One second.
A miniscule, if not insignificant increment of time to some.
To others, a consequential unit of time where an infinite number of possibilities can unfold.
But it’s the importance of a single second that has increasingly become the center of the argument over red light camera enforcement nationwide and now here in Chicago.
While most red light camera opponents initially work to prevent or remove, or vote to ban them from their cities, this strategy proves to be a difficult road.
However, when this tact fails, anti-red light activists increasingly have been reverting to their Plan B–trying to extend the length of yellow light intervals at red light camera intersections.
“One of the reforms we’ve recommended is increasing yellow light times at intersections,” says anti-red light camera activist Scott Tucker, a GOP nominee for state representative in the 11th district. “These reforms have been shown to improve safety. The idea is to reform them out of business.”
Federal Highway Administration guidelines for yellow light timing comes under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUCTD) which loosely recommends a range of between three and six seconds.
Government entities also utilize another standard from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) which promotes a mathematical formula which takes into consideration vehicle speed, acceleration rate, the grade of the road and other factors for determining yellow light duration.
Ultimately, it is up to the municipality to set the yellow light timing as long as it falls within the federal recommendations.
But many traffic safety advocates as well as red light camera opponents feel that in many cases the three second minimum is not enough time for drivers to make make it through an intersection safely.
Proponents of this point of view rely on a handful of studies that seem to show lengthening yellow light intervals, even by a second or second and a half, translates into substantial decreases in red light running and collisions within those particular intersections.
The National Motorists Association, a motorist advocacy group, has been working on promoting the relationship between longer yellow light intervals and improved safety for several years through their sister website, Stop Short Yellow Lights.com.
“It’s a hot topic for right now,” says NMA spokesperson Gary Biller. “I think it’s because there are more cities that are being challenged on their policy for this issue.”
Biller points to a wide sampling of studies and cases that seem to back up the group’s view on the issue including a study done by the Texas Transportation Institute.
“The conclusion was the most single, important thing you can do is increase yellow light signal time for intersection safety and reducing red light running,” explained Biller.
Other cities like Dalton, Georgia, where state law forced their town and others statewide to increase all yellow light times to be increased by one second, saw a dramatic drop in red light running.
According to the Dalton Police, red light running dropped from 624 RLC violations in February of 2008 to 125 in February 2009, after the new law went into effect.
Similar drops in red light violations occurred in Lomo Linda, California where there was an 80% drop in violations after a one second increase. Since this change, the city has been battling with their vendor, Redflex, to withdraw from their contract for the RLC technology.
City, Red Light Camera Company Don’t Buy Theory
“Studies show that lengthening yellow light timing is a temporary fix and that intersection safety cameras bring clearly a more sustained benefit in reducing red light running violations,” says Shoba Vaitheeswaran a spokesperson for Redflex Traffic Systems, the sole vendor of Chicago’s red light cameras.
Vaitheeswaran cites a 2007 study in Philadelphia of that city’s RLC program conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, that according to her, tracked signal violation rates at intersections before and after increasing yellow light duration, and again after red light cameras were installed for a year.
“The first step (extending yellow light time) reduced signal violations by 36 percent. The cameras reduced the remaining violations by 96 percent. At the same time, violations were virtually unchanged at two control group intersections.” explained Vaitheeswaran. “Many feel that lengthening yellow light timing is sufficient in reducing red light running violations, but based on data coming from the IIHS study, we feel that intersection safety cameras are a long-term deterrent.”
Brian Steele, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Transportation, the city agency that oversees Chicago’s red light camera program generally agrees with Vaitheeswaran’s view on yellow light timing.
“A driver traveling the speed limit and paying attention to the signal will have no problem safely stopping at a red light,” says Steele. “City traffic engineers have long believed that if given a longer yellow time drivers will soon negatively adjust their behavior. Knowing that the yellow light is longer, more drivers will try to “push” the yellow and make it through the intersection before the light changes.”
Brian Costin, Director of Outreach for the non-partisan Illinois Policy Institute, does not buy Steele and Vaitheeswaran’s arguments.
“There absolutely is a connection between yellow light timing and intersection safety,” contends Costin. “Adding 1 to 1.5 seconds (of yellow light time) you can dramatically reduce accidents. Studies show a 40% – 80% reduction by increasing the the yellow light timing beyond the minimum.”
Local traffic engineer Matt Gauntt, who has consulted for numerous state, county and local agencies on traffic engineering issues, also feels extending yellow light times generally enhances intersection safety saying, “…Studies have shown that increasing the yellow interval most definitely WILL improve safety, if the yellow time is not adequately
used.”
Gauntt, citing the same Texas Transportation Institute study as Biller says, “They found that reducing the yellow interval by 1.0 second would increase red light running by over 100%, and increasing the yellow interval above the recommended timing would decrease red light running by 35-40%.” explains Gauntt.
But Gauntt doesn’t necessarily believe unilaterally adding one second or more to all signalized intersections is the best policy.
“I don’t think that is a good idea,” explains Gauntt. ” I think the yellow should be based on the ITE recommended practice rounded up to the nearest 0.5 seconds plus an all-red for intersections with two or more through lanes. Rounding up to the nearest 0.5 second will increase the yellow time slightly. Raising the yellow time too much will increase the congestion.”
“In any case, red light running cameras are most likely not the answer,” continued Gauntt. “All the red light running cameras do is make the alert driver worry about getting a ticket, but without other improvements, there is no fix to the underlying problem with the intersection.”
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http://theexpiredmeter.com/2010/03/...ght-for-a-single-second/#sthash.BBbVFkDN.dpuf
