOV PARRISH , Seattle Weekly, 12/13-19/2001 http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0150/news-parrish.shtml ]

March 1, 2001 - Head of FHWA's STOP RED LIGHT RUNNING campaign acknowledges there have been problems and people are beginning to address them: "It seems that cameras go up with or without an engineering review. Even when an engineering review is done, there is no consistency around the country as to what is important to review - hence there is not a lot of uniformity." .... "We now have a project with the Institute of Transportation Engineers. The project title is "Engineering Safer Intersections to Prevent Red Light Running."" .... "We have a top notch international engineering committee formed by ITE. We hope to have a final product in about one years time. ITE will begin putting some materials on their website in the next couple of weeks. I hope this provides some reassurance that there is a concerned group out here." [Email message by Patrick Hasson, Safety Engineer, FHWA Midwestern Resource Center, Thursday, March 01, 2001 3:31 PM, Re: RLC Alexandria US1(Patrick St) at Gibbon Street]

March 19, 2001 - "As a research institute, we realize some people may not like our findings," Retting said. "The facts are facts, whether people choose to agree with them or not." ["'An Unusual Approach to Traffic Safety", Chuck McGinness, Palm Beach Post, 3/19/01]

FACTS ARE FACTS, WHETHER PEOPLE WANT TO AGREE WITH THEM OR NOT:

"[By email] I have answered the questionnaire and attached some charts of our violations-per-pass experience which illustrate the importance of "other" considerations on the rate at which red lights are violated. At both Patrick/Gibbon and Seminary/Nottingham (charts 2 and 3) other factors significantly contributed to steep drops in our rate of red light running. In the case of Patrick and Gibbon the cause was a retiming of the lights immediately preceding this intersection which had a profound impact. Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 75](special note: the yellow was increased at Patrick/Gibbon as well as per Alexandria traffic signal operators)

"We will consider increasing yellow timing if other conditions warrant. Several jurisdictions have reported a sharp drop in red light running after yellow interval was increased. We are also installing LED signal heads at these 2 intersections to improve visibility." [Ramin Sabet, Senior Civil Engineer, Town of Herndon, VA, 9/26/01, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 87]

"In San Francisco, a particularly gruesome red-light crash in 1994 launched the camera enforcement movement in California. A driver ran the light at 19th and Holloway avenues and slid through a crowd of 50 people at a bus stop. One of the city's first enforcement cameras was installed at this intersection. But traffic engineers discovered that traffic-signal timing was causing many of the red-light violations there because the signals were not coordinated with those at 19th Avenue and Crespi Drive only 250 feet away. Some drivers cruising normally past Crespi found themselves almost immediately confronted with a yellow or red light at Holloway. After the signals were coordinated, very few red-light violations were recorded, said Tom Folks, senior traffic engineer. "We think the prudent approach is to look at all the things you can do before getting to the point of installing the camera," Folks said." ["A Matter of Timing", Steve Emmons, Los Angeles Times, 9/3/98]

And by the way, speaking of facts, what was the reduction in violations from increasing the yellow from 4.00 to 4.50 seconds at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington (IIHS study site) on 8/1/97?

March 26, 2001 - "Red light running" in Hagerstown, MD mysteriously drops......without using red light cameras: "Hagerstown officials are weighing whether the city should install cameras at traffic signals following a recent traffic study that showed violations were down at four major intersections." .... "The study done last summer showed multiple violations at each of the locations, said City Engineer Bruce Johnston. During that study, 10 violations were counted at the Potomac and Washington streets intersection within a two-hour period, he said. At that time, the number of violations indicated a need for the cameras, but a study done this month prompted police and city officials to question whether the lights are necessary, he said. In the recent study, a total of five violations were recorded at the four intersections during a four- to six-hour period, he said." .... "There must be a substantial amount of violators who pay fines to make the cameras affordable. The city would have to pay to have the cameras installed, develop the photos and evaluate the photos for violations. Johnston said he didn't know why the number of red light runners has decreased in the city." ["City may forgo red light cameras at intersections", Kimberly Yakowski, Herald-Mail, Hagerstown, 3/26/01]

March 26, 2001 - Approximately six weeks after red light camera activated, VDOT increases the yellow at US50 and Fair Ridge Dr. in Fairfax County, VA (an intersection very similar to both US50/Fillmore as well as US50/Manchester in Arlington) from 4.00 to 5.50 seconds, reducing violations 94%+/-. Less than one red light camera ticket per day on average issued since, despite 37,000 vehicles per day passing the camera.

March 29, 2001 - Beaverton, OR, with red light cameras up and running, announces desire to move photo radar to commuter routes (e.g. where red light cameras are). Don't forget about part B of red light camera enforcement, speed enforcement using the same cameras: "Smile, commuters. Soon you could be caught on radar cameras, too. Beaverton is likely to expand to five commuter routes its troubled photo-radar program, previously limited to catching speeders in residential and school zones. They are: Farmington Road, Hart Road, Hall Boulevard, Allen Boulevard and Western Avenue. The City Council, which to date has approved all photo-radar and red-light camera proposals submitted, is scheduled to vote April 9 on the expansion. "We really need to slow down and be safer. . . . It really makes the quality of life so much better," said Linda Adlard, the city's chief of staff. ["Beaverton may extend photo-radar project's reach", Ryan Frank, The Oregonian, 3/29/01]

March 29, 2001 - Montgomery County, MD red light cameras still not working and accident picture remains bleak: "Yet traffic fatalities still continue to trouble the county. Fifty-two people died in car collisions last year, compared with 47 deaths in 1999, police said. And 16 pedestrians were struck and killed last year -- six of them in hit-and-runs -- a number that exceeds the homicide total by one. The county had about 12,000 total collisions last year. Ten red-light cameras have been rotated around 15 intersections in an effort to get motorists to slow down. County Executive Douglas M. Duncan has recommended in his 2002 budget that Montgomery purchase 15 more cameras. Since the red-light cameras were installed in the fall of 1999, about 2,800 tickets have been issued per month, police said. Lt. William "Skip" Lanham, of the special operations division, said many motorists may still be running red lights because they are not aware of the cameras. As more time passes, Lanham said, he expects the numbers of violations to decrease." ["County Crime Rate Is Lowest In 10 Years", By Phuong Ly, Washington Post, 3/29/01]

March 30, 2001 - Fairfax County, VA Red Light Camera Program manager describes the dangerous conditions under the inadequate four second yellow light at RT7 and Towlston road: "Fairfax police have used the cameras since last October. Each person who runs the red is caught on camera - and billed $50. "For about the first twelve minutes we were doing some testing we had five people run it," noted Bruce Taylor of VDOT [should read "of Fairfax County"] in Fairfax." ["Richmond Looks At Cameras to Catch Red Light Runners", Mike Kulstad, NBC12 News, 3/30/01 http://stacks.msnbc.com/local/wwbt/361510.asp ] (Why wasn't yellow light fixed immediately?)

March 31, 2001 - Ventura CA official links yellow lights and injury accidents: "Nearly half the injury accidents in Ventura during 1999 were the result of one driver running a red light or red arrow and striking another vehicle. A 40% reduction in collisions is not unreasonable to expect, Turner [Ventura Police Sgt. John Turner] said. "Our mind-set in Southern California is so often motivated by challenging yellow lights. . . . It results in the majority of our injuries," he added." ["Ventura Takes On Scofflaws With Cameras", TIMOTHY HUGHES, Los Amgeles Times, 3/31/2001]

"The results in Table 3 show that the extension of yellow duration reduced the frequency of potential conflicts in all cases studied." ["The Influence of the Time Duration of Yellow Traffic Signals on Driver Response", Stimpson/Zador/Tarnoff, ITE Journal, Institute of Transportation Engineers, November 1980, page 27] (NOTE: "Zador is senior statistician for Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (an independent scientific organization devoted to the cause of highway loss reduction)." Page 29)

March 2001 - Safety engineers report results of "red light running" investigation: "A total of 5,112 last drivers were observed at intersections identified by public safety officials as high-crash rate scenes." .... "For the periods observed, an average of approximately 10 red-light running violations occurred each hour." .... "Researchers found considerable differences in red-light running rates among the three cities and suggested that higher rates may be related to larger intersection size and higher traffic volume." ["Predicting red-light running behavior: A traffic study in three urban settings", Professional Safety, C Keith Stalnaker, American Society of Safety Engineers Mar 2001]

For Perspective: May 16, 2001 "The Virginia Department of Transportation found when it increased the yellow time at one of the state's red light camera intersections [US50 and Fair Ridge Drive], red light running dropped to almost nothing. " ["Forced To Run The Red?", Elaine Murphy, KOIN News, Beaverton, Oregon, 5/16/2001]

April 4, 2001 - Minnesota news report looks at Charlotte, NC red light camera program. No "spillover" in Charlotte: "In August of 1998, the city of Charlotte, N.C., began preparing 27 high-accident intersections for expensive cameras to photograph vehicles running red lights." ... ""You can't beat it," said Brett Vines, communications manager for the Charlotte Department of Transportation. "We have a program that is reducing accidents, saving lives and reducing redlight-running at no cost to the city or the city's taxpayers. And the city's making over $1 million on the program," he said." ... "The city contracted with Lockheed Martin IMS, a division of the aircraft and defense manufacturer. "They install all the equipment," Vines said. "They go out daily and collect the film from the cameras. They have that film developed. They view the film, generate a citation. They mail the citation, and handle all fines." .... "However, the Web site [Charlotte's website] also said a random sample of three photo-cop intersections and three without cameras showed no spillover effect. That is, there was no reduction in crashes associated with redlight-running at the intersections without photo cops." ["Minnesota considering photo-cop enforcement", Robert Whereatt, Star Tribune, April 4, 2001]

April 4, 2001 - Arizona legislature reverses course on "red light" legislation: "The effort to toughen red-light-running laws in Arizona is in dire need of a ninth-inning rally. After the Senate Transportation Committee ransacked it, it's practically going, going, gone! "It got gutted," said Sen. Lori Daniels, R-Chandler, matter-of-factly." .... ""It's nothing, it's worthless," lamented Frank Hinds of Red Means Stop, a citizens' group aimed at raising the awareness of red-light running in Arizona, which has the highest death rate from red-light crashes." .... "That's strange, since the bill sailed through the House on a 50-3 vote and seemed well on its way to passage." .... ""I was very surprised the National Safety Council would oppose a red-light-running bill," Gutier said." ["Senators broadside red-light bill", Bob Petrie, The Arizona Republic, 4/4/2001]

April 6, 2001 - Minnesota decisively says no to red light cameras: "A proposal that would allow Minnesota cities to install cameras at intersections to photograph and ticket red-light runners hit a stoplight of its own today, as a House committee rejected the "photocop" bill 13 to 4." ["Minnesota says no to red light cameras - House committee votes against 'photo-cop' cameras", Dane Smith, Star Tribune, 4/6/2001]

April 8, 2001 - IIHS researcher comments about St. Petersburg, FL situation: "St. Petersburg stands out like a sore thumb," said Richard Retting, a senior transportation engineer for the National Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which compiled the figures using federal traffic and census data. "It's not unusual (in St. Petersburg) to see someone go through a light five seconds after it's turned red," Retting said, "which, for me, is stunning." Most traffic deaths result from side-impact collisions, he said." ["Cameras May Police Red-Light Violations", ANDREW MEACHAM, St. Petersburg Times, 4/8/2001]

April 18, 2001 - Things getting nasty in Florida. Residents weigh in: "I am sorry, but anyone who willfully runs a red light is nothing short of a cold-blooded killer just waiting for a victim to make the mistake of getting in his way. Giving these drivers the tickets they deserve will only be another inconvenience, but at least it is a start. Using cameras is better then endangering the lives of our police officers to catch these mindless idiots. The next time you go out, count how many people you see blowing through red lights. Then imagine that this is happening at every intersection in our county, state and country. The sooner we start prosecuting these people, the sooner we can all stop holding our breath before we drive through intersections on the green light." [John Hamilton, Gulfport, Letters, "Cold-blooded killers don't see red", St Petersburg Times, 4/18/2001]

"The number of people who run red lights has dramatically increased over the years. Now it seems that when a traffic light turns yellow, it is a signal for many people to step on the gas, even though they are a block away. It is not unusual for me to brake for a light that is changing, only to see three or four cars pass me from behind in order to avoid stopping. Anyone foolish enough to start moving when the light turns green without counting to 10 first is asking for an accident." [Denis M. de Vlaming, Clearwater, Letters, "Cold-blooded killers don't see red", St Petersburg Times, 4/18/2001]

April 20, 2001 - Florida resident weights in: "Editor: An open letter to Sheriff Bob White and the people of Pasco County" .... "I don't know what the police are doing or can do about it, but I don't think they're doing enough. What are the schools telling these young drivers? What are parents telling their children? And for you adult drivers, what are you thinking? What's the hurry, and where are you going - besides to an early grave? I took my family out for ice cream at 9:30 Saturday night. From Seven Springs Boulevard to Grand Boulevard we passed through five traffic lights, and at three of them we witnessed drivers running red lights." ["Why Hurry? Where Are You Going?", Letters, Calvin Johnson, New Port Richey, St. Petersburg Times, 4/20/2001]

April 20, 2001 - San Francisco increasing yellow lights?: "The DPT, responsible for engineering, has installed curb bulb-outs to make it easier for pedestrians to cross. It has hung traffic lights over roadways for increased visibility and installed new crosswalk signal countdowns and longer yellow lights, among other improvements. ["Ending the social green light to run reds", Dave Ford, Wheel Life Column, San Francisco Chronicle, April 20, 2001]

April 23, 2001 - Paradise Valley, AZ becomes first jurisdiction in USA to use red light cameras for combined red light and speed enforcement: "Starting Monday, Paradise Valley police will electronically ticket speeders at Lincoln Drive and Tatum Boulevard. The town is using new digital traffic enforcement cameras that not only snap red-light violators but also drivers speeding through the intersection regardless of what color the traffic signal is. Another set of cameras at McDonald Drive and Tatum should be operating in about a week, police said. ["Electronic Ticketing to Target Speeders", In Brief, The Arizona Republic, 4/21/01]

April 23, 2001 - Minnesota poll shows majority oppose red light cameras: "Minnesotans are split in their views of "photo cop" legislation that would allow cities to set up cameras at intersections to photograph the license plates of red-light runners, the Star Tribune Minnesota Poll found. Slightly more than half of adult Minnesotas -- 51 percent -- oppose the legislation, while 45 percent favor it. Only 4 percent have no opinion." ["Minnesota Poll: Respondents divided on 'photo-cop' proposal", Robert Whereatt, Star Tribune, April 23, 2001]

April 26, 2001 - Almost 1.5 years after red light camera enforcement starts, Montgomery County, MD police confirm accidents not decreasing due to red light cameras: "Montgomery County has not seen a significant decrease in the number of traffic collisions caused by red-light runners since the county started using the cameras in October 1999, Lanham said." ["Frederick Police Consider Installing Red-Light Cameras", David Snyder, Washington Post, 4/26/01] (18 months after starting red light camera enforcement)

April 26, 2001 - After defeats for red light cameras in several state legislatures, IIHS releases Oxnard, CA red light camera accident "study" implying significant reductions in accidents due to red light cameras. IIHS officials reveal the real reason for the study: ""The effectiveness of cameras plus the clear public support for using them should persuade state lawmakers to remove the legal hurdles," says Institute president Brian O'Neill." ["1st Time in United States: Study Finds Red Light Cameras Yield Reductions in Crashes, Especially Injury Crashes", IIHS News Release, 4/26/01]

April 26, 2001 - "Although the institute is not able to make a direct connection between red light camera enforcement and accident or injury prevention, it said its study provides "evidence" the cameras can reduce the risk of collisions at intersections with traffic lights. The institute cautions that cameras only should be used as a supplement to better intersection design: The yellow signal change intervals need to be long enough, and traffic lights in all directions should briefly be on red to clear intersections." ["Red-light cameras cut accidents and collisions", Ed Garston, Associated Press, The Detroit News, 4/26/01]

April 26, 2001 - Georgia Governor signs red light camera legislation: "The institute said its study is the first independent U.S. research on the new technology, officially legalized in Georgia by a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Roy Barnes. Georgia's first cameras are being tested by the city of Marietta." ["The Lane Ranger: Red light cameras show positive results", Joey Ledford, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 27, 2001]

April 26, 2001 - North Carolina rejects Photo Radar: "The City of Charlotte, the first in the state to use red light cameras, won't be the first to use radar and cameras to catch speeders any time soon after the Senate rejected a bill Wednesday." ["Senate rejects city's use of photo radar", Associated Press, Wilmington Morning Star, 4/26/2001]

April 28, 2001 - Institute involvement in national signal timing policies noted?: "Based in part on research conducted by the Institute during the 1980's (See Status Report, July 14, 1984), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) adopted a proposal for establishing the duration of traffic signal change intervals." ["Yellow Lights", Status Report Vol 36, No. 4, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, April 28, 2001, page 7]

May 5, 2001 - CA state Senator calls San Diego red light cameras cash cow: "State Sen. Steve Peace injected himself yesterday into San Diego's raging battle over red-light traffic cameras. Standing at North Harbor Drive and Grape Street, Peace contended the bustling intersection near Lindbergh Field has been armed with a camera by the city "to make money, not to reduce accidents." .... "It shows that more than 25,000 citations have been issued by a red-light camera at that intersection for the past 18 months, generating more than $6.8 million in fines. And, at that intersection, the city cited one-fourth of the 107,000 motorists caught by its 18 red-light cameras. However, data from the same time, he said, show no accident reduction." ["Peace Calls Traffic Camera 'CASH COW'", Mark Arner, San Diego Union Tribune, 5/5/2001] ($6.8 million in 18 months equals $12,500.00 per day)

May 8, 2001 - Lockheed Martin studying Phoenix intersections: "Ten Phoenix intersections notorious for red-light runners will be outfitted with cameras in the latest attempt to shake the city's deadly reputation." .... "Lockheed Martin IMS-Photo Enforcement Group, which contracted with the city to install and run the cameras, helped study intersections. The worst include: 12th Street and Indian School Road, 40th Street and Bell Road, 16th Street and McDowell Road and 35th Avenue and McDowell Road - all of which averaged 66 to 83 red-light runners during a 24-hour period." .... "Officials expect to begin issuing citations by summer's end and estimate they'll mail roughly 3,000 violations a month during the initial phase." [Phoenix Aims Cameras At Red-Light Runners, Christina Leonard, The Arizona republic, 5/8/01]

May 10, 2001 - Jefferson City, Missouri citizen asks excellent question and notes scope of problem: "I wonder why running red lights in this city is so pervasive? What will it take for local drivers to accept that running a red light is dangerous and potentially fatal." .... "Those running the red lights come in all age groups and all vehicle descriptions. I have seen parents with babies carefully strapped into infant seats, dump truck and concrete truck drivers with heavy loads, SUVs, lights vans, etc., run red lights.In addition to these "common citizens," I have also observed Jefferson City Police cars, Missouri Highway Patrol cars, vehicles with MHP license plates, ambulances, school buses, vehicles with two, three and four-digit licenses and a county sheriff running red lights." ["Stop running red lights", Letters, Larry Mehmert, Jefferson City, MO, Jefferson City NewsTribune, 5/10/2001 http://www.newstribune.com/stories/051001/opi_0510010740.asp ]

May 16, 2001 - "The Virginia Department of Transportation found when it increased the yellow time at one of the state's red light camera intersections [US50 and Fair Ridge Drive], red light running dropped to almost nothing. " ["Forced To Run The Red?", Elaine Murphy, KOIN News, Beaverton, Oregon, 5/16/2001]

May 21, 2001 - Scope of "red light running" problem in New York City identified. City resident predicts cameras won't work: "New York City drivers don't hesitate to run red lights. In fact, they do it about 1.2 million times a day, according to a study released yesterday by Controller Alan Hevesi." ... "At the 106 intersections they studied, Hevesi staffers observed an average of 14 motor vehicles running red lights each hour. Extrapolating that to 7,340 intersections and multiplying by a 12-hour period, the survey determined that citywide, 28 red light violations occur each second, 1,712 every minute, and 1.2million every workday." .... "The city currently has 32 red light cameras operating in the five boroughs and is scheduled to install another 18 over the next two months, according to DOT spokesman Tom Cocola. Last year, the cameras helped the agency hand out 400,000 citations." ... "The study's findings came as no surprise to a skeptical Mike Zahabian, who has lived near the busy Broadway/Spring St. intersection in SoHo for 10 years. "The light changes and, bing, the cars still go," he said. "What can you do about it? Put a camera [there], take a picture and hope they learn? That might help, but I don't think they'll learn." ["Traffic Lights Ignored - 1.2 million drivers go on red daily - study", RALPH R. ORTEGA and LISA L. COLANGELO, New York Daily News, May 21, 2001]

"In general, we use 3 second amber and 2 second All-red clearance intervals. Longer intervals reduce efficiency and capacity of an intersection and there is a tendency for motorists to abuse this interval if they learn from experience that it is longer than normal. We would not compromise safety by reducing these clearance intervals at locations where we have red light cameras. In addition the camera does not become operational until three tenths of a second after the red signal is displayed." [Letter by Michael Primeggia, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation, 2/2/01]

"You know, I can only talk about New York. The -- on the streets where the average speed is 45 miles or less, which is the vast majority of streets in New York City, the yellow light lasts for four seconds. It's been like that since there's been yellow lights. You had to know that to give summonses, and I knew that years ago." [Raymond Kelly, former New York City police commissioner, CNN Crossfire, August 17, 2001]

"Dear Gridlock Sam: There is a red-light camera at Queens Blvd. and 58th St. Eastbound, the amber light lasts approximately three seconds before turning red. The street here is a downgrade, with a 35-mph limit." ..... "What I would like to see here is a longer amber light, so that if you are distracted for a brief moment, you do not go through the light. Please investigate this situation so that innocents do not get nailed here." James A.", [Queens resident 50 years] - RESPONSE: "Dear James:" ..... "I plugged in 51 feet per second, and I assumed a downgrade of 2%. Based on this formula and the assumption I made about the downgrade, the amber phase should be 3.7 seconds." ..... "I notified New York City Department of Transportation and asked it to review the signal timing and make the appropriate change." [Gridlock Sam] ["Road To Nowhere - >From The E Mailbag", New York Daily News, May 20, 1999]

May 2001 - Congressman Dick Armey releases red light camera study findings: "The Red Light Running Crisis - Is it Intentional? - Red Light Camera Scam" Read the Report - http://www.freedom.gov/auto/rlcreport.asp

May 22, 2001 - New York City yellow light issues described?: "At 154th St. and Northern Blvd., red doesn't always mean stop."They go through the light here all the time," said Maria Femia of Flushing. She said she was almost hit by a driver who breezed through a red light at that spot recently." .... "Hevesi's staff found an average of 28 cars an hour ran the red light at the intersection. A Daily News reporter and photographer saw eight cars run the light in a 15-minute midafternoon period yesterday, including a cement truck that lumbered through well after the light had changed to red. All the vehicles observed were on Northern Blvd." .... "Minutes later, a police van and a second vehicle ignored the light." ["Pedestrians Are Seeing Red", Donald Bertrand, New York Daily News, 5/22/2001]

May 22, 2001 - Mesa, AZ may disconnect red light cameras. Yellow Increased-Violations Way Down; reporter gives credit to the cameras: "Some of Mesa's red-light cameras are working so well that police are talking about disconnecting them." .... "Lockheed Martin IMS, the company operating the cameras, has been losing money on five of the city's 17 cameras and is asking the city to disconnect them, Mesa police Cmdr. Richard Clore said. The cameras snap pictures of people who run red lights and of their license plate numbers. The company gets reimbursed $48.50 a ticket and was expecting to nab about 18 violators a day. In some cases, it's only catching one person a day. Clore said that may be because the city recently lengthened its yellow lights by a second. "From a public safety perspective, we can call this a success," Clore said. "But from the vendor's point of view, I imagine they are not happy." ["Red-light cameras may ease in Mesa", Betty Beard, The Arizona Republic, 5/22/2001]

May 23, 2001 - IIHS responds to criticism of yellow timings at IIHS study sites: "Still, the report attacks repeatedly. For example, the report questions whether the Institute finding of a red light running violation every 12 minutes at an Arlington, Virginia, intersection is valid (it is; the signal is timed with a yellow interval of 4+ seconds duration)." ["Comments on "The Red Light Running Crisis: Is It Intentional?" from the Office of the Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives", IIHS, May 23, 2001 http://www.hwysafety.org/safety_facts/comments.htm ]

Misleading Words ?: According to both IIHS and Arlington County, the light had four seconds of yellow when the alarming number of "red light runners" were counted (NOV94-MAR95). It was increased after the counts on 8/1/97, according to Arlington County. Of course the light has "4+ seconds" of yellow now, but it did not when the counts were made and the alarming statistic was generated, according to the documents. By the way, since when does anyone describe the yellow time on a light as "4+ seconds"? The yellow time on a light an absolute amount, not an approximate or vague amount.

August 1, 1997 - Arlington VA increases the yellow at US50 and Fillmore Street, a study site for red light cameras by IIHS, from 4.00 to 4.50 seconds. (Yellow increase and results from making it not disclosed.)

"The yellow time for the east and westbound Route 50 was increased from 4.00 seconds to 4.50 seconds on August 1, 1997. The current yellow time is 4.50 seconds." [Email: "Subject: Re: US50 at Fillmore Street - Arlington - Signals", Daniel Worke, Engineering Program Coordinator, Arlington County, Wednesday, July 25, 2001 2:58 PM]

"Our records for Fillmore Street indicate that the amber there was increased to 4.5 seconds on August 1, 1997." [Correspondence by Mr. Joseph M. Durkee Jr., Traffic Engineer, Arlington County, 4/15/2002, Microsoft Word 118811A]

"The Virginia Department of Transportation found when it increased the yellow time at one of the state's red light camera intersections [US50 and Fair Ridge Drive], red light running dropped to almost nothing. " ["Forced To Run The Red?", Elaine Murphy, KOIN News, Beaverton, Oregon, 5/16/2001] (the engineering characteristics at US50/Fillmore in Arlington, where alarming numbers of violators were counted by IIHS under a dangerously inadequate four second yellow, are even more challenging in terms of ability to stop (in response to the changing lights) than those at US50 and Fair Ridge Drive, where there are now virtually no "red light runners" with the lengthened 5.50 second yellow light)

May 23, 2001 - Alexandria, VA officials attribute drop in accidents to red light cameras but no mention of yellow light increases or results from making them: "But red light cameras are in place in other Northern Virginia intersections, such as those in Alexandria. There, they get much of the credit for a lower accident rate." ["Gilmore Resists Red Light Cameras", Gail Pennybacker, WJLA News, Washington, D.C. 5/23/2001] (No mention that red light cameras weren't "working" or that one second yellow increases (engineering solution) at two of the three camera sites reduced violations over 75%)

May 23, 2001 - Phoenix traffic engineer blames people driving for dangerous intersections: "Mike Frisbie, a traffic engineer with the city, is even more pointed. "Virtually 100 percent of the time it's driver error," he said. "People aren't paying attention or they're pushing the limits. They're taking multitasking too far." .... "There's a lot of rear-end collisions in these intersections because people just aren't paying attention." .... ""It's just a terrible, terrible intersection," she said. "One of our neighbors was killed there three or four years ago." ["Busiest Intersections Often Most Dangerous in Phoenix", Linda Helser, The Arizona Republic, 5/23/01]

Regarding yellow time: "If the interval is too short, rear end collisions may result." [Traffic Engineering Handbook, Fifth Edition, p 481, Institute of Transportation Engineers, c1999]

May 23, 2001 - Arizona. Sun City intersections on Bell Road described: "It's probably a tossup which of four Bell Road intersections in the northwest Valley should be deemed the most dangerous. All of them are in Sun City and along a nearly 1∏-mile stretch of Bell." .... ""These intersections are very dangerous," Johnson [Mike Johnson, operator of a Union 76 station at 10120 W. Bell Road] said. "I'm concerned about cement trucks, dump trucks and commercial vehicles that come barreling down Bell." .... ""You get hit by one of those things, you're just dead," he said. "Seven or eight people have been killed since I opened my business in 1988." Sun City Fire Chief James Sebert said elderly drivers may tend to misjudge the speed of approaching vehicles." .... "All four intersections are scheduled for traffic-signal updates, said Nicolaas Swart, a traffic engineer for the Transportation Department." .... "The goal is to improve the timing and phasing of traffic signals to make Bell safer and easier to drive, Swart said." ["Four Bell Road intersections vie for most dangerous", Brent Whiting, The Arizona Republic, 5/23/2001]

May 23, 2001 - "It's unfortunate that people like Armey who don't like traffic enforcement stoop to this level of accusing a conspiracy by an entire profession of traffic engineers to make intersections unsafe," Retting told CBS News Correspondent Dan Raviv. "Mr Armey is just wrong and the report is wrong. That is completely out of line with reality." ["Stop StopLight Cameras?", CBS News, May 23, 2001]

"At Site 1, a divided six-lane, high-speed [72-km/h (45mph)] prinicpal arterial, 6,171 violations were observed during 1,176 hr (5.2 per hour)." ...... "Both locations had 4-sec yellow signal phases, which was deemed adequate." ["Red-Light Running and Sensible Countermeasures", section "Frequency of Red-Light Running", Retting/Williams/Greene, Transportation Research Record 1640, Paper No.98-0895][R.A. Retting and A.F. Williams, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 1005 North Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22201. M.A. Greene, User Technology Associates, 4301 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201]

"The deliberate running of red lights is a common - and a serious - violation. Institute researchers measuring the frequency of this offense during several months at a busy intersection in Arlington County, Virginia, found a red light runner every 12 minutes on average - every 5 minutes during the peak travel time between 8 and 9 a.m. This adds up to more than 100 chances each day for an unsuspecting motorists or pedestrian to become a crash victim at just one intersection." ["Statement before the Kentucky Senate Transportation Committee - On red light violations and red light cameras", Richard A. Retting, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 3/9/2000, page 1]

August 1, 1997 - Arlington VA increases the yellow at US50 and Fillmore Street, a study site for red light cameras by IIHS (see NOV94 entry), from 4.00 to 4.50 seconds. (Yellow increase and results of doing so not disclosed.)

May 24, 2001 - Arizona intersection accident issues addressed: "Many of the most-dangerous intersections in the East Valley can be found in Mesa. And the most crash prone last year was in Tempe." ..... "We see the same high-accident intersections every month," Chandler police Sgt. Shawn Hawkins said. "They change places a little bit, but the five highest in 2000 made the top five in 1996." .... "The high number of collisions at intersections is a problem city engineers and police face every day, leaving a trail of shattered glass, twisted metal and skid marks at almost any of the city's most crash-prone intersections. Police across the East Valley say the majority of crashes at intersections are rear-end collisions that occur under clear skies during daylight hours, often caused by driver inattention." ["Debris from accidents litters familiar streets", Senta Scarborough, The Arizona Republic, 5/24/2001]

May 24, 2001 - Arizona....Gilbert intersection described: ""I've seen red-light running, I've seen a six- or seven-car pile up, I saw four accidents here in one eight-hour shift," he [Fred Kaiser, employee at the am/pm mini mart at Cooper and Guadalupe roads.] said. "It happens all the time, at least four to five times a week. "I'll see 10 cars at night blazing through the traffic light. Some concrete and landscaping trucks don't bother to slow down." ["Gilbert's worst: Cooper and Guadalupe", Lisa Chiu, The Arizona Republic, 5/24/2001]

May 24, 2001 - Arizona....Mesa intersections described: "Whenever Jan Harold Denmark hears that "frightening screeching sound" from her home near the intersection of Ironwood Drive and Apache Trail in Apache Junction, she knows what's happened." ... "Denmark's former husband was rear ended at that intersection by a garbage truck whose driver didn't see the stoplight, she said." .... ""It's the stupidity of people, the way they drive," John Denmark, 83, said." .... "At Southern Avenue and Country Club Drive - Mesa's most crash prone crossroads in 2000 - collisions come all too frequently, nearby residents and business owners say." ... ""It happens all day, every day, seven days a week," said mechanic Lynn Conrad, who has worked at the Exxon station at that corner for nine years." ...."Conrad said he has seen a bicyclist airlifted after he was hit by a car, a three-car pileup, red-light runners and plenty of rear-ends." ....""People are in a hurry and they are not watching the light," Simmons [Brenda Simmons, manager of Denny's restaurant] said. "They need to be more cautious. It's a bad intersection." ["Mesa's worst: Southern and Country Club", Lisa Chiu, The Arizona Republic, 5/24/2001]

May 24, 2001 - Arizona...Ahwatukee Foothillsintersection described: "The employees at the On the Border restaurant at Ray Road and 50th Street have it down to an art form. When someone spots a car crash at the busy crossing, an employee immediately calls the kitchen, and staffers hurry to the scene with bags of ice. Many times they are there before firefighters and paramedics arrive." .... ""We know all the firefighters by name," Pitman [Catl pitman, restaurant manager] said of daily life at the intersection of Ray and 50th. Since the restaurant opened in 1997, he has seen a death, air evacuations, cars turned on their sides and children hurt. Two former employees have also been rear-ended. An elderly woman was killed in 1997, Pitman said, when another car broadsided her car." .... ""I'll see a rear-end accident at least once a week," Clark [Terri Clark, office manager Foothills Carwash] said." ["1 of the worst: Ray and 50th Street", Lisa Chiu, The Arizona Republic, 5/24/2001]

May 24, 2001 - Arizona....Tempe's intersections described: "Jessie Thompson has only worked at Tune Up Masters at Rural Road and University Drive for a year, but he has seen his share of accidents. "It happens all the time," Thompson said. "If I knew a traffic guru who wanted to watch accidents, I'd tell them to camp out here." ...... ""It's a lot worse when it rains," Thompson said, "There'll be two to three accidents a rainy day. What they need here is a lagging left green arrow, so after cars go straight, the green arrow goes first. A lot of people are turning left on a yellow or red light." Doug Vieth said he sees accidents at the crossing at least once a day, mainly during rush hour." ["Tempe's worst: Rural and University", Lisa Chiu, The Arizona Republic, 5/24/2001]

May 25, 2001 - IIHS transportation researcher says longer yellow lights work but shorter yellow lights do too: "Mr. Retting concedes that "there is some benefit when you increase the yellow timing" but he adds that his group's research shows shorter yellow lights can deter red light running, once people get used to it." ["Red-Light Cameras Boost Revenues", Daniel F. Drummond & Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, 5/25/01]

May 25, 2001 - Respected national researcher from Georgia Tech confirms that yes, impossibly timed yellow lights are causing accidents on the nation's roads: "These short-cycling lights are causing crashes on the nation´s roadways, according to highway engineers like Peter S. Parsonson, professor of transportation at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He says municipalities need to be held to a national standard. "This idea that 'We don´t have to follow anything´ -- this is an utterance you will hear from an engineer who just doesn´t have any experience with his or her agency being sued," he said. Mr. Parsonson has served nationally as an expert witness in scores of trials involving personal injury due to collisions, testifying on roadway design and operation, including traffic signals. Accident reconstructionists doing a scientific analysis of a crash often find that yellow lights have been timed impossibly short, he said. "There is such a thing as a yellow that is so short that the driver can neither stop comfortably at the stop line, nor clear the intersection without entering on the red signal," Mr. Parsonson said. ["Red-Light Cameras Boost Revenues", Daniel F. Drummond & Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times, 5/25/01]

May 31, 2001 - On NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Alexandria's Richard Baier acknowledges yellow time increased but only at one intersection: "I'm not aware of any intersections that have been shortened and, in fact, at one intersection we've actually lengthened it." There were no details given as to what intersection, why it was lengthened, or from what yellow time to what yellow time. Newscaster at NBC fails to report these details and fails to even ask what the results were of increasing the yellow.

NOTE: As per federal codes, there is no such thing as less than three seconds of yellow on a traffic light. It is impossible to shorten a yellow light that is already set at its lowest possible setting, which was the case at two of three dangerous Alexandria red light camera sites.

May 31, 2001 - Montgomery County, MD official expresses unhappiness with questions about red light cameras and how they are being operated: "Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) called traffic enforcement "a life and death issue" in the county and issued a sharp rebuke yesterday to U.S. House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.), who recently criticized local red-light enforcement cameras." ... "In the recently approved county budget, elected officials increased the number of red-light cameras from 10 to 25, rotating them among 35 intersections." ["Duncan Rebukes Armey on Traffic Cameras", Jo Becker and Phuong Ly, Washington Post, 5/31/01]

May 31, 2001 - "The duration of a yellow light is an engineering decision made without any consideration of whether a camera is at an intersection, and the decision to change the timing is made to improve safety." ["Cameras Promote Safety", JUDITH LEE STONE, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Washington, Letters, The Washington Post, 5/31/2001]

June 1, 2001 - Montgomery County, MD officials note correlation between "pedestrian accidents and red-light running" but no indication if yellow light timing changes will be considered: "Mr. Duncan said 54,175 citations, at $75 each, have been dealt out since the program began in 1999, bringing in more than $4 million. Mr. Diamond said the county executive apparently doesn´t get the point of the Armey report, saying that increasing the duration of yellow lights is "cheap, easy and has proven effective. If their real motivation is safety, there´s no reason not to do it. Of course, it will mean losing millions in red-light camera revenue." Duncan spokesman David Weaver said the county does not rely on its 25 red-light cameras to stuff its coffers and that all the revenue goes to pedestrian safety." ... "Mr. Weaver said there is a correlation between pedestrian accidents and red-light running, adding that his county stands behind the use of the cameras." ["Armey says Duncan is off base on lights", Daniel Drummond, The Washington Times, 6/1/01]

June 1, 2001 - San Diego, CA red light camera program in turmoil due to evidence of tampering with camera equipment and discovery of yellow light timing problems: "San Diego city attorneys decided yesterday to throw out traffic tickets generated by red-light cameras at three intersections where police discovered problems with underground sensors." .... "San Diego Councilman Jim Madaffer wants the city to turn off the cameras until an independent study shows not only that the systems are flaw-free, but that they are improving safety." ["City attorneys drop camera-based traffic tickets - Action applies to 3 sites, but whole program stalls", Jenifer Hanrahan and Mark Arner, San Diego Union Tribune, 6/1/01]

San Diego resident describes fear of San Diego intersections: ""I feel safer walking across this street knowing the cameras are there," said Nguyen, who crosses nine lanes of Mira Mesa Boulevard traffic at Black Mountain Road -- the site of one of the city's 19 red-light cameras -- en route to work. "But it scares me to drive through the same intersection -- I don't know whether to speed up or slam on the brakes," she said." ["Public's reaction runs both ways over freeze", Joe Hughes, San Diego Union Tribune, 6/1/01]

[Total number of red light camera citations issued when red light camera enforcement program suspended = 83,931]

June 3, 2001 - San Diego red light camera program suspended: "This city's effort to catch red-light runners with computerized cameras at busy intersections was meant to reduce traffic accidents. What it has done, however, is provoke a civic backlash like few other issues in this politically placid city: a tangle of litigation, political foment, radio talk show meltdown, and now an embarrassing admission by the city that the controversial system has bugs. As a result, 5,000 tickets issued to drivers who supposedly ran red lights were canceled last week, while the police chief promised to find an outside consultant to do an audit of the mess and reestablish the system's credibility. Further, a moratorium was placed on photo-tickets at any of the 19 intersections equipped with cameras until the consultant's work is finished." ..... "The consensus of the traffic-engineering fraternity, however, is that the cameras decrease accidents and are quite fair. Camera proponents point to a study showing a sharp drop in accidents in Oxnard. "The Armey report is wrong on completely everything," said Richard Retting, senior transportation engineer with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "To say that traffic-safety professionals are incompetent and conspiring to shorten yellow lights is lunacy." ["The State; Capturing Red-Light Runners Creates Red-Faced Officials; Traffic: Flaws are found in camera system used to nab violators. Firm's profit from tickets is questioned.", TONY PERRY, The Los Angeles Times, 6/3/2001]

June 6, 2001 - Alexandria, VA councilman, in the Washington Post, declares Alexandria's red light camera program a success: "Running red lights has reached epidemic proportions. Alexandria began a red-light camera program almost five years ago, and from the first day its clearly stated measure of success was not revenue but a decline in the number of violations. I am "pleased" to report that the program is so successful that it no longer pays for itself." ["Instead of Cops", Alexandria Councilman David Speck, Letters to The Editor, Washington Post, 6/8/2001] (still no mention of the yellow increases from several years before in Alexandria or the results from making them)

June 10, 2001 - Kansas communities run red light camera tests: "Tonight, Overland Park is expected to approve a contract with a company that will post cameras at two intersections. Olathe already has approved a contract with the same firm, but the cameras probably won't be in place for three or four months. The cities are posting the cameras as an experiment. No tickets or warnings will be issued to violators. Funded mostly by the state, the trial will provide evidence for the Kansas Legislature to consider when it is asked to enact a law allowing cameras to be used for issuing tickets to red-light runners." .... "Overland Park traffic engineer Brian Shields said signal timing is a mix of art and science. A yellow light that's too short reduces the time drivers have to react and stop, he said. A yellow light that's too long can cause drivers to speed up to make it through the signal. Lengthening yellow times might cut down on red-light runners in the short term, Shields said. "But in the long run, people are going to get used to it and start disobeying (the signal) again like they used to."" ["Cities to test cameras for catching red-light runners", Brad Cooper, The Kansas City Star, 6/10/2001]

"Research has consistently shown that drivers do not, in fact, adapt to the length of the yellow." ["Determining Vehicle Change Intervals - A Proposed Recommended Practice", Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, D.C., 1985, page 8]

June 10, 2001 - Alexandria, VA councilman says dangerous three second yellow light at GWMP and Slaters lane is A OK and inadequate three second yellow lights are not a problem in Alexandria: "The City of Alexandria has been very diligently monitoring and adjusting signal synchronization all over the City to avoid the circumstance you describe. I requested that the staff of the Department of Transportation respond to your comment, and this is what they reported to me: The Parkway approaches to the Slaters Lane intersection both have a three (3) second yellow light followed by a two (2) second red clearance. The speed limit of the Parkway at this location is 25 miles per hour. There is no accident problem, and based on the speed limit the yellow and red clearance times are in conformance with national standards. Based on this information we feel that the yellow and red times for this location are appropriate. I certainly agree that a "fast" yellow can create a circumstance in which drivers are not able to stop in a reasonable time, but that is not the problem in Alexandria." [Message by Alexandria Councilman David G. Speck with cc's to david.smith@fhwa.dot.gov ; lockwood_pb@vdot.state.va.us ; kastenhofer_io@vdot.state.va.us ; ernest.huckaby@fhwa.dot.gov ; patrick.hasson@fhwa.dot.gov ; michael.halladay@fhwa.dot.gov ; raj.ghaman@fhwa.dot.gov ; brichsc@vdot.state.va.us ; sean_mccabe@nps.gov ; audrey_calhoun@nps.gov ; MayorALX@aol.com ; tom.davis@mail.house.gov , Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2001 5:09 PM Subject: Re: GWMP at Slaters Lane - Signals] (Note - Speed Limit is Not 25 MPH and besides, actual prevailing speeds govern in establishing yellow time as per "national standards")

June 13, 2001 - IIHS red light running/red light camera researcher says increasing the yellow won't make that much difference: "The length of the yellow signal is important," said Richard A. Retting, senior transportation engineer for the Insurance Institute. But giving a driver a half-second or a second more yellow isn't going to change the dangerous trend, he said. "A fraction of a second doesn't make that much difference. This is not about splitting hairs." ["City Officials Defend Traffic Systems as Fair; Bringing a Halt To Running Red Lights", Robin Franzen, Oregonian, 6/13/01]

How much were violations reduced at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington, VA (IIHS study site) when the yellow was increased just one half second (from 4.00 to 4.50 seconds) on 8/1/97?

But wait a minute:

VDOT/Fairfax County VA: "Epton [Loren Epton, Northern Virginia district traffic engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation] said VDOT fixed a signal problem at the intersection of Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway [aka US50] and Fair Ridge Drive that, according to statistics, had 37 accidents last year. In that case, Epton said, the agency increased the timing of the yellow light by a few seconds so drivers had enough time to stop or pass through it without causing a wreck." ["Rolling, Old Keene Mill crossroad tops `hit list'- Police figures pinpoint accident-prone roads", Ellen Sorokin, Journal Newspaper 5/12/99] ........"The Virginia Department of Transportation found when it increased the yellow time at one of the state's red light camera intersections [US50 and Fair Ridge Drive], red light running dropped to almost nothing. " ["Forced To Run The Red?", Elaine Murphy, KOIN News, Beaverton, Oregon, 5/16/2001]

VDOT/Fairfax County VA: See entries dated 6/28/01 for RT7 and Towlston Road in Fairfax County as well as entry dated 11/15/01 for Rt28 and Old Mill (aka Greens Trail) in Fairfax County to see the effects of a one half second yellow light increase.

Meza, AZ: see entry November 2000 to see how increasing the yellow one second resulted in cameras being removed.

Alexandria, VA: "[By email] I have answered the questionnaire and attached some charts of our violations-per-pass experience which illustrate the importance of "other" considerations on the rate at which red lights are violated. At both Patrick/Gibbon and Seminary/Nottingham (charts 2 and 3) other factors significantly contributed to steep drops in our rate of red light running. In the case of Patrick and Gibbon the cause was a retiming of the lights immediately preceding this intersection which had a profound impact. Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 75](special note: the yellow was increased at Patrick/Gibbon as well as per Alexandria traffic signal operators)

Town of Herndon, VA: "We will consider increasing yellow timing if other conditions warrant. Several jurisdictions have reported a sharp drop in red light running after yellow interval was increased. We are also installing LED signal heads at these 2 intersections to improve visibility." [Ramin Sabet, Senior Civil Engineer, Town of Herndon, VA, 9/26/01, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 87](NOTE: Herndon, VA does not presently use red light cameras)

San Diego, CA: "The most significant change in the number of violations occurred at the intersection of Mission Bay Drive and Grand (1541) where the yellow change interval was extended from 3.1 seconds to 4.7 seconds. This change resulted in an 88-percent decrease in the number of violations. At the five other intersections, the number of violations dropped significantly in response to longer yellow times." ["City of San Diego Enforcement System Review Final Report", PB Farradyne Inc., January 14, 2002, Chapter 6 (Traffic Engineering and Traffic Operations Improvements", page 78] (see entries 1/14/2002 for greater detail)

June 14, 2001 - Bipartisan people join hands in Florida for red light camera $afety: "Backed by a bevy of political bigwigs, former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp swung into town Wednesday and promised to wipe out the roadblock to the county's traffic camera program." .... ""We will go with you en masse and embarrass the heck out of any man or woman of any political party and put a stain on them," said Kemp, also a former professional quarterback and federal housing secretary." .... "Other SmartCOP directors include former Cabinet secretary and conservative icon Bill Bennett; environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; and Terdema Ussery, the chief executive of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team." .... "The Pensacola-based SmartCOP was founded in 1999 to provide law-enforcement software. It has landed contracts with the states of Florida and Alabama, and now wants to tap into the emerging -- and lucrative -- field of "photo-enforcement." .... "The system blends technology from SmartCOP, Rhode Island-based Nestor Traffic Systems, Inc. and Texas billionaire Ross Perot's former company, EDS." ["Conservative pledges clout for traffic cameras", Marc Caputo, Palm Beach Post, June 14, 2001]

June 15, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National dialogue on transportation Issues, an interested person writes: "Be careful of information about red light running only from insurance industry sources. They have the appearance of a conflict of interest: as more "points" are assessed on individuals as a consequence of camera systems, insurance company revenue goes up from individual premium payments." [Topic: "Red Light Running Cameras", Rob Jaffe, Ph.D., "In Response To: Re: Red Light Running Cameras (Michael Trentacoste)", June 15, 2001 at 11:55 AM]

June 23, 2001 - Phoenix officials talk about red light camera program: Councilman Stanton: "And when we get a study like the one that came out for the insurance institute indicating that this is such a big problem in the City of Phoenix, it's essential that we go out and do everything that we can to help alleviate that problem." ...... Lieutenant Wayne Lorch, Phoenix PD: "The photo enforcement program for the City of Phoenix. We entered into an agreement with our vendor. In this case, it's Lockheed Martin IMS, to provide the camera system at 10 intersections within the City of Phoenix. They will photograph the violators as they run the red lights." .... Lieutenant Wayne Lorch, Phoenix PD: "The intersections were selected on a basis of several particular issues. Number one was past crash data, also enforcement data, and then demographics. And by that, I mean, that we have a citywide spread. We wanted to make sure that the cameras were located throughout the entire city, rather than just in one area or another area of the city." ..... Lieutenant Wayne Lorch, Phoenix PD: "Well, our primary goal is compliance, voluntary compliance." [EXCERPTS FROM Transcript of the On The Issues that aired on June 23 - July 6, 2001 http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/11/trans-stanton-june23.html ]

June 25, 2001 - Lockheed Martin issues press release about San Diego red light camera program, claiming cameras are for safety and violations reduced 45%: "A report issued by the San Diego-based Red Light Legal Defense team purports to show that safety issues are not the primary concern of San Diego's photo traffic safety program. The program has been in place since 1999 and achieved a reduction in red-light running of over 45 percent." ...... "Responding to the criticism of employing cameras at intersections with amber of less than four seconds, Landolt [Lockheed Martin IMS Senior Vice President Bob Landolt] said, ``Again this is done for safety reasons. These signals are typically used in highly congested areas. The greatest risk to drivers and pedestrians is in areas where traffic is dense, where population is likely to be dense, and where pedestrian traffic is likely to be heavier." .... "Finally, Landolt responded to instances where a yellow light time has been lengthened and there has been a drop in red light running violations and critics argue that yellow lights should be lengthened everywhere. ``First, photo safety companies do not set amber times,'' Landolt stated. ``Second, in every instance that a change has been implemented there has been an identified engineering need. Arguing to lengthen yellow lights will only encourage people to try and 'go for it' when they see a yellow light. Finally, the Grand Avenue and Mission Bay intersection cited in the 'report' continues to have over 120 violations a month and be unsafe.'' ["San Diego's Red Light Defense Team Promotes a Red Herring 'Report' - Attempts to Mislead Press. Public Through Selective Disclosure", Lockheed Martin Press Release, PR Newswire, Washington DC, 6/25/01]

Who Was Misleading Who?:

"The most significant change in the number of violations occurred at the intersection of Mission Bay Drive and Grand (1541) where the yellow change interval was extended from 3.1 seconds to 4.7 seconds. This change resulted in an 88-percent decrease in the number of violations. At the five other intersections, the number of violations dropped significantly in response to longer yellow times." ["City of San Diego Enforcement System Review Final Report", PB Farradyne Inc., January 14, 2002, Chapter 6 (Traffic Engineering and Traffic Operations Improvements", page 78] (there was no public disclosure of the yellow increases when they happened or the results from making them)

"The measured reduction in red light running violations at intersections where cameras have been operational for six months varies from 20 percent to nearly 24 percent."......"The measured reduction in red light running violations remain constant as the cameras are operated for longer periods of time." ["City of San Diego Enforcement System Review Final Report", PB Farradyne Inc., January 14, 2002, Chapter 2 "Red light Running and Accidents", page 8] (NOTE: There are strong indications that the reductions in violations noted included those from increasing the yellow at 6 of the 19 intersections. Don't forget that California has some of the harshest penalties in the USA for red light camera tickets.)

"Figure 2-12 shows that, after photo enforcement, the average RE [rear end] accident rates increased by 62 percent for the enforced movement and by nearly 43 percent for the non-enforced movements, respectively. Photo enforcement resulted in significantly higher RE accident rates at photo-enforced intersections where a THM [through movement] was enforced, especially for the enforced THM movement." ["City of San Diego Enforcement System Review Final Report", PB Farradyne Inc., January 14, 2002, Chapter 2 "Red light Running and Accidents", page 17] (enforcement programs that increase accidents of any type and cause harm to the public in any way are not acceptable as public policy under any circumstance)

June 28, 2001 - After nine months of ineffective results from red light camera enforcement, VDOT increases the yellow at RT7 and Towlston Rd. in Fairfax County, VA from 4.00 to 4.50 seconds, reducing violations between 60-70%.

June 28, 2001 - Missouri's worst intersection for accidents described: "The busy intersection of Lindbergh Boulevard and Gravois Road in Sunset Hills is the most dangerous crossroads in Missouri, according to a new report by State Farm Insurance." ..... "Any time you have a lot vehicles and a signal, you are going to have some accidents, particularly rear-enders," said Larry Grither, a traffic engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation. "The accidents at a location like this, for the most part, are caused by the congestion." .... ""No doubt about it, this is a rough spot," said Bill Balmer of DeSoto, who has worked for 18 years at a post office on Gravois just east of the intersection. Aron DeRoy of St. Louis, a clerk at a Amoco service station at the intersection, recalled "two or three times I've seen people come in here covered in glass and bleeding" after accidents at the intersection. Vera Black of Sunset Hills said the traffic signals give motorists on Lindbergh a long time through the intersection while motorists get a short light to make a left turn from northbound Lindbergh to westbound Gravois." .... "These motorists, anxious to get to Interstate 270, try to squeeze through the intersection on a very short yellow light, Black said." ["SUNSET HILLS INTERSECTION IS CALLED STATE'S MOST PERILOUS - INSURER CITES ACCIDENTS AT LINDBERGH-GRAVOIS", Phil Sutin of The Post-Dispatch, Ken Leiser of The Post-Dispatch contributing, June 28, 2001]

July 1, 2001 - IIHS researcher speaks again but doesn't mention the yellow increase: "'Red-light running turned out to be another deadly accident for innocent drivers, killing eight percent of them. When the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety monitored a busy intersection in Arlington County Virginia, for several months, they found a driver running the light every twelve minutes on average. It was as high as once every five minutes during peak rush hours. "That's more than 100 chances a day for an unsuspecting motorist to become a crash victim." says Institute safety expert Richard Retting." ["How Good Drivers Get Killed", Ralph Kinney Bennett, Reader's Digest, July 2001]

July 2, 2001 - Washington Post cooperates with Montgomery County, MD officials by not reporting red light camera locations in Montgomery County, MD to the public: "A number of readers have asked Dr. Gridlock to publish the locations of red-light cameras in Montgomery County. The response to that is that you are not to know. Montgomery County is keeping them a secret. "We don't want someone slowing up at one intersection that has a camera, only to speed up at the next intersection that doesn't," county spokeswoman Esther Bowring said. This policy is in contrast to other jurisdictions in our area, which publish the locations of their red-light cameras. The data collected show that they are very effective in reducing red-light running at the intersections where they are posted." ["Drivers in Dark on Red-Light Cameras", Ron Shaffer, Dr. Gridlock, Washington Post, 7/2/01]

(no mention of the yellow increases anywhere in northern Virginia or the impressive results from making them)

July 3, 2001 - Atlanta Journal newspaper endorses red light cameras as speed traps: "In a welcome move, Marietta is set to install the state's first red-light cameras at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Windy Hill Road. The intersection, ranked one of the highest in the metro area for accidents, is notorious as a spot where far too many motorists run red lights. If the cameras will slow them down or catch these dangerous drivers, we say go for it." ["Cameras at Intersections an Unfortunate Necessity", Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Editorial, 7/3/01]

July 6, 2001 - "Tait [Arthur Tait, Attorney, San Diego] cites a report drafted by House staff members for Majority Leader Dick Armey. The report asserts that the cameras have compromised safety at intersections nationwide. It contends that at intersections with cameras, traffic engineers intentionally reduced yellow-light times, which makes rear-end collisions more likely. The yellow-light phase has been shortened, the report says, to increase the number of violators and generate more fines, which are split between municipalities and operating companies, such as Lockheed. That charge, Lockheed spokesman Mark Maddox says, is ''inaccurate and misinformed.'' Armey's allegations are ''insulting'' to the integrity of traffic engineers, says Thomas Brahms, executive director of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. ''We as a profession care very much about reducing injuries and reducing accidents.'' Brahms and Maddox say there is no question that cameras reduce the number of red-light runners and enhance public safety. In Mesa, Ariz., police credit a combination of increased yellow-light times and cameras with reducing fatalities from 20 in 1995 to eight last year. San Diego officials say there has been about a 45% drop in red-light violations at the 19 intersections where the cameras are installed." ["Motorists race to court to challenge red-light cameras Photos called privacy threat", By Valerie Alvord, Special to USA TODAY, July 6, 2001]

July 8, 2001 - Fresno, CA to move ahead with red light cameras: "But the problem has become bad enough for Fresno, ranked No. 1 in the state in deaths caused by red-light runners by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, to resort to high-tech surveillance." .... "The cameras are expected to nab about 51,000 violators a year and generate $13.8 million in fines. The city will get $1.1 million and the county close to $4 million. The rest will go to Nestor Traffic Systems Inc., which is installing the cameras." ["Drivers in Fresno rate among worst", Juan Esparza Loera, The Fresno Bee, July 8, 2001 jesparza@vidaenelvalle.com ]

July 9, 2001 - Assistant San Diego Police Chief who runs the red light camera program says he had no idea yellow lights were a factor: "In court, the assistant police chief who oversees the red-light camera program testified all morning. At issue was a memo he sent in 1999 to Barbara Warden and other city council members. That memo gave council members an update on the relatively new system. Assistant Police Chief Bill Mahew wrote the red-light system does, in fact, make intersections safer. At the 13 intersections that were being reviewed at the time, Mahew testified that the citation rate decreased significantly and that the cameras served to not only enforce the law, but also to help educate the public. But an attorney representing the ticketed drivers challenged Mahew, arguing that the reason the citations went down was because the time length of the yellow lights at those intersections was increased. Mahew said he had no knowledge that the timing of the yellow lights was a factor at the intersections where the cameras were installed. He reiterated the benefits of the cameras on cross-examination. „I believe the numbers clearly show the violations that are captured at photo-controlled intersections decrease significantly as time goes by,‰ Mahew testified." ["Traffic Cam Errors Benefited light runners", Artie Ojeda, KNSD, San Diego, July 9, 2001]

July 8/10, 2001 - NHTSA/FHWA and photo enforcement supporters convene at a conference: "On July 8-10, 2001 The Center for Public Safety and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hosted a national conference on emerging technologies for traffic law enforcement. Eighty law enforcement officials from twenty-one states attended. The conference had three objectives: 1. To describe the state of the art in traffic enforcement technology; 2. To explore emerging technologies, and 3. To begin the process of formulating a policy agenda for more effective and efficient use of technology in traffic law enforcement. The conference began with remarks by Marilena Amoni, Director of the Office of Traffic Injury Control Programs at NHTSA. A copy of her presentation appears in this issue of the Key. Among the other presenters were: 1) Richard Retting, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 2) Bob Voas, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation 3) Mark Dunaski, Minnesota State Patrol 4) Tom Steele, Maryland State Police 5) Louraine Arkfield, Presiding Judge, Tempe Arizona 6)Dave Mulholland, United States Park Police. At the conclusion of the presentations participants convened in working groups to help create a document that can be used by NHTSA as a planning and policy formulation tool. The Center will soon prepare a report about the conference for distribution. Watch for more news about this in upcoming editions of the Key." ["Traffic Enforcement Technology Conference", Northwestern University, July 8/10, 2001 http://server.traffic.northwestern.edu/events/letc.html ]

July 10, 2001 - California Columnist says hammer 'em in San Diego with red light cameras: ""The fine for running a red light in San Diego is $271, one of the steepest in the country," according to Kelly Wheeler of City News Service. I think $271 is not enough. A thousand dollars would be more appropriate. Having to pay a grand might provide the incentive to make drivers apply the brakes instead of flooring it at a yellow." .... "But each time I sit at an intersection while I have a green light, as I wait for all the red light-runners to pass through, I wonder who those drivers are." .... "The fines are not reducing the number of red light violations or deaths. Maybe the answer is to install cameras at all intersections across the country and raise the fine to $1,000. Maybe these red light-runners, when fined heavily, will remember that green means go, yellow means slow down and prepare to stop, and that red really does mean stop." ["Fine for running red lights is too low", James Condomitti, Commentary, North County Times, 7/10/01]

July 11, 2001 - Terrible "red light" accident in Virginia Beach: "``The stroller went right out of her hand,'' said Cindy Guerrero, who was in her car waiting at the light, at Jeanne Street and Independence Boulevard, just after 1 p.m." ....``I told my son, `Look at that. He's not going to stop,' '' Nield-Bailey said. ``He just kept going. He totally ran that red light.'' ...... "A preliminary investigation indicated the Volkswagen ran the red light, police said. Alcohol and speed were not factors, police said." ["2-year-old in stroller killed by careening car", Mike Saewitz, Virginian-Pilot, 7/12/01]

"Witnesses told Beach police that the driver of a burgundy Volkswagen ran a red light, causing the accident." .... "Suddenly, the 1986 Volkswagen Jetta, heading south on Independence, went through a red light and collided with a northbound 1998 Chrysler LeBaron turning left on a green arrow at Jeanne Street, police said. The Volkswagen spun out of control, jumped the sidewalk and ripped Patrick's stroller from his mother's hand, witnesses said." ["Scene of child's death becomes memorial in Pembroke", Mike Saewitz and Eric Aasen, Virginian-Pilot, 7/14/01]

"Patrick Ward was in his stroller at the curb, near Pembroke Mall, with his mom and a young cousin. Police say Robert E. Clark of Newport News drove through a red light. His Volkswagen collided with another car, shot onto the sidewalk, hit Patrick and threw him into a telephone pole, killing him at the scene. He was 2 years old." .... "At busy intersections like the one where Patrick was struck, someone runs a red light every third or fourth time the light changes, experts say." .... "The Virginian-Pilot analyzed three years of Department of Motor Vehicles crash records for the region to look at the prevalence and outcomes of running red lights. Among the findings: 1) Across South Hampton Roads, red-light violations cause on average 907 crashes a year. More than half result in injuries or death. 2)Nearly 800 local residents are hurt in red-light crashes every year. Twelve people were killed from 1998 through 2000. 3)Running lights is more likely to cause injuries or death than any other type of violation. 3)Even when no one is hurt, the crashes cause an average of more than $1,000 in damage." .... ``They know it's dangerous, and they do it anyway,'' said Bryan E. Porter, a psychology professor at Old Dominion University who has studied red-light running." .... "Who are the victims? One was Jason Hughson, a lifelong Norfolk resident. He was on the way to see his children last New Year's Eve when a driver ran a light and smashed into his pickup truck, killing him less than a mile from home. There was Lisa Maholchic. The Virginia Beach teen-ager was riding in a car with friends when a Jeep ran a light and plowed into their car last May. She died of a head injury." .... "But that case was the exception. In general, experts say, the typical red-light runner is no criminal -- just someone a lot like you." .... "And one statistic jumped out at Porter: Almost 20 percent of the drivers had run one of the last 10 lights they saw. Yet virtually all -- 98.8 percent -- recognized the practice as dangerous." .... "Porter also favors using cameras at intersections." .... "Even so, Beach police last year wrote 6,070 tickets for red-light running." ["Region's red-light runners cause 900 crashes a year", David Gulliver, Virginian-Pilot, September 7, 2001]

"Nor do I believe the argument that increasing the duration of the yellow light will solve most of the problems. Eventually, people would think, "Hey, it's yellow longer, so I can still make it through!" ["RED-LIGHT CAMERAS COULD HAVE THE BEACH SEEING GREEN", Roger Chesley, Associate Editor, The Virginian-Pilot, 5/11/2002]

July 12, 2001 - News from Vienna, VA reported: "Vienna police Capt. John Cheyne called his department's technology superior to the still camera, which takes two pictures of vehicles as they cruise through red lights. In addition to catching a violator at three angles, the video equipment lengthens the red light slightly for crossing traffic when a red-light runner is detected. That increases the number of fender-benders at the video intersections, Cheyne said, but it decreases the number of crashes from red-light runners, which tend to be more severe." .... "`It's our feeling we got the best package," Cheyne said of the three permanent cameras in place at the intersections of Nutley Street and Courthouse Road, Lawyers Road and Maple Avenue and Follin Lane and Maple Avenue. ``What we're seeing is a drop in violations everywhere in town. We've definitely seen a decrease everywhere." ["Traffic camera use grows in region", CHRISTINE C. IWAN, Journal newspaper, 7/12/2001]

July 12, 2001 - Fairfax County, VA Supervisor says no opposition to red light cameras exists with county elected officials: "While the issue has been hotly debated in the state, most local politicians support the technology. Fairfax County Supervisor Michael Frey, R-Sully District, said the board has expressed no opposition to using cameras at intersections to catch red-light runners." ["Traffic camera use grows in region", CHRISTINE C. IWAN, Journal newspaper, 7/12/2001]

July 13, 2001 - Washington Post reports alternative to red light cameras: "The National Motorists Association yesterday criticized the use of red-light cameras, citing records from Fairfax County that show longer yellow lights dramatically decrease the number of red-light runners. According to a statement, the Virginia Department of Transportation increased the length of the yellow light at Route 50 and Fair Ridge Drive on March 26, giving drivers an additional 1.5 seconds to slow to a stop. Drivers running red lights there had activated the camera an average of 52 times a day before the yellow time was increased; that number decreased to an average of two a day after the change." ["Alternative to Red-Light Cameras Offered", Metro In Brief, Washington Post, 7/13/2001 (Compiled by reports from staff writers Lyndsey Layton, David A.

Fahrenthold, Jo Becker, Phuong Ly, Daniel LeDuc, Josh White and Sewell Chan)]

July 19, 2001 - King County, WA elected official runs red light, causes accident, gets special treatment?: "If you ran a red light and hit a bus, do you think you'd get a traffic ticket or two? Of course you would." .... "KIRO Team 7 Investigator Chris Halsne exposes allegations that the Seattle Police Department and Metro Transit gave special treatment to a King County councilperson. This is the report that nobody down at King County wants you to see. It's a detailed accounting of how King County Councilmember Jane Hague, struck a Metro bus. Though a police officer at the scene said Hague was clearly at fault, no ticket was issued -- not even a warning. May 29th: rush hour near the Mayflower Hotel. Witnesses say a well-dressed woman in a dark SUV was driving north on 4th in downtown Seattle. She reportedly blew through the red light at Olive Way and rammed into a Metro bus just behind the front doors. Anne Streiby saw the whole thing, saying she actually had to jump back out of the crosswalk to avoid being hit by the female driver." .... "The bus driver told Metro investigators Hague came up to the bus and said "You know, it's your fault, don't you?" When the driver disagreed, Hague reportedly told him "Do you know I'm your King County Council woman?" .... "Lane was sitting on the bus, with 19 other riders, when Hague smashed into the side. He figured she'd get a couple of tickets for her errors. We checked, and she didn't. We couldn't find any police report on the accident at all." ["Special Treatment for Politician After Bus Collision?", Chris Halsne, Special Reports, KIRO 7 Investigative Report, 7/19/2001]

July 19, 2001 - Lockheed Martin announces it is exiting the photo enforcement business: "BETHESDA, Md. -- Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday it will sell its subsidiary IMS Corp. to information technology company Affiliated Computer Services Inc. for $825 million. Dallas-based ACS will acquire all stock from IMS, which produces automated systems such as electronic tolls and red light cameras for municipal and state governments." ["Lockheed sells subsidiary to Affiliated Computer", AP 7/19/01]

July 20, 2001 - Despite being dubbed the "red light running" capital of the USA, Phoenix police officials say Phoenix won't change yellow lights: "Phoenix Police Lt. Wayne Lorch, overseeing the city's photo enforcement program, says the city tried to remove all the bugs before installing cameras." ..... "Phoenix won't change yellow-light timing at camera intersections, Lorch said, and will hand-deliver citations to violators who ignore mailed photos." ["Smile As You Run That Red Light: You May Be On Camera", Bob Petrie, The Arizona Republic, 7/20/2001]

July 23, 2001 - With red light fatalities mounting, Phoenix traffic engineer ridicules engineering solutions, blames people driving: "Just this year, 23 people have been killed in such crashes in Phoenix, said Lt. Don McDonald of the Phoenix police vehicular crimes unit. Phoenix traffic engineer Mike Frisbie said suggestions for cutting down red-light violations have included extending the duration of the yellow light. But it's not the duration that makes the difference, Frisbie said. "There's no excuse at any time; there's plenty of time to stop with the yellow light," he said. "Either they're willfully running the red light or they're not paying attention." On average, yellow lights in the city last three to four seconds." ["Cameras aim to stop red-light runners", Desireé Hunter, The Arizona Republic, 7/23/2002]

"Phoenix traffic officials have said the city's signal timing allows drivers to safely stop on yellow." ["Phoenix beefs up arsenal vs. red-light runners", Bob Petrie, The Arizona Republic, 8/31/2001]

By contrast:

Alexandria PD official describes results from increasing yellow lights at Alexandria camera sites: "[By email] I have answered the questionnaire and attached some charts of our violations-per-pass experience which illustrate the importance of "other" considerations on the rate at which red lights are violated. At both Patrick/Gibbon and Seminary/Nottingham (charts 2 and 3) other factors significantly contributed to steep drops in our rate of red light running. In the case of Patrick and Gibbon the cause was a retiming of the lights immediately preceding this intersection which had a profound impact. Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 75](special note: the yellow was increased at Patrick/Gibbon as well as per Alexandria traffic signal operators)

"The primary measure of effectiveness for the yellow interval is the percent of vehicles entering the intersection after the termination of the yellow indication; that is, during the red following the yellow." ...... "When the percent of vehicles that are last through the intersection which enter on red exceeds that which is locally acceptable (many agencies use a value of one to three percent), the yellow interval should be lengthened until the percentage conforms to local standards." ["Determining Vehicle Change Intervals - A Proposed Recommended Practice", Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, D.C., 1985, page 6]

July 27, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes: "I don't believe that many traffic professionals would deliberately reduce yellow intervals to make red-light cameras profitable but there are other observers who don't agree. (See Mr. Armey's diatribe, above.) But I do think our professional standards on yellow interval timing (ITE and MUTCD) are a disgrace!" [Topic: "Red Light Cameras", Carlton C. Robinson, Friday, 27 July 2001, at 7:20 p.m.]

July 30, 2001 - San Diego police chief acknowledges accident picture has not improved with red light cameras: "And it's true in a few intersections we found a few more accidents than prior to the red light photo enforcement. At some intersections we saw no change at all, and at several intersections we actually saw an increase in traffic accidents." [San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano, ABC News: Nightline (11:35 PM AM ET), 7/30/01, Ted Koppel (Host)]

Los Angeles Police Official Disagrees: "It's been proven at nearly every location where a camera has been mounted that there is a dramatic decrease in accidents," said Sgt. John Gambill, who heads LAPD's photo enforcement team." ["Cameras to Put Local Motorists on Red Alert", GREG RISLING, The Los Angeles Times, 10/8/2000]

July 30, 2001 - Lockheed Martin spokesman says Lockheed Martin has no involvement in yellow light lengths or is involved in selecting intersections: "Mark Maddox, Lockheed Martin's Washington-based spokesman, denied allegations the company seeks to play a role in which intersections are monitored, seeking those with high traffic volumes. "Absolutely not," he said. "The city's police department makes all decisions on what intersections are chosen." Maddox also disputed reports Lockheed Martin played a role in the shortened left-turn yellows in San Diego and Mesa. "We have no involvement in yellow-light lengths," he said." ["Photo Worth 1,000 Words", Joey Ledford, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/30/01]

"As the Tribune reported in January, Mesa's red-light camera citations dropped by more than half after the city added a second of time to the yellow arrow lights at double-laned left turns. Officials then doubted the effect would last as motorists got used to the four-second yellow light. But it has. Mesa police said the number of red-light camera citations never recovered from the plummet it took in mid-November at the six intersections where the yellow-light times were changed." .... "A condition of the contract Lockheed-Martin has with Mesa attempts to prohibit the city from changing yellow lights once a red-light camera is installed. The company lost revenue when Mesa broke that condition and lengthened the yellow-light times. Consequently, the city is likely to approve the removal of five red-light cameras that record few violations but are expensive to run." [Arizona Tribune, Ray Stern, rstern@aztrib.com , June 1, 2001] "The City Council voted Monday to disconnect five of the cameras that are not paying for themselves." ["Mesa's red-light photos getting taxpayer subsidy", Art Thomason, The Arizona Republic, June 7, 2001] (NOTE: As part of the wheeling and dealing and to make up for losses from increasing the yellows, Mesa tossed the concept of fairness out the window and eliminated the 0.3 seconds of red "grace" time delay at the remaining camera sites.)

In Cupertino, CA, Lockheed Martin official reveals "red light running" frequency, not accidents, is deciding factor when locating red light cameras: "Council members asked that the location of the cameras be reviewed by the Public Safety Commission before the seven intersections are officially finalized. "All the others look like on-ramps and off-ramps for the freeway and these don't really get at the traffic that's crossing our community in other places," Mayor John Statton said. "I love the idea of ticketing people that are coming in and out of the community, but I don't think it solves the problem we've got along Stevens Creek and Homestead and De Anza." Lockheed Martin Project Manager John Flynn said a statistical rate of red-light runners was the deciding factor in the choice of the seven intersections." ["City says 'smile' to stoplight runners", Jeff Kearns, Cupertino Courier, 4/26/2000]

July 30, 2001 - Atlanta "red light running" problem identified: "In contrast, when a light changes in metro Atlanta, especially on a major artery, there's nearly always at least one light-runner, and often several." ["Photo Worth 1,000 Words", Joey Ledford, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/30/01]

July 30, 2001 - St. Petersburg, Fl newspaper advises caution regarding red light cameras: "Officials in St. Petersburg and other Florida cities should heed the caution light as they approach a decision on whether to install cameras to catch drivers who run red lights." .... "In practice, if the settings for the lights are mis-timed, the cameras can end up ticketing innocent people." .... "Although we were among those who voiced support for a camera experiment when the issue was before the Legislature, enough questions have been raised since to give us pause. St. Petersburg officials should proceed with caution and make sure they don't make San Diego's mistakes." ["Focus On Safety", Editorial, St. Petersburg Times, 7/30/2001]

July 30, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an FHWA person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "It surprised me that the yellow clearance was only 4.0 seconds. While I don't favor long clearances, this sounds a little short for a high speed intersection on a down grade. It is not at all surprising that lengthening the clearance to 5.5 seconds reduced red light incursions, especially given the previously described operating characteristics." .... "There are methods for determining clearance intervals. The formulae may be outdated. The default perception-reaction times and the default deceleration rates have been used for many years and may not be appropriate. However, nothing beats going out to the intersection and watching traffic. Back when I was a young traffic engineer (just after the dinosaurs died off), it was just assumed that the calculations got you into the ballpark but fine tuning based on observations and judgement was usually needed." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", David Helman, Federal Highway Administration, Monday, 30 July 2001, at 11:20 a.m.]

July 30, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, a VDOT person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "And while I don't know the background of the 4 second yellow, I do know this intersection is a prime candidate for a red-light camera and I have a strong belief that you will see future injuries go down because of it's presence. I say this from turning through the intersection twice/day for 6 years, and almost being "broad-sided at 55" by a violating driver once myself (once was enuf)!" [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Al Kaub , Virginia Department of Transportation, Monday, 30 July 2001, at 3:31 p.m.]

July 31, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an FHWA person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "I would venture (without proof, but offering only my extensive experience in the TOPICS program many years ago) that most intersections with "red-light running problems" really have correctable engineering problems which should be attended to first before submitting to more draconian solutions." .... "Whatever the engineering solutions are, these should always be investigated at problem intersections before resorting to automated enforcement. If the extension of the clearance interval at this intersection had been tried first and the problem had been reduced there would have been no reason to install the camera in the first place." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", David Helman, Federal Highway Administration, Tuesday, 31 July 2001, at 8:42 a.m.]

July 31, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, a VDOT person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "Well Dave - I guess it goes to show you that everyone has an opinion about where to put the cameras, eh? But you just might change your mind about putting one at this intersection if you were the one waiting in the left turn bay watching a red-light-runner skidding downhill toward your driver's door at 55 mph (and other less eventful red-light events happened here as well)." .... "From my office, we used to watch ambulances and sirens at this intersection about 1-2/month - so we disagree about the usefulness of a RLRC at this intersection. I think even a one-year before and after study might tell more about the impact of the camera here than opinions." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Al Kaub , Virginia Department of Transportation, Tuesday, 31 July 2001, at 9:38 a.m.]

July 31, 2001 - Congressional Hearings on Red Light Cameras take place in Washington, D.C.

July 31, 2001 - "Another recent IIHS study conducted over several months at a busy intersection in Arlington County, Virginia, found that on average, a motorist ran a red light every 12 minutes. During peak travel times, it increased to every five minutes. Clearly red light running is a serious public health crisis and too often results in death, injury, and destruction of families." [Testimony of Judith Lee Stone, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety in Hearing before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Subcommittee on Highways and Transit", 7/31/2001]

("Advocates is a coalition of consumer, health, law enforcement, and safety groups and insurance organizations working together to reduce motor vehicle deaths and injuries.")

(No mention of the yellow increase at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington after the "red light runners" were counted or the results from increasing it. At least Ms. Stone admits how dangerous it was for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to count all those "red light runners" under such a short and inadequate yellow light, later increased.)

August 1, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an FHWA person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "Poor traffic engineering has helped to breed the current disrespect for traffic signals in general." .... "Simply retiming the signals and adding detectors where needed should go a long way in restoring the public's confidence in proper signal operation and reduce aggressive driving behaviors such as RLR." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Michael Schauer , Federal Highway Administration, Wednesday, 1 August 2001, at 7:22 a.m.]

August 1, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an FHWA person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "You [meaning Al Kaub of VDOT....see entry 7/31/2001] just made my point. The fact that the guy was skidding to a stop is an indication that he may have been surprised by the signal and trapped in what we traffic engineers call the "dilemma zone" - a serious factor to contend with in high speed signalization. The fact that he was attempting to stop (and risked being rear-ended in a hard stop) indicates that he was no ordinary traffic scofflaw which RLR cameras are supposed to detect. Had the clearance interval been extended, he may have safely cleared the intersection. Had other improvements been made in signal operations and conspicuity, he may not have been put in an emergency braking condition in the first place." .... "If you have a signal system, you must operate the system. Just letting them turn red, yellow and green is not "operations"." .... "Accidents are surrogates of operational problems which may have engineering solutions. Accident and other operational data are important indicators of how well the system is being operated. As a last resort, you may install RLR cameras, but I am convinced that most of these are installed at locations to "correct" problems that really are only correctable by better engineering and operations. [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", David Helman, Federal Highway Administration, Wednesday, 1 August 2001, at 8:42 a.m.]

August 2, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an FHWA person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "For every municipality that has a traffic engineer though, I can think of 20 that do not. This includes cities within our top 75 populated areas nationally! It's these areas that help to shape drivers' behaviors with their poorly timed, inadequately detectored traffic signals. I don't see this changing much until we can convince our elected officals of the importance of good traffic engineering especially where traffic signals are concerned. And yes they even need to be retimed once in a while! [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Mike Schauer, Federal Highway Administration, Thursday, 2 August 2001, at 7:17 a.m.]

August 3, 2001 - Alexandria engineer confirms yellow increased at GWMP and Slaters. Engineer says lengthened yellow light will cause rear end accidents: "Your are correct, the duration of the yellow light was recently increased from 3.0 seconds to 3.5 seconds at the above intersection. The 3.5 second yellow interval was calculated using nationally accepted standards developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). Setting the length of yellow light so there are zero entry's on red is the same as setting the national speed limit so there are no speed violations. If we set the speed limit to 100 miles per hour there would no speed violations. However, we don't do this because a dangerous situation will be created. The same goes for the length of yellow lights. Setting the length of yellow light so there are no entries on red also creates a dangerous situation. Longer yellow lights increase rear end accidents. What happens is that some drivers are more conservative and will stop early for the yellow light. Aggressive drivers who are accustomed to the longer yellow light will push the light and do not expecting the vehicle in front of them to stop. Consequently rear end collisions occur. Thanks," [Email message by Bob Garbacz, T&ES/Transportation, 838-4411, Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 10:04 AM, Subject: Re: Georga Washington Memorial Parkway at Slaters Lane, Alexandria, cc's to charles.samarra@ci.alexandria.va.us ; rich.baier@ci.alexandria.va.us ; Doug.McCobb@ci.alexandria.va.us ; juan.carrazco@ci.alexandria.va.us ]

A month later the Alexandria Police Department says: "[By email] I have answered the questionnaire and attached some charts of our violations-per-pass experience which illustrate the importance of "other" considerations on the rate at which red lights are violated. At both Patrick/Gibbon and Seminary/Nottingham (charts 2 and 3) other factors significantly contributed to steep drops in our rate of red light running. In the case of Patrick and Gibbon the cause was a retiming of the lights immediately preceding this intersection which had a profound impact. Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 75](special note: the yellow was increased at Patrick/Gibbon as well as per Alexandria traffic signal operators)

"Approaches experiencing speeds of 35 mph or higher are considered high speed approaches. If the yellow interval commences while the vehicle is in a "dilemma zone" (zone of indecision), it may be difficult for the driver to decide whether to stop or proceed across the intersection. An abrupt stop may produce a rear-end collision. The decision to go through on the red, may produce a right-angle accident." ["Traffic Control Devices Handbook, FHWA, USDOT, 1983, page 4-29]

Regarding yellow time: "If the interval is too short, rear end collisions may result." [Traffic Engineering Handbook, Fifth Edition, p 481, Institute of Transportation Engineers, c1999]

August 4, 2001 - Poway, CA considers restarting cameras: "Traffic engineer Mike Robinson said he completed a report Thursday that outlines the details of a new red-light camera program that will be proposed to the City Council in the next couple of weeks. If the council approves the new system, which would be run by APAC Technologies, two of the city's highest traffic volume intersections will get cameras by the end of the year, he said." .... "All of our yellow lights are based on speeds, and the length of yellow time will have absolutely no bearing on whether we want to increase or decrease the number of citations involved," Robinson said. "Our intention is strictly traffic safety." ["Red-light cameras may return in Poway", Andrea Moss, North County Times, 8/4/01]

August 5, 2001 - No red clearance noted in Florida: "An aside here. We received an e-mail several weeks ago from someone who claimed it did no harm to roll through a light immediately after it turned red because there is always a delayed green for oncoming traffic. Aside from being dumb - and illegal - the premise is just plain wrong. Note above, there is an all-red second for the transition from north-south to east-west traffic, but no all-red transition the other way." ["Timing is everything, especially with lights", Dr. Delay, St. Petersburg Times, 8/5/2001, docdelay@sptimes.com ]

August 5, 2001 - Oxnard, CA "red light running" accident results in fatality: "A 12-year-old Palmdale girl was killed late Saturday morning after the car in which she was riding was broadsided by a pickup truck in Oxnard. The 11:35 a.m. collision occurred at the corner of Fifth Street and Victoria Avenue." .... ""Obviously, one of them ran a red light, though we don't know which one," Swenson [Oxnard police officer Scott Swenson] said." .... "Police said one of the two vehicles involved probably ran a red light." ["Palmdale girl killed, four injured in Oxnard collision", By John Scheibe, Ventura County Star, August 5, 2001]

August 6, 2001 - CA columnist says cameras a good idea: "I think it's a new record. The other day I watched five people run various red lights in Temecula and Murrieta." .... "Well, I seem to recall that a red light, just like a stop sign, means stop. It does not mean stop only if you are a block from the intersection. It does not mean speed up when the light is yellow in an attempt to beat the light." .... "Cameras at intersections will definitely reduce the problem." ["Cameras at signals a good idea", Jim Dail, professor at Mt. San Jacinto College, Commentary, North County Times, 8/6/01]

August 8, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about red light running and signal timings generally: "All-reds are not necessarily intended to make up for poor decision making. In many states, the person entering the intersection on the yellow (just before red) has the right of way. Without an all-red, the person waiting on the side street who would simultaneously be facing a green light. To remedy this, the person who just barely enters the intersection on the yellow and has the right of way, has a 1-2 sec all-red to clear the intersection, prior to the side street driver seeing a green light. Not all states or engineers time traffic signals this way, but it has become very common in the US." [Topic: "Red Light Running etc...", Joel Marcuson, HNTB, Wednesday, 8 August 2001, at 8:25 a.m.]

August 9, 2001 - FHWA/NHTSA funding more camera enforcement studies?: "But Hansen can't understand why people would be against something that seems to work so well. "It's effective in enforcement, it makes the roads safer by acting as a deterrent, it improves driver behavior and it doesn't cost the taxpayers anything," he said. "What's not to love?" The next step may be using cameras to catch speeders in Howard school zones. The county has a federal grant to study this idea, but Hansen said he doesn't just want to embrace technology for its own sake. "We have to say, 'Here are the problems -- how can we solve them?', not 'This new technology is fun, how can we use it?' " ["Police Tout Success Of Red-Light Cameras", Molly Ball, The Washington Post, 8/9/01]

August 2001 - Washington, D.C. proceeds with second part of photo enforcement program, photo radar speed enforcement. Equipment used are 5 unmarked photo radar vans, one stationary photo radar camera and red light cameras as well. Washington, D.C. red light camera sites have grown to a total of 39 by this time.

August 14, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "It is unfortunate that the example that started this discussion was, by the ITE guidelines, not providing enough yellow time prior to the "engineering modifications". It seems to me that we all agree that engineering solutions should be attempted first." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Paul Luedtke, City of Garland TX, Tuesday, 14 August 2001, at 5:27 p.m.]

August 17, 2001 - Bill Press, Columnist and CNN Crossfir CoHost ridicules serious engineering issues: "The problem is not the yellow light. It's the stupid driver who sees a yellow light and hits the gas instead of the brakes. No matter how long the yellow signal lasts, he'll try to beat it, often crossing the intersection on red - until he's caught or kills somebody." .... "But first, he [Congressman Dick Armey] should just hop in his car and drive around town. Any town. He will discover that the most dangerous place in America today is sitting at an intersection when the light turns yellow -- and some yahoo comes roaring through, out of nowhere, trying to beat the light." ["Bill Press: Smile when you run that red light", Bill Press, Tribune Media Services, 8/17/01] (Bill Press should call the Walsh and Enguillado families of Alexandria and tell them his theories about how the yellow light doesn't matter. He should call Councilman Speck of Alexandria as well and get his views.)

August 17, 2001 - CNN Crossfire host says yellow light duration doesn't matter: "PRESS: Well, Congressman, I'm with you on the snooper things at the Super Bowl games, but I want to come back to this yellow light thing, because I -- you lost me there. Look, wouldn't you have to agree that it doesn't matter how long the yellow light is. There are a lot of drivers who, when they see yellow, yellow says step on the gas. [Bill Press, CNN Crossfire, 8/17/01]

Excerpts from "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, May 7, 2002: "Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, page 75] A City of Fairfax official said "City council and mayor wanted photo red light." [Kevin Bowser, City of Fairfax Police Department, September, 2001, page 79] A Town of Herndon official said: "We will consider increasing yellow timing if other conditions warrant. Several jurisdictions have reported a sharp drop in red light running after yellow interval was increased. [Ramin Sabet, Senior Civil Engineer, Town of Herndon, 9/26/01, page 87]

August 23, 2001 - California State Senator criticizes red light cameras. Camera company rep responds. "Ironically, Peace [State Sen. Steve Peace, El Cajon Democrat] supported a 1995 measure that temporarily authorized red-light cameras. By 1998, however, he had grown convinced the cameras are an invasion of privacy and fail to significantly reduce accidents. He opposed a bill that indefinitely extended the program." .... "Lockheed Martin and the city followed all state laws, said the company's spokesman, Mark Maddox. The city set the timing of signals and it insisted on sharing fines rather than paying a flat fee, he said. "The critics have lost the privacy argument. This is what they're reduced to complaining about," Maddox said." ["State Sen. Peace seeks probe of San Diego's red-light cameras", Michael Gardner, Copley News Service, Sacramento,August 23, 2001]

August 2001 - Vienna, VA town councilman acknowledges improved conditions in Vienna (after engineering countermeasures used): "There has been a significant drop in the number of red light runners and a major decrease in severe accidents." [Comments from the Council, Councilman Al Boudreau, Vienna Newsletter, August 2001]

August 2001 - New VDOT policy [considerably different from policy stated on 3/9/00] for yellow signal timings is issued by State Traffic Engineer in Virginia. Seven of ten Fairfax County camera sites where the yellow was never changed were checked using this new VDOT policy and the uniform four seconds yellows were deemed adequate, even though unacceptable red signal violations continue. VDOT later reveals no plans to increase the yellow at these camera sites (e.g. engineering safety countermeasure that has already been used successfully elsewhere is rejected. No sirreee....won't even try by increasing the yellow and letting the cameras document the results of doing so).

"Research has consistently shown that drivers do not, in fact, adapt to the length of the yellow. A uniform yellow interval does not provide drivers with a uniform stopping decision. The selected standard time would be arbitrary, and cannot include sufficient time to traverse the stopping distance in all instances, unless set to a very high value, and would result in some drivers entering on red as the required stopping efort is unacceptable." ["Determining Vehicle Change Intervals - A Proposed Recommended Practice", Institute of Transportation Engineers, Washington, D.C., 1985, page 8]

August 2001 - City of Falls Church, VA plans August 2001 start of red light camera enforcement: "Falls Church next month will become the latest Northern Virginia city to employ the vision and accuracy of a camera to nab red-light runners." ["Traffic camera use grows in region", CHRISTINE C. IWAN, Journal newspaper, 7/12/2001]

"Falls Church, Va - Red-light runners beware. Another northern Virginia city has installed cameras at stop lights. Next month, Falls Church will implement a relatively new system that uses a video camera to detect red-light runners, as opposed to the still camera images used by most jurisdictions." ["Another City Sets Up Traffic Cameras", Tracy Stokes, WJLA News, Washington DC, 7/12/2001]

(NOTE: Actual Enforcement Start Delayed to 10/8/2001)

August 23, 2001 - Alexandria Red Light Violation Tracking Log with associated graphs confirms remarkable results from increasing yellow lights at two of three camera sites.

August 24, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about red light running, red light cameras and yellow lights: "Recently, I was asked to expound in summary form why I made the statement that my strongly held opinion on the RLR camera controversy has been changed as a result of the postings on this dialogue. I'll try∑. Initially, I kept hearing and reading that this technology was a tool used for revenue generation and that traffic engineers were actually decreasing the yellow phase to 'capture' more red light runners and make big money off of the unsuspecting and otherwise law abiding driver. While I don't have much hair on the back of my neck, what little bit that is there would just stand straight up when I heard those allegations. As a result of the many postings on the dialogue, I now see that this issue is much more complicated and 'cloudy' than I originally suspected." .... "All of this new data brings an old adage to mind: "There's his story, there's her story, and then there's the truth." My guess on this RLR issue is that there is at least a sprinkle of truth in each of these schools of thought. Discounting any one of these is probably not warranted. And that, my friends, is why I can no longer hold my original 'strongly held opinion' on this subject." [Topic: "Red Light Running Thread", Richard B. Easley, National Transportation Dialogue Moderator, Friday, 24 August 2001, at 3:53 p.m.]

August 27, 2001 - Alexandria Police Chief weighs in about yellow lights at GWMP/Slaters and elsewhere: "Thank you for your August 3 e-mail regarding the ITE Speed Zoning approach to establishing traffic signal light timing. The information you included with your e-mail is a very interesting strategy to determine the most desirable signal timing for different intersections. It is constructive correspondence from involved citizens who care about the community in which they live that creates positive change for all. However, I must agree with Deputy Chief Hilleary's previous explanation to you of our role in traffic safety and enforcement as it relates to this particular issue. The Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES) Department is charged with reviewing and implementing requests like yours based on traffic engineering expertise that they, not the police department, possess. Signal light timing within the City is administered by T&ES. Therefore, I am referring your e-mail to Rich Baier, the Director of T&ES, for his consideration. We would be happy to assist T&ES in their review should they specifically request our help. Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Sincerely, Charles E. Samarra, Chief of Police" [Email message by dennis.butler@ci.alexandria.va.us , Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 1:20 PM, Subject: GWMP at Slaters Lane]

August 29, 2001 - New NHTSA chief named: "The federal government's first auto safety chief was a doctor. So was the most recent. This month, another doctor took the helm of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Jeffrey Runge arrives just in time, some say, to perform triage on the beleaguered government agency." .... "Runge is a Republican working for the Bush administration's only Democratic Cabinet secretary, Transportation Department chief Norman Mineta. In his role, Runge will have to balance the general preference of Republicans to focus on drunken driving, seat-belt laws and other behavioral issues to Democrats' ˜ and consumer advocates' ˜ tendency to target the vehicle." .... "While issues such as Firestone often dominate the headlines and the agency's attention, NHTSA's auto-defect investigations aren't the real life savers, safety experts say, including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Brian O'Neill. "We're still talking about, in the worst cases, only hundreds of deaths a year," O'Neill says of the death toll from defective vehicles." .... "He [Mr. Runge] says he's particularly interested in new technology to help drivers avoid crashes and also backs enforcement measures, including cameras designed to catch people who run red lights." .... "O'Neill worked for NHTSA's first chief, the physician and engineer William Haddon, for 15 years after Haddon left the agency." ["Can new chief heal NHTSA's wounds?", Jayne O'Donnell, AUTOS, USA TODAY, 8/29/01]

August 30, 2001 - FHWA announces availability of traffic signal timing video: "The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced the availability of a new video showing that retiming traffic signals is one of the more cost-effective techniques available to state and local agencies in their efforts to manage congestion and growing travel demand. The video, "It's About Time, Traffic Signal Management: Cost-Effective Street Capacity and Safety," demonstrates how signal timing on roads can improve air quality while reducing fuel consumption, decreasing traffic congestion, and saving time for commercial and emergency vehicles. It also shows that retiming can reduce aggressive driving behavior and the number of severe accidents." .... "Two-thirds of all highway miles in the United States are roads with traffic signals. According to the Institute of Transportation Engineers, the United States has about 300,000 traffic signals. The performance of about 75 percent of them could be improved easily and inexpensively by updating equipment or by simply adjusting the timing." ["FHWA Announces Video Telling Benefits of Traffic Signal Retiming", Press Release, FHWA 29-01, 8/30/01, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/fhwa0129.htm ]

August 31, 2001 - Phoenix, AZ to start red light camera enforcement: "On Tuesday, Phoenix adds a controversial tool to its arsenal to battle red-light running. Red-light cameras will be turned on at two locations, 51st Avenue and Indian School Road and 40th Street and Cactus Road, the first two of 10 such cameras to be installed citywide by Thanksgiving. Also, two vans equipped with photo radar will circulate near schools around Phoenix to nab speeders." .... "For both red-light and photo-radar, warnings will be issued until the end of September, but valid citations will be mailed to violators starting Oct. 1. Red-light violations will cost $175, of which $93 goes to the camera operators, Lockheed-Martin." .... "Armey's office contends lengthening yellow light durations would reduce red-light running. Phoenix traffic officials have said the city's signal timing allows drivers to safely stop on yellow." ["Phoenix beefs up arsenal vs. red-light runners", Bob Petrie, The Arizona Republic, 8/31/2001]

September 2001 - Alexandria PD official describes results from increasing yellow lights at the camera sites: "[By email] I have answered the questionnaire and attached some charts of our violations-per-pass experience which illustrate the importance of "other" considerations on the rate at which red lights are violated. At both Patrick/Gibbon and Seminary/Nottingham (charts 2 and 3) other factors significantly contributed to steep drops in our rate of red light running. In the case of Patrick and Gibbon the cause was a retiming of the lights immediately preceding this intersection which had a profound impact. Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 75](special note: the yellow was increased at Patrick/Gibbon as well as per Alexandria traffic signal operators)

September 1, 2001 - Fourth Annual National Stop on Red Week commences: "To raise awareness about the danger red light running poses to motorists and pedestrians, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Trauma Society (ATS) are sponsoring the fourth annual "National Stop on Red Week" Sept. 1-7. Nearly 1,000 Americans lose their lives each year in red light running crashes. "That's a deadly cost imposed on our nation," said Federal Highway Deputy Executive Director Vince Schimmoller. "We applaud local communities for helping to make people aware that a split second decision to run a red light can easily take a life. Their work supports safety which is President Bush's highest transportation priority." ..... "Schimmoller pointed out that FHWA and ATS, in collaboration with other partners such as the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), are working to provide guidance, support and assistance to local communities in all aspects of engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency response and care as part of the national program." ["National Effort Spotlights Red Light Running", Press Release, FHWA 31-01, 8/31/01, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/fhwa0131.htm ]

September 2, 2001 - San Diego official admits no reductions in injury accidents from red light camera enforcement: "I would have to say that the cameras themselves have not reduced the number of (injury) collisions that have happened at these intersections," said Elizabeth Yard, an analyst with the San Diego Police Department's traffic division. -- San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/2/01

September 4, 2001 - Phoenix gets started with red light cameras: "On September 4, 2001, the City of Phoenix kicked off new efforts to reduce incidents of red light running in our community and to protect children in and around school zones." ..... "Now, with the addition of red light enforcement cameras and photo radar around school zones we believe we can further reduce the number of collisions resulting from careless driving habits." .... "Special recognition also goes to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety who provided the program funding." .... "Nationally, each year red light running: Causes 1 million injuries, Causes 7,000 deaths and Cost $7 billion dollars in lost wages." ["Picture A Safer Ride Home", Information Provided By The Police Department, http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/POLICE/redlt1.html ]

September 5, 2001 - "The police department continues to support use of the cameras, which officials said have reduced red-light running by an average of 45 percent at the 19 intersections where they are installed. "I continue to believe that red light photo enforcement increases safety at intersections," San Diego Police Chief David Bejarano said. San Diego's system, which snaps a photo of a red-light runner and mails a $271 citation to the registered owner of the vehicle, is the target of two civil lawsuits that could end the program and refund money to 84,000 people who have received the tickets since 1998." ["Judge dismisses 292 red-light camera tickets in San Diego", Ben Foxx, Associated Press, North County Times, 9/5/01]

September 6, 2001 - San Marcus, CA lengthens yellow lights and increases all-red intervals at accident scene: "Warning signs should be posted and additional turning restrictions added at an intersection where a serious accident occurred last month, the city's Traffic Safety Commission ruled Wednesday. The intersection, San Marcos Boulevard and Acacia Drive/Avenida Las Rosas, is at the bottom of a hill. Residents have long complained that drivers, especially those in trucks, build up too much speed coming down San Marcos Boulevard and are prone to run red lights. "A lot of trucks have trouble stopping at that light," City engineer Alan Schuler told the commission. "It's a combination of a number of things. Part of it is inattention." The steep hill also makes it difficult for speeding drivers to stop, especially those in heavier vehicles, he said." .... "On Aug. 6, a commercial truck traveling eastbound on San Marcos Boulevard ran the red light at Acacia Drive/Avenida Las Rosas. The truck smashed into a sports utility vehicle turning onto eastbound San Marcos Boulevard from Avenida Las Rosas, critically injuring the SUV's driver and injuring three passengers in the SUV, police said at the time. "It was a pretty horrendous accident," Schuler said. The city has already taken steps to prevent accidents at the intersection including lengthening the time that yellow lights are on and lengthening the "all-red" cycle, Schuler said." ["SM Intersection Needs Warning Signs", Katherine Marks, North County Times Newspaper, 9/6/01]

September 20, 2001 - Howard County, MD news: "The Howard County police red-light camera program just got less controversial -- but also more expensive to operate." .... "Traffipax, Hansen [Lt. Glenn Hansen] said, is "under financial stress" and could be in danger of folding. "That would not be in the county's best interest," he said." ["Howard Notebook", Christian Davenport and Maureen O'Hagan, The Washington Post, 9/20/2001]

September 23, 2001 - Montgomery County, MD red light camera tickets proliferate despite disappointing enforcement results: "In Montgomery County, cameras are placed at intersections with the highest number of accidents and fatalities caused by drivers running red lights, Lanham said." .... "Montgomery County rotates its 13 red-light cameras among 18 intersections. This spring, the County Council authorized adding 15 cameras and 15 locations. In fiscal 2001, which ended June 30, the county issued 35,394 citations under the program, totaling more than $2.6 million in fines, according to police data." ["County red-light program avoids controversies", KARL HILLE, Journal Newspaper, 9/23/01]

September 24, 2001 - Ventura CA engineer weighs in; accidents down for a variety of reasons: "Ventura's first two camera-equipped sites became active March 1 at Victoria Avenue intersections with Telegraph and Telephone roads. The city now has nine intersections outfitted with red-light cameras, and four more will be set up within the next few months, said Mericle [Tom Mericle, Ventura's transportation engineer], who serves on an Institute of Transportation Engineers committee that studies how to prevent red-light running." .... "Because of a variety of engineering improvements, the number of accidents in Ventura dropped from about 2,500 in 1987 to about 1,400 a year now, Mericle said. In a few months, the city should have enough data to study whether the cameras have had an effect on driving conditions, he said." ["Ventura County; 2 Cities to Keep Stoplight Cameras", KEVIN F. SHERRY, Los Angeles Times, 9/24/2001]

September 24, 2001 - Poway, CA council to consider cameras: "The cameras would be installed at the intersections of Poway and Pomerado roads and Community and Poway roads, which city officials deemed the two busiest and the most dangerous in the city. Mike Robinson, traffic engineer for the city, said the camera program will reduce accidents. "It's going to ensure people will be a little more attentive when they drive through signalized intersections," Robinson said. "That will naturally improve traffic safety at those intersections." ["Poway to consider traffic cameras", MICHAEL BUCHANAN, North County Times, 9/24/01]

September 26, 2001 - Poway, CA council votes for cameras: "The council voted 3-1 to place red light cameras at two intersections. Mayor Mickey Cafagna voted against the proposal." .... "While it approved the program, the council stopped short of approving a proposed contract with APAC Technologies ---- the company that will provide the cameras and the photo processing. The council asked city staff to revise the length of the proposed contract with APAC and bring it back to the council at its next meeting for consideration." .... "There is no element of chance if it's yellow and you stop," Emery said. "There's only an element of chance when that light turns yellow and you try to beat it." ["Council approves red-light cameras", MICHAEL BUCHANAN, North County Times, 9/26/01]

September 26, 2001 - Good news from Virginia: ""We will consider increasing yellow timing if other conditions warrant. Several jurisdictions have reported a sharp drop in red light running after yellow interval was increased. We are also installing LED signal heads at these 2 intersections to improve visibility." [Ramin Sabet, Senior Civil Engineer, Town of Herndon, VA, 9/26/01, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 87]

October 8, 2001 - "In his six months with Traffipax, Keller [Bill Keller, president Traffipax] has worked to lift the company out of a financial funk and into profitability. Despite the growing use of red-light cameras, small companies that get into the business don't find it easy to make a profit, he said. "A lot of startups think they can make a killing, and inevitably they fail," Keller said. "The data that they base their business model on are wrong to start with." Some companies overestimate the number of red-light runners they'll catch. Companies that plan to make money by catching more and more violators are bound to fail, because that's not the point of the business, Keller said. "This is not a get-rich quick scheme," Keller said. "Probably 95 percent of red-light camera companies are not making a profit." ["BIG BROTHER OR BIG BUSINESS?; TRAFFIPAX HOPES TO PROFIT FROM RED-LIGHT RUNNERS", John Reid Blackwell, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/8/2001]

October 8, 2001 - Falls Church, VA red light camera enforcement commences: "When was the program implemented? Please give details as to the number of cameras that were first used and how many more have been added since then. The contract was signed in December 1999 and just went active at one location October 8, 2001. The final two intersections should be "active" in the next thirty (30) days." ["Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 85]

(Note: One of Falls Church's three cameras is a Broad Street (RT7) and Annandale. The lights governing the east-west movements on Broad Street (RT7) have three seconds of yellow. This signal is nestled amongst other signals on Broad Street that have four second yellow lights, including the light immediately due east of Annandale.)

October 2001 - FHWA removes the following IIHS statistic from it's STOP RED LIGHT RUNNING campaign website:

"How often do drivers run red lights?

A study conducted over several months at a busy intersection in Arlington County, Virginia, an urban area outside Washington, D.C., indicates that motorists frequently run red lights. On average, a motorist ran a red light every 12 minutes. During peak travel times, red light running was more frequent. For example, between 8 and 9 a.m., a motorist ran a red light every 5 minutes."

(NOTE: Alarming statistic generated from counting "red light runners" under a dangerously inadequate four second yellow light at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington, VA, a yellow that was later increased as per Arlington officials.)

October 22, 2001 - Insurance company financed advocacy group reveals zero tolerance camera enforcement plans: "Speed limits are set for a reason, and no exceptions should be made, especially to avoid a ticket." [Excerpt from statement in support of photo enforcement by Judith Lee Stone, President, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, before the Committee on Public Works and the Environment, City Council of the District of Columbia, 10/22/01]

November 1, 2001 - "Added institute President Brian O'Neill: "Some people have gone to intersections where the approach speed is 30 m.p.h. and say, aha, the yellow lights have different times. Of course they do. They should because yellow-light timing is based on approach speed." ["Cameras Leave Some Drivers Seeing Red", Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 11/1/01]

(Yellow lights are/were not based on approach speed in Fairfax County, not at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington when IIHS counted all those "red light runners", not in Alexandria, and not in City of Fairfax, where all the yellows are 3.50 seconds regardless of any and all engineering parameters normally used to establish yellow duration, lights which Retting et al of IIHS described as "adequate" in "Evaluation of Red Light Camera Enforcement in Fairfax, VA., USA", ITE Journal, August, 1999]

IIHS researcher sets up to blame city traffic engineers for yellow light timing problems?:

"And Retting added, city traffic engineers set the time intervals, and "they wouldn't be foolish enough to put their license on the line to shorten yellow-light intervals. Besides, the number of red-light runners is too high to count so there are enough offenders already out there without having to enlist any more." ["Cameras Leave Some Drivers Seeing Red", Jim Mateja, Chicago Tribune, 11/1/01]

For context (remember that the first yellow increase at an Alexandria camera site was on 9/24/98):

"At both Patrick/Gibbon and Seminary/Nottingham (charts 2 and 3) other factors significantly contributed to steep drops in our rate of red light running. In the case of Patrick and Gibbon the cause was a retiming of the lights immediately preceding this intersection which had a profound impact. Similarly, the retiming of the yellow phase at Seminary and Nottingham had a dramatic effect." [Mark Canoyer, Tech. Services Div. Chief, Alexandria Police Department, September, 2001, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 75](special note: the yellow was increased at Patrick/Gibbon as well as per Alexandria traffic signal operators)

"This is not rocket science," said Richard Retting, senior transportation engineer for the institute." .... "Retting [of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety] suggests that motorists in Alexandria might not be fully aware of the red light cameras. "It is possible that in some communities, it takes longer for drivers to become aware," he said." ["New red light camera snaps 14,776 runners", WARWICK WEBB, Journal Newspaper, 9/30/98]

November 4, 2001 - Vienna's (VA) red light camera vendor expresses confidence in having plenty of violators: "Most of our clients ... have enough of a proven problem at the intersection that the fines more than pay for the system." Quote by David Fox, president and chief executive officer, Nestor, Inc. ["For Nestor, red-light monitoring is a lifesaver", Andrea L. Stape, The Providence Journal, 11/4/01] (NOT in VIENNA,VA)

November 5, 2001 - „Some very small cities can have pretty big problems,‰ Fox [David Fox, president and chief executive officer, Nestor, Inc.] said. „Just as cities have rush-hour problems, suburbs also have problems. Some small cities may have one or two intersections that are frightening their citizens.‰ ["Red-Light Cameras Get A Green Light-Growing Demand Expected After Sept. 11 Attacks", William Welsh, Washington Technology, 11/5/2001, http://washingtontechnology.com/news/16_16/state/17404-1.html]

November 5, 2001 - Camera company, while overstating red light camera accomplishments, expresses confidence San Diego will resume red light camera program. Police Department not so sure: "ACS officials predict the program will resume early next year, but police officials aren‚t willing to go that far. „It‚s premature to say at this point whether the program will work or not,‰ said San Diego Assistant Police Chief William Maheu." .... "San Diego experienced a 45 percent drop in red-light violations after the cameras were installed in 1998. The city was planning to increase the number of intersections with red-light photo enforcement from 19 to 32, he said." ["Red-Light Cameras Get A Green Light-Mixed Signals in San Diego", William Welsh, Washington Technology, 11/5/2001, http://washingtontechnology.com/news/16_16/state/17404-2.html]

November 14, 2001 - Montgomery County, MD police official expresses doubts that red light cameras are effective: "But Baliles [Montgomery County police spokesperson] said the intersection does not require a red-light camera, and that cameras may not be as powerful a deterrent as people think. The number of citations has increased at intersections that had a camera for two consecutive years, he said." ["River Road crash sparks call for a red-light camera", Scott Herbstman, Gazette Newspaper, 11/14/01]

November 15, 2001 - VDOT increases the yellow at RT28 and Old Mill (aka Greens Trail) from 4.00 to 4.50 seconds, reducing violations between 60-70%.

November 15, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "Glenn, If we do our job correctly, in many instances, most drivers won't have to make these decisions. Many poorly timed signals create "dilemma zones" where drivers have the poor choice of running the red or braking very hard. Our goal should be to adjust the signal change intervals where there is an "option zone" where they have reasonable choices." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Al Karoly, Technical Program Coordinator I-95 Corridor Coalition, Thursday, 15 November 2001, at 7:09 a.m.]

November 16, 2001 - Phoenix reaches eight cameras in operation: "On Friday, November 16, 2001, the City of Phoenix put four additional Red-light cameras into operation." .... "This brings to eight the total number of operational Photo Red-light cameras in Phoenix." ["More Red-light Photo Cameras in Phoenix", Information Provided By the Police Department, http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/POLICE/media2.html ]

November 16, 2001 - City of Fairfax, VA, with uniform 3.50 second yellows, rejects increasing the yellow (even as a trial) at an intersection where one of three cameras has been stationed more or less permanently for at least a year [Rt123 (Chain Bridge Road)/Eaton Place], so the camera can document the results of doing so. This intersection remains a chronic location for violations, despite over four years of red light camera enforcement. (NOTE: Using just three cameras and after more than four years of red light camera enforcement, City of Fairfax still manages to issue over 8,300 red light camera tickets in 2001. To date citation figures are unknown but estimated at 40,000 +/-): "I have stated the city's position repeatedly. The traffic signals in the City of Fairfax are all operated within the boundaries of the applicable state and local laws. We are not going to change the yellow timing. John Veneziano" [Email Message by Mr. Veneziano, 11/16/01 at 10:05AM]

"August 1997 was first full month. One camera rotated between three intersections. May 1998 second camera and five more intersections added. October third camera added. Presently rotating two cameras between six intersections, one camera full time at one intersection and one intersection has been retired." [Kevin Bowser, City of Fairfax PD, "Evaluation of Traffic Engineering Aspects of Photo Monitoring Programs in Virginia", Virginia Department of Transportation, 5/7/02, page 79]

November 17, 2001 - "In an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) investigation in Arlington County, Virginia, there was a red light violation every 12 minutes on average and every five minutes during the peak travel time." [Excerpt from testimony in support of proposed red light camera legislation by Catherine Chase, Director of State Affairs, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, before the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee, 11/7/01]

(No mention of the yellow increase after the "red light runners" were counted at US50 and Fillmore in Arlington or the results from making the increase)

November 2001 - VDOT announces no further yellow light increases (engineering safety countermeasure) at Fairfax County red light camera sites are planned, despite impressive achievements from doing so at three camera sites already. Thousands of red light camera tickets continue to be issued at sites where the yellow has not been increased.

November 18, 2001 - Newspaper editorial reveals Pennsylvania DOT is on the red light camera bandwagon: "The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is on board with the proposed state legislation. In fact, PennDOT has plans to install red-light cameras next year in Chester and Lancaster counties. Gary Hoffman, PennDOT chief engineer, said the agency "believes that these technologies, applied in the manner described, could be effective in enhancing law enforcement, encouraging operator compliance with statutes, reducing crashes, and increasing overall highway safety." ["RED-LIGHT CAMERAS A GOOD IDEA", The Reading Eagle and Reading Times, November 18, 2001]

November 19, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "For less than the cost of the camera, the intersection design could be improved to reduce crash incidence. Instead, the goal has been distorted to make criminals out of law abiding citizens that do not have a crystal ball to predict when the signal will change. One interim solution at high crash intersections is to increase the yellow to allow for clearance." [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Dick Boyd, Monday, 19 November 2001, at 1:21 p.m.]

November 19, 2001 - In Indiana, just before annual push for legislative approval for red light camera use:

"A Purdue University traffic study has found what most motorists already know -- some drivers interpret yellow lights as a signal to go racing.The survey of driving and stopping practices determined that in Tippecanoe County alone, about 25,000 motorists run red lights each day. A public safety awareness campaign that grew from the findings emphasizes increased law enforcement to combat the problem. "This is something we can do to make our roads safer," said Bob Zahnke, who runs Purdue's Center for the Advancement of Transportation Safety. In October, Zahnke led a study that monitored driving -- and stopping -- practices at select intersections in the Lafayette area. The result showed that as many as one in four drivers witness (sic) a red light runner every day." ["Violations at Stoplights are Rampant, Study Finds", Indianapolis Star, 11/19/01]

"Red light running is a serious traffic problem in Indiana. According to the Indiana Department of Motor Vehicles, more than 7,000 "failure to obey a traffic light or signal" violations were issued in 1999. A recent study by Purdue University's Center for the Advancement of Transportation Safety found that at a high traffic volume intersection, there were 30 red light running violations in 45 minutes." .... "The Purdue University study found that 96 percent of drivers think red light running is dangerous, two-thirds said it is a problem in Indiana, and 56 percent say they see red light violations at least a few times a week. One in four indicated that within the past 24 hours of driving, they observed someone running a red light." [Statement of Catherine Chase, Advocates for Auto and Highway Safety, Before the Indiana Senate Transportation and Interstate Cooperation Committee, 1/15/02]

November 19, 2001 - Canadian official endorses building speed traps using red light cameras: "A plan by city cops to greatly increase the number of red-light cameras at Calgary intersections has met with one alderman's tentative approval. "I'm not opposed to anything that gets people to slow down to ensure public safety," said Ray Jones. "But I can just hear what the public will say: 'Oh, no. Another cash cow.'" [PLAN APPLAUDED; ALDERMAN SEES RED-LIGHT CAMERAS AS FIX FOR SPEEDING", MIKE D'AMOUR, CALGARY SUN, November 19, 2001]

November 20, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about US50 and Fair Ridge Drive in Fairfax County: "One cannot compensate for bad traffic signal design with bad traffic signal timing!" [Topic: "Yellow Increased - Red Light Running Way Down", Glenn M. Grigg, Tuesday, 20 November 2001, at 12:54 a.m.]

November 27, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "More important, however, is that such cameras should be installed ONLY when all other remedies to reduce the effects of red-light running have been taken." [Topic: "Red Light Running thread", Richard A Raub, Senior Research Scientist, Center for Public Safety, Northwestern University, Tuesday, 27 November 2001, at 10:07 a.m.]

November 29, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "Change intervals may vary when crossing jurisdictional boundaries. We do a fair job of being consistent with other traffic control devices across the US, but are we when setting change intervals? Would it be to the benefit of engineers and drivers to establish a more consistent (and conservative) change interval? Would it result in fewer accidents? We seem to spend a lot of time keeping the change interval to a small but reasonable value so that we can maximize the greens. It also appears that red-light running is directly related to the length of change interval that we have provided. If we minimize red-light running, doesn't that also effect the probability of a crash? It would seem that the effective green at an intersection with a crash is not nearly as efficient as an intersection without a crash." [Topic: "Red Light Running thread", Joel Marcuson, HNTB, Thursday, 29 November 2001, at 8:19 a.m.]

December 2, 2001 - "My personal impression is that driving has changed across the United States in the last couple of years," said Art Savarick, who teaches an AARP safe driving class in Boca Raton. "When I visit my family in Baltimore, and all up and down the East Coast, people seem to run red lights more than they used to." ["ROADS WITHOUT RULES FLORIDA NEAR TOP IN TRAFFIC FATALITIES NEW RESIDENTS BRING BAD HABITS, CRITIC SAYS", Rhonda J. Miller, Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), 12/2/2001]

December 4, 2001 - "Last month, the contractor, Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc. - which this year bought the Lockheed Martin subsidiary running the program - sought changes to its contract because of a projection that it would not issue enough tickets to cover its costs. But after the city threatened to sue, ACS officials agreed to honor the contract and said they would raise their concerns when the current contract expires. They agreed to install cameras at intersections chosen by the LAPD, despite their concern that those would not produce enough citations." ["CAMERAS HIKE TRAFFIC TICKETS;JURY STILL OUT ON INTERSECTION SAFETY EFFECT", Harrison Sheppard, The Daily News of Los Angeles, 12/4/2001]

December 6, 2001 - Arizona Photo Enforcement Programs yield inconclusive safety results? Gilbert, AZ says no to red light cameras. Fatalities up in Tempe: ""It's [photo enforcement] not the panacea, but it's not the pariah, either," said Dave Walker, a senior traffic engineering technician in Tempe. "It's another one of the tools. We can't point to one thing and say that will do it. I also can't say we can do without it." The effectiveness of photo enforcement is difficult to evaluate because of constant changes in programs, with cities increasing the number of vans and red light intersections.

One notable East Valley exception to the photo enforcement trend is Gilbert, which decided photo red light would do little to reduce collisions and the city's money would be better spent on hiring more motorcycle officers.

Phoenix police Lt. Wayne Lorch said the first red light camera should go into operation in a few weeks at 48th Street and Ray Road in Ahwatukee Foothills. Phoenix's photo red light and photo radar program is in its infancy.

Mesa's intersection-related collisions have dropped during five years of photo enforcement, but there has been only a slight drop in fatalities.

Tempe's number of citations has dropped during four years of photo enforcement, showing drivers have slowed down, said Tempe Sgt. Don Yennie. Fatalities have dropped in enforcement areas but risen elsewhere in the city for a slight overall increase in deaths. But the reduction has been gradual. For instance, there was a high of 13,474 photo radar citations in 1998, the city's second year with photo enforcement. The number of photo speeding citations dropped by more than 1,000 last year and the total for the first half of this year is under 5,000. Photo red light tickets also peaked in 1998 with 15,077 citations issued, but fell by nearly 3,000 last year. During the first half of 2001, 5,502 were issued. Tempe police said they wish the number of fatalities declined at the same rate, if at all. The city's peak number of fatalities since photo radar's inception was 19 in 1998. The number of deaths dropped to 12 in 1999, but increased to 15 in 2000." ...."But the slight increase in Tempe's roadway deaths still worries Walker, who said enforcement, engineering and education all play a role in reducing serious injuries."

["Someone's Watching - Red Light Cameras Don't Blink in Tempe", Jim Walsh, The Arizona Republic, 12/6/2001]

December 10, 2001 - Camera company excited and delighted about Hawaii camera contract: "ACS (NYSE: ACS), a premier provider of business process and information technology outsourcing solutions, announced today that it will soon begin the enforcement phase of its public safety contract with the Hawaii Department of Transportation. In a partnership with Poltech International, ACS will set up, operate, and manage Hawaii's first photo enforcement program, deploying digital cameras to catch drivers who run red lights or drive at excessive speeds." .... "ACS will provide and operate 32 red-light cameras over the life of the $14 million contract, which expires June 2003. ACS is responsible for more than 80 percent of all project installations currently in place or in development in North America." .... ""ACS is excited about the opportunity to help make the streets of Hawaii safer for its motorists and pedestrians," said John Brophy, Group President of ACS State and Local Solutions, the business unit that administers photo- technology-based public safety programs. "ACS is delighted to be able to provide a reliable, proven, and affordable safety solution for the state and its citizens." .... "ACS' strategic partner in Hawaii, Poltech International, is a leading provider of digital photo enforcement technology. Poltech will provide ACS with the red-light cameras, equipment and installation, as well as laser camera equipment for photo radar (speed) enforcement." ... "Visit ACS on the Internet at http://www.acs-inc.com " ["ACS Awarded Public Safety Contract With Hawaii Department of Transportation", SOURCE ACS, Inc., PR Newswire, Dallas, 12/10/01]

Visit Poltech and read about the latest gadget$ to make you $afe, (Lasercam, Condor, Minotaur, Centaur, Cyber Image): http://www.poltech.com.au/pt_products.asp

Hawaii camera enforcement program halted just four months later. see entry 4/10/2002

December 12, 2001 - Marietta, GA expects state to pay for red light cameras: "Tonight, the Marietta City Council is expected to approve the debut of red light traffic cameras --- the first in the state --- at the intersection of Franklin Road and Delk Road. "We studied what we thought would be the most dangerous intersections and we found overwhelmingly that was the most dangerous," said Warren Hutmacher, assistant to the city manager in Marietta, who has been spearheading the red light camera project. "It could benefit the most from this technology, preventing accidents and saving lives." .... "Hutmacher estimates it will cost $200,000 to cover all four directions at the first location. The city anticipates 100 percent funding from the state. Equipment installation is slated for February, followed by a 30-day warning period. Citations will start in March." ["AT RED LIGHTS: Marietta expected to OK cameras", DON FERNANDEZ, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/12/01]

December 12, 2001 - AHAS Board Meeting press release says: "Its two co-chairs are selected, one from the insurance community, and the other from among the consumer groups." .... ""I am honored and pleased to have this opportunity to chair Advocates for the insurance side of the board," said Hammond. "Advocates is the most effective, most satisfying organization with which I have ever been associated, and their work is saving Kemper and other insurance companies many hundreds of millions of dollars." .... "Hammond continued, "There are many challenges that we face next year in Congress and state legislatures. The motor vehicle safety research and regulatory program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration needs to be reauthorized as well as the federal hazardous materials transportation program. Both of these legislative initiatives present Advocates with tremendous opportunities to advance safety and security. Furthermore, there are still too few states that have important lifesaving laws such as, standard enforcement safety belt laws, comprehensive impaired driving laws, red light camera systems, all-rider motorcycle helmet laws, and booster seat laws, that will protect Americans in motor vehicle crashes." .... "Brandau added, "Working hand in hand with leading consumer and safety groups has proven an excellent model for the insurance industry to follow as well as a winning formula for advancing safety laws and regulations." ...."Judith Lee Stone, president of Advocates, said, "Advocates is fortunate to have had superb leadership from both sides of our board aisle. Financial and other resources from the insurers and consumers allow us to pursue major reforms to address one of the nation's most costly and tragic public health problems, killing over 40,000 people and injuring 3 million every year." [Press Release Excerpts "ADVOCATES FOR HIGHWAY AND AUTO SAFETY ELECTS LEADERS FOR 2002", 12/18/2001 http://www.saferoads.org/press/press2001/pr_advocatesleaders121801.htm ]

December 16, 2001 - Marietta, GA red light cameras a go. State of Georgia to pay: "The Marietta City Council agreed last week to install red light traffic cameras at the intersection of Franklin Road and Delk Road. After more than a year of study, Marietta officials decided to focus on the intersection because of its high number of violations. Officials counted 765 citations for red-light runners last year and close to 400 so far in 2001. They estimate it will cost $200,000 to cover all four directions at the intersection. The cost will be paid by the state. The equipment will be installed in February, and, after a 30-day grace period, citations will begin in March. ["Cameras Could Be Given The Green Light", Doug Nurse, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/16/01]

December 17, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: ""What if" a particular jurisdiction has installed a RLR enforcement system and has actually collected millions of dollars of revenue fully believing that this was in the best interest of safety, AND "what if" that jurisdiction discovered that many of the RLR enforcement signals may not, in fact, be properly timed? Wouldn't it follow that if that jurisdiction were to conduct a study, determine the correct timing phase of the signals and make the appropriate changes, that it just MIGHT have to refund millions of dollars to those folks that received RLR tickets? After all, the jurisdiction would have 'fixed' the timing and by doing so, admitted that the timing was incorrect when the citations were issued. I think the courts might demand this. How many jurisdictions have enough resources to just give those millions of dollars back? My guess is that this puts jurisdictions in a very difficult and real dilemma. That is, keep defending their system as is or risk conducting a study and finding that many of their signals are improperly timed and face potentially million dollar lawsuits." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Richard B. Easley, National Transportation Dialogue Moderator, Monday, 17 December 2001, at 9:47 p.m.]

December 18, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "Keith - The subject sounds like "fraud", or the perpetuation of a deliberate deception in order to secure an unfair gain (def.). A deception practiced by anyone (including government agencies) is still a fraud, and those perpetuating the fraud have no "Right" to keep the gain if the gain is "ill-gotten". Unless the law specified the duration of "yellow time" (which is unlikely), it is reasonable to assume legislators trusted their administrators not to stoop to deceptive "yellow timing" to achieve a revenue gain. If they did, then the gain may be "ill-gotten", or are you suggesting we start a new trend in government where we encourage agencies to defraud or "cheat" (just a little...until they're caught) and IF they are caught they don't have to give the money back? Hum?" [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", AR Kaub, Tuesday, 18 December 2001, at 12:33 p.m.]

December 19, 2001 - Red Light Camera promoters in Indiana discredit/discourage engineering solutions: "Sweet insisted that city and state traffic officials wouldn't allow private vendors to manipulate timing of lights or photos and increase the number of violations. She and Zahnke [Robert Zahnke, Director, Purdue University's Center for the Advancement of Transportation Safety] believe that adjusting the length of yellow lights won't necessarily reduce collisions. "As people become accustomed to an intersection and recognize that there's a longer yellow, my suspicion is that they would take advantage of it," Zahnke said." ["Technology aims to put a stop to running on red", Mike Ellis, Indianapolis Star, 12/19/01]

(Notice that there is not a denial that increasing the yellow light wouldn't reduce violations but rather the invoking of fear that it might lead to some future unacceptable result, the contention about long term adaptive behavior having been refuted by previous studies and even camera data itself. The inference is that it is better to have the contemporary dangerous crisis and use cameras rather than use a solution that works, because the solution might produce an undesirable result at some future time.)

November 1980 - [BEFORE CAMERAS] "The results in Table 3 show that the extension of yellow duration reduced the frequency of potential conflicts in all cases studied." ["The Influence of the Time Duration of Yellow Traffic Signals on Driver Response", Stimpson/Zador/Tarnoff, ITE Journal, Institute of Transportation Engineers, November 1980, page 27] (NOTE: One of the researchers, Zador, is senior statistician at Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

December 19, 2001 - Vienna, VA red light camera vendor, Nestor, struggles in California: "The Fresno City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday to give Nestor Traffic Systems Inc. an additional 8 1/2 months to get red-light cameras up and running at three major intersections. But this vote of qualified confidence came only after several council members characterized the stumbling, bumbling project as a "joke."" .... "More than five months after that deadline, Nestor has managed to install only four cameras at one intersection, at Herndon and Blackstone avenues. And these cameras have proved so temperamental and flawed that they have produced fewer than three dozen mailed warnings to red-light runners in nearly 12 weeks." .... "That means Nestor's system nails one red-light runner about every 2 1/2 days. When originally pitching the system to the city, a Nestor official estimated the cameras would photograph about 17,000 red-light runners a year at each of the three intersections, or about 47 a day per intersection." ["Traffic camera project backed - Some on council call project a 'joke,' but extend a deadline.", George Hostetter, Fresno Bee, 12/19/2001]

December 19, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "In my experience, the locations with bad signal timing are the places that drivers will run the red light, cameras or no cameras. If we have errored in the establishment of change intervals, it is that we have generally not adequately addressed the effects of imperfect conditons and imperfect drivers. The old methods of determining change intervals were created prior to automated violation detection technology. Perhaps it is time to re-address the basic concepts of change intervals." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Joel Marcuson, HNTB, Wednesday, 19 December 2001, at 8:49 a.m.]

December 19, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "The question: Is a jurisdiction liable to repay tickets they issued before a signal was retimed? One might also ask: Is a jurisdiction liable for damages for any crashes that occurred at an intersection before a signal was retimed? If signal retiming opens one up to liability, one crash resulting in lifetime disability could dwarf the cost of a wholesale ticket refund. Are we in a situation where we cannot make any changes to anything, because we will admit that what we had before was not perfect, and therefore we can now be sued? " [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", John Z Wetmore, www.pedestrians.org , Wednesday, 19 December 2001, at 10:06 a.m. ]

December 19, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "I'll respond by saying that you will have a hard time proving that an engineer or agency set out to artificially set a yellow time with primary focus being to gain revenue. In most cases the engineer/agency is attempting to error on the cautious side by implementing lenghty yellow and all-red times. I doubt one would be able to prove to a judge that a "fraud" had been perpetrated. At best they may succeed in proving that the yellow timing policy has the unintended effect of increasing red light runners." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Keith Sinclair, FHWA, Wednesday, 19 December 2001, at 1:45 p.m.]

December 19, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "I would say the best defense is good record keeping that documents your thought process and outside constraints on the situation. You need to be able to prove you took all reasonable steps to address the issue. Of course you'll still have to pay the costs of defending your actions in court." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", John Z Wetmore, www.pedestrians.org , Wednesday, 19 December 2001, at 1:46 p.m.]

December 20, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "I think the red light running - change interval problem is more insidious than we might think." .... "Entering an intersection on red is illegal. If we shorten up the yellow to increase the all red then we induce red light running. You can't revoke the laws of physics and the way humans function by slicing up the cycle pie in different sized wedges." .... "But I also think that much of the intentional shortening of yellows has been to increase all-red intervals without losing green time. I have seen much email traffic over the past year pointing out situations lengthening yellow intervals to more adequate lengths in conformance with good engineering practice has made a perceived RLR problem vanish." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", David Helman, FHWA, Thursday, 20 December 2001, at 9:04 a.m.]

December 20, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "And woe be to those Traffic Engineers who aren't sufficiently documenting the "Intersection Record" and to those who aren't documenting their own personal daily diary that explains the reasoning, supervisor or administrator involvement or direction, or other constraints that impacted their personal engineering decisions. And lets also be cautious of the need to use PE licensed engineers for these changes, since changing yellow and other intervals certainly appears as a public "Health, Safety & Welfare" issue deserving of such licensure, and which license is the demonstration of a committment to the public that superceeds a committment to ones employer." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Al Kaub, Thursday, 20 December 2001, at 9:40 a.m.]

December 20, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "In posing the dilemna, and in some of the responses, I have the feeling that initially the use of cameras to help prevent red-light running was based on safety concerns. To install a camera and use it to help enforce the law at an intersection without: 1)determining if the crashes at the intersection are resulting from RLR, and 2)determining that the operation of the signal at the intersection is optimized is misusing a very powerful tool. There are several well conducted studies to support the safety benefits of using RLR cameras. The problem is, too often, jurisdictions see cameras as an easy out for inadequate traffic law enforcement and as a nice source of revenue. Part of the problem also must lie on the shoulders of the courts. They accept the tickets without question, or at least until someone ties up the process (such as in California) with a lawsuit." .... "I would also suggest that we traffic professionals must share the blame. There are too many examples of actuated signals that manage to turn red just as the platoon is approaching on the major street. Not only do drivers familiar with the roadway increase their speed, they also push the yellow phase. RLR cameras will not correct that behavior in this situation, but they sure will earn revenue." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Richard Raub, raraub@northwestern.com , Thursday, 20 December 2001, at 5:54 p.m.]

December 21, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "Is a jurisdiction liable for continuing a poor design? Yes. The problem is that most lawyers don't have the engineering knowledge to make a decision on poor design. There is a growing professional body of traffic reconstructionists that will provide the technical know how to challlenge poor designs in court." [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Dick Boyd, Friday, 21 December 2001, at 2:43 p.m.]

December 21, 2001 - On the ITE/FHWA National Dialogue on Transportation Issues, an interested person writes about "red light running" and red light cameras: "The San Francisco story of investigating red light cameras after a red light runner crashed into a group of people resulted in a determination that the signals could be timed better. Red Light Cameras were not used at that intersection. The article in the Western ITE journal did indicate a reduction in crashes at that intersection, but had a caveat that more time would be needed to determine the true effectiveness of better signal timing. The San Francisco report may only be anecdotal. " [Topic: "Red Light Running Dilemma", Dick Boyd, Friday, 21 December 2001, at 2:59 p.m.] (see Oct 94 entry for info on the San Francisco accident)

December 23, 2001 - VA editorial writer says put brakes on red light cameras: "These schemes take hold because critics don't want to be put in a position of defending people who break the law--especially when breaking that law puts people in danger. But if the idea is to promote safety, the proven method is to extend the time of yellow lights, not set red-light traps." .... "They are only effective at places where yellow-light times are shortest. And the temptation to keep those times dangerously short--or to even intentionally shrink the yellow interval--is enormous." ["Red-light cameras an idea that should come to a screeching halt", James Lakely, Editorial writer, The Free-Lance Star, 12/23/2001]

December 26, 2001 - Problems in Tulsa identified: "Most wrecks that happen in the area are from vehicles rear-ending other vehicles because the driver is distracted or did not allow space to stop. Even though hundreds of motorists blow through red lights in a day and get away with it, Smith said the number of accidents caused from the offense is low. That's partly because Tulsa drivers are becoming "conditioned" to red-light runners and actually expect and yield to stragglers coming through the intersection while they have the green. "That's pretty sad," he said." ["Tulsa citations at all-time high", TOM DROEGE, The Tulsa World, 12/26/2001]

December 28, 2001 - New York City intersection accident Kills Six - " 'Bodies Everywhere' - Ruben Ortiz, 21, was looking out from his third-floor window at the H&M clothing store when he saw the van "speeding to beat the amber light" as it followed the Queens Surface bus turning right onto Sixth Ave. "There were people crossing Sixth Ave. going toward Macy's, kind of getting a head start on the light like we all do, and they never had a chance," Ortiz said. "It was just horrible," he said. "There were bodies everywhere. You could tell some were shopping, because they had holiday bags." Another witness said it appeared the van driver tried to squeeze onto Sixth Ave. between the turning bus and the corner, but hit the curb, mounted the sidewalk, knocked over two trash cans and struck the first victim. After that, "He really seemed to lose control and kept on hitting people," said a woman who said she was in the area shopping. "Everybody was running and screaming. Everybody was hysterical for a while." ["Van Kills Six in Midtown", SCOTT SHIFREL, MICHELE McPHEE and LEO STANDORA, New York Daily News, 12/28/01]

BE YOUR OWN JUDGE.