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In most countries, if you cross the line or enter the intersection while the light that applies to you is red, it is a violation. This means that unless the yel

In most countries, if you cross the line or enter the intersection while the light that applies to you is red, it is a violation. This means that unless the yellow light is long enough to account for approaching drivers' reaction times/distances and braking times/distances it can result in crash stops. Many lights in every country I've driven in have an insufficient yellow-light period given these considerations.

jtbayly 7y ago
And jurisdictions with auto-ticketing based on red-light cameras shorten the yellow light, driving up income by making it very hard to avoid running a (barely) red light.
- seszett 7y ago
  That doesn't seem true, France for example has automatic cameras at traffic lights, and the yellow light has a duration fixed by law (3s on urban streets, 5s outside cities) and it has not changed since traffic light cameras were introduced. So that's one jurisdiction where your assertion is false. (Anyway, in most places the fines from the automatic cameras do not go to the same administration that decides the speed limits and places the traffic lights, so in the end the common accusation of "they only want to make money from it" doesn't make that much sense)
  - jtbayly 7y ago
    I didn't state that it was universal. It does happen to be true. You can look it up. There are even links elsewhere in this thread. Last I read about it was some time ago, but I doubt it has been fixed.
  - magduf 7y ago
    >That doesn't seem true, France for example He meant jurisdictions in America. Local governments here are infamous for shortening yellow lights. The companies that make automated cameras even have it in their contracts that the cities must do this.
    - optimiz3 7y ago
      > The companies that make automated cameras even have it in their contracts that the cities must do this. Citation?
      - magduf 7y ago
        Let me google that for you: https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+lights+shorten+contracts+camera+companies https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+lights+shorten+contra... https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/red-light-camera-controversy/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/red-light-camera-controve... "The contracts in place with red-light camera providers often specify maximum yellow light times, and impose financial penalties if the city lengthens the yellow period." More: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/10/chicago-shortens-yellow-lights-ticket-standard-makes-8-million-off-new-tickets.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/10/chicago-shortens... https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-red-light-camera-yellow-light-1012-20141012-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-red-light-camera-yell... https://www.motorists.org/blog/6-cities-that-were-caught-shortening-yellow-light-times-for-profit/ https://www.motorists.org/blog/6-cities-that-were-caught-sho...
        optimiz3 7y ago
        > The contracts in place with red-light camera providers often specify maximum yellow light times There's a lot of room for weaseling the way that's written. The contracts could specify maximum times to cover incorrect configurations like 2 minutes - that would be sensible. Technically the article is correct but it leads the reader to conclude malicious intent where there may be none. Only the DigitalTrends article talked about contract imposed maximums. In the Chicago article it looks like the city that was acting in bad faith. There is no established link between provider imposed contracts violating best practices.
    - lutorm 7y ago
      It is governed by law in America, too. At least it is in CA.

jtbayly 7y ago

And jurisdictions with auto-ticketing based on red-light cameras shorten the yellow light, driving up income by making it very hard to avoid running a (barely) red light.

seszett 7y ago
That doesn't seem true, France for example has automatic cameras at traffic lights, and the yellow light has a duration fixed by law (3s on urban streets, 5s outside cities) and it has not changed since traffic light cameras were introduced. So that's one jurisdiction where your assertion is false. (Anyway, in most places the fines from the automatic cameras do not go to the same administration that decides the speed limits and places the traffic lights, so in the end the common accusation of "they only want to make money from it" doesn't make that much sense)
- jtbayly 7y ago
  I didn't state that it was universal. It does happen to be true. You can look it up. There are even links elsewhere in this thread. Last I read about it was some time ago, but I doubt it has been fixed.
- magduf 7y ago
  >That doesn't seem true, France for example He meant jurisdictions in America. Local governments here are infamous for shortening yellow lights. The companies that make automated cameras even have it in their contracts that the cities must do this.
  - optimiz3 7y ago
    > The companies that make automated cameras even have it in their contracts that the cities must do this. Citation?
    - magduf 7y ago
      Let me google that for you: https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+lights+shorten+contracts+camera+companies https://www.google.com/search?q=yellow+lights+shorten+contra... https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/red-light-camera-controversy/ https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/red-light-camera-controve... "The contracts in place with red-light camera providers often specify maximum yellow light times, and impose financial penalties if the city lengthens the yellow period." More: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/10/chicago-shortens-yellow-lights-ticket-standard-makes-8-million-off-new-tickets.html https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2014/10/chicago-shortens... https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-red-light-camera-yellow-light-1012-20141012-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-red-light-camera-yell... https://www.motorists.org/blog/6-cities-that-were-caught-shortening-yellow-light-times-for-profit/ https://www.motorists.org/blog/6-cities-that-were-caught-sho...
      - optimiz3 7y ago
        > The contracts in place with red-light camera providers often specify maximum yellow light times There's a lot of room for weaseling the way that's written. The contracts could specify maximum times to cover incorrect configurations like 2 minutes - that would be sensible. Technically the article is correct but it leads the reader to conclude malicious intent where there may be none. Only the DigitalTrends article talked about contract imposed maximums. In the Chicago article it looks like the city that was acting in bad faith. There is no established link between provider imposed contracts violating best practices.
  - lutorm 7y ago
    It is governed by law in America, too. At least it is in CA.