The Red Lightmare

Did they report how many accidents occurred at this intersection during the time it made this money?

Red light cameras at least make more sense than speed cameras to me. Although I agree right on red violators should not be who the cameras are catching

The latest crash data can be found by going to
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/supp_info/re...

Scroll down about halfway and click on the "Table 2" link to get the table. I think the intersection referred to is Cicero and Archer since that is the one closest to Midway Airport.

Note that Google Chrome hung up on loading the table. I used Firefox to get it. In IE, you have to right click on he link and "save target as..." to get the table in PDF format.

I'm glad I moved away from that area and all of its cameras. It's no suprise to read about how much money is generated by the cameras.

Of course, the best way to prevent tickets other than avoiding intersections with red light cameras is to get a warning from my GPS navigator.

Perhaps the best way to prevent tickets is to drive at the speed limit and keep one's distance from the car in front of you.

LOL, yes, the best way to prevent tickets is to obey traffic laws. Incredibly, there are usually good reasons for their existence that go beyond just slowing people up.

Sure let's all put a halo over our heads and drive the speed limit and come to a complete stop before turning right on red, wasting the momentum of the fossil fuel we just burned, though there is no traffic in any direction and we're just being subservient to a revenue machine. Ignore the fact that the expressways in the Chicago area have a more dangerous problem than speeding, speed differential. The expressways are 55mph and cars are traveling between 55 and 80+. It is much safer to be in the middle of the pack, riding at 70-75 than 55 and having all the rush hour idiots weaving back and forth in front of you.

@dave817, let's separate driving on streets with red-light cameras (what the tread is discussing) and driving on freeways.

I took a day trip the other day to Atlanta. The freeway speed in town is 55. However, if you go 55 in anything other than the right lane (of 5 or 6), you are putting yourself in danger - and even in the right lane it become dangerous whenever it turns in to an exit lane. I try to drive at the speed of the other traffic - preferably behind someone who is driving at a constant speed - and usually there others that settle into that speed around us. I realize that speed often kills but weaving in and out at speed is what I am trying to avoid. Am I breaking the law? yes!

As far as coming to a full stop at a camera red light, I fail to see why a reasonable person would not do this (and I am assuming that the driver is able to see the signs that indicated that a camera is ahead).

Wasting fossil fuel is a new objection reason to me - and of course it has some merit - just like getting out of the way of emergency vehicles do, or being part of a funeral procession.

However, the law is the law. I am sure you would press hard if every few days someone drove thru your yard (leaving ugly tracks and knocking down greenery) to get around the mail truck - just because they did not want to stop for oncoming traffic and waste fossil fuel.

Driving the speed limit on roads with red lights and stop signs and coming to a full stop when required does not give me a halo. I believe that laws should be followed. And - I find it comforting that the revenue from traffic lawbreakers helps delay the day that the city council will have to consider raising taxes.

Now if they could just have those cameras set to take pictures instantaneously when there is gunfire nearby, maybe the cameras would actually help make Chicago safer.

...cameras are set up with very short yellow lights and inaccurate speed calibration - these are nothing but a money grab and do little or nothing to improve safety.

The politicians cannot be trusted with this technology. Cameras need to be banned.

@blackkey76 - if what you say has any grain of truth in it, then I ought to be able to find something by Googling various combinations of red-light short-yellow and Baltimore. I tried for about 15 minutes and have come up empty handed.

I did find an article where guilty speed violators were going to get refunds because a computer error resulted in the ticket having the wrong address -making them null and void
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/More-than...

If you want to make what appear to be factual statement, then you should be able to back them up with data - real statistics - not something someone said.

Can you point us to any data that would support "very short yellow lights and inaccurate speed calibration"?

Inaccurate speed calibration will be your best bet because it likely has happened. Of course, you need to be showing a pattern of such inaccuracy to avoid being tagged with making false statements just to vent your anger at camera enforcement.

I had no difficulty finding evidence of Baltimore's "camera" issues using Google. But it is about speed cameras...not RLC's.

Here is a Baltimore Sun article that outlines some of the "errors that plagued the system over the past three years", identifying how that city hopes to improve their speed camera system, and illustrating some issues that are likely to remain.

http://is.gd/w0oKx5

I've quit having faith in anything Chicago does ages ago.

I saw that article, but blackkey76 made a specific statement about " inaccurate speed calibration" and I did not find anything in that article that accused the the city of that in particular.

What it did say was

That is a complaint that applies to many automated speed camera.

I was reading blackkey76 to be saying that the city was purposely doing something wrong for the purpose of generating more revenue.

I would say that the gov't is purposely doing something wrong.

I would say that the gov't is purposely doing something wrong.

Maryland camera operators started rounding the timestamps after a business owner successfully challenged numerous tickets because the timestamps proved his vehicle drivers were not speeding.

But the cameras are all about "safety," you see.

We need law,order and safety. Red-lights are there for revenue. They reduce the times yellow stay on to the minimum, this way you are more likely to be fined. Where they have pedestrian count down you can gauge your speed and if you can go on or stop. If is safety they are after this is one that works but does not have much revenue.

--Exactly!!!

Definitely agreed!