I remembered reading about Washington D.C. shortening the yellow lights at camera controlled intersections several years ago to increase revenue from red light runners. So I googled it and came up with the above article about other cities. I believe it was around 2000 or 2001 that I read about the case in Washington. Apparently, the company promised a certain amount of revenue would be generated for the city of D.C if they bought the camera system. The problem was that after it was installed D.C. was either making less than planned or actually losing money because people were obeying the law more than expected. So they dramatically shortened the yellow lights to force more violations of the law. That’s right. They sacrificed public safety and made red light violators out of otherwise law abiding citizens.
Don’t think that can’t happen in S.D. Keep an eye on the length of the yellow lights at camera controlled intersections.[/quote]
This DID happen in SD, which is why the camera went dormant for years. Instead of getting paid per ticket, the camera company gets a flat rate no matter how many tickets they issue.
The stop red light runners, however rear end accidents have reportedly gone up!
