User:Buster7/Sandbox-Red Light Cameras

safety or revenue

 * Red light camera
 * Traffic enforcement camera


 * http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-w-whitehead/red-light-cameras-safety-_b_799071.html

Cook Co Campaign for Liberty

 * http://www.campaignforliberty.com/profile.php?member=BanTheCams

Higgins & River Rd.

 * One car per hour making "right turn on Red Light" Violations (No full Stop)
 * $100 X 24 hours in a day = $2400 per day at one site
 * $24000 X 4 cameras at an intersection = $96000 per day at one corner
 * $96000 X 365 days a year = $3,456,000.00 revenue

Locations in CHGO mid-2010
{http://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?snapid=35908]
 * "We are assured they are for our own good. We are assured they decrease accidents at intersections. And with those assurances comes the unspoken rebuke: How could anyone be against anything that reduces accidents and saves lives?"
 * It was not a question Rajiv Shah intended to address. Shah, a communications professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, originally set out to study the City of Chicago’s extensive use of closed-circuit TV cameras. But when he learned the city also had the largest network of red light cameras in North America, with RLCs deployed permanently at 188 intersections, he decided to investigate the city’s claims that those RLCs significantly reduced intersection accidents."
 * Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/light+cameras+increase+rear+crashes+revenue/3554953/story.html#ixzz10A59LN1V


 * "An AP story on the Chicago cameras provides a broad overview of the issues. A similar story by the WSJ ran a few months back. The story touches on a number of themes that I have discussed on this blog including the scope of the camera network, integration of private cameras, concerns about the effectiveness of cameras, and worry about the potential abuse of the camera system by government."

Smart Camera Blog
[http://www.smartcamerasblog.com/category/red-light-cameras/}

How do r-l c's work?
The digital cameras are tied into the traffic signal system and sensors beneath the pavement, just before the white stop bar. The cameras are triggered by a vehicle passing over the sensors only after the light turns red. The cameras take still and video pictures of the rear of a vehicle, including the license plate.

who reviews the images
The images receive an initial review by the camera vendor to make sure the image quality is sufficient. The images are then forwarded to the city's Department of Revenue for review and processing. Citations are sent to the registered owner of the vehicle shown in the pictures. Any motorist who receives a red-light camera ticket can review a video of their red-light violation on the city’s web site: www.cityofchicago.org/Revenue

caught in the intersection
Red-light cameras do not take pictures of vehicles legally turning right on red after a complete stop—as required by law—or caught in the intersection after the light turns red (for example, a car already in the intersection waiting to make a left turn). The cameras can only be activated by a vehicle entering the intersection after a light turns red.

how are intersections chosen
The City reviews crash data, paying particular attention to the number of "right-angle crashes" at these intersections--indicative of accidents caused when one vehicle runs a red light and strikes another. Only locations with a high number of right-angle crashes are chosen for red-light cameras.

yellow lights

 * Chicago's yellow lights are set at 3 seconds on streets where the approach speed limit is 30 mph or lower, 4 seconds on streets where the approach speed limit is 35 mph or higher. These timings fall within the guidelines of the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and adheres to recommendations by the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
 * Chicago’s yellow times are more than adequate for a driver traveling the speed limit to react and stop safely.  The three-second timing has been in place for several decades.  No signal timings were changed before or after the implementation of red-light cameras.

longer duration for yellow

 * Changing signal timings will not solve the problem of drivers running red lights. The purpose of the yellow light is to warn drivers that the light is turning red. It is not intended to promote speeding or risk-taking.  Unfortunately, too many drivers believe that yellow is a sign to speed up -- when in reality it should be a sign to slow down.
 * Extending the yellows won't solve the problem because motorists will learn that they now have an additional second or two, and will still treat the yellow as an extension of the green. The behavior that some drivers exhibit—running red lights—will not change.  Longer yellow lights will not be beneficial to the overall safety of the intersection.
 * Additionally, a timing change would have a negative impact on traffic flow throughout the city, increasing congestion and reducing travel times.

Speed cameras

 * http://theexpiredmeter.com/2011/11/revenue-from-speed-cameras-could-dwarf-chicagos-red-light-camera-program/
 * http://theexpiredmeter.com/category/red-lightcameras/

Monetary Split

 * What is the average split ratio?

Criminal apprehension
Since the new cameras take much clearer photographs, they will also be helpful in catching criminals that have fled the scene of a crime and passed through a photo red light intersection, Cloyd said.

Major Vendors

 * Red light enforcement cameras are installed and maintained by private firms such as;
 * Affiliated Computer Services
 * American Traffic Solutions, Inc.
 * Redflex Traffic Systems
 * Many people disagree with this privatization of a police function. In Texas, red light violators caught by a red light camera are served with a civil citation rather than a criminal citation. The civil infraction (civil fine of $75, no traffic points) conflicts with the same criminal infraction (fines of $1 to $200, and traffic points).
 * A December 2008 lawsuit against Dallas County's program, challenging a private camera operating company's right to hand out citations, was dismissed in March 2009.
 * Locations