Cities Risk Our Safety Messing With Traffic Lights

As privately operated red-light cameras proliferate across the country, cities and towns shortening yellow lights spike the number of tickets, and thereby increase revenue. The profits come at a social cost, as shorter yellow light times have been associated with an increase in car accidents.

While not new, the profit-driven development continues across the country, with private companies like Redflex Traffic Systems reaping the rewards. In February, the city of Fremont, California, pledged it would refund at least $490,000 in tickets to drivers after it was revealed that for a period of time in 2016, yellow-light times at two key intersections were shorted from 4.7 to 4 seconds, driving an increase in tickets. Each of those intersections was outfitted with red-light cameras run by Redflex Traffic Systems.

According to TheNewspaper.com, the slight variation in yellow light time had a tremendous impact. “Increasing the yellow time by 0.7 seconds in 2015 slashed the number of tickets issued at [the intersection of Mowry Avenue and] Farwell Drive by 77 percent, and shortening it back to 4.0 seconds in February 2016 caused a 445 percent spike in ticketing,” states the publication. “At [the intersection of Mowry Avenue and] Blacow Road, the change to a 4.7 second yellow slashed violations by 68 percent. Shortening it back to 4.0 seconds sent violations skyward by 883 percent. In November 2016, the city decided to switch back to the 4.7 second yellow time for undisclosed reasons.”

Fremont is not the only city caught manipulating yellow lights for profit. A Chicago Tribune investigation revealed in 2014 that the Rahm Emanuel administration “quietly issued a new, shorter yellow light standard this spring that generated 77,000 red light camera tickets that would not have been allowed before the rule change.” The change occurred when the city switched from red-light camera company Redflex Traffic Systems to Xerox State and Local Solutions. “Hearing officers were suddenly throwing out hundreds of tickets that showed yellow light times at 2.9, below the 3-second minimum required by the city,” wrote journalist David Kidwell.

Full Story: https://www.alternet.org/economy/could-happen-you-revenue-hungry-cities-mess-traffic-lights-write-more-tickets-and-make

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