Re: Speed cameras coming to Calif? Yes, if this bill p*****

"Nate Nagel" <njnagel@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:fqndht01dbr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> golden oldie wrote:
>> On Mar 5, 1:50 pm, "Ed." <edDELitor...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>
>> The only thing you need to do so you don't get a ticket mailed to you
>> is drive the speed limit. Same with red light cams, stop and no
>> problem. With the increase in traffic and the speed some people drive,
>> I welcome photo radar!!
>
> You do know that most red light cameras are installed at intersections 
> where the yellow interval is too short, don't you?

Is there not a standard, consistently-applied time that the amber must be 
displayed, in order that the red can be legally enforced as a stop signal?

There is in the UK: I think it varies according to the speed limit of the 
road, so a car approaching at the limit will either have time to brake to
a 
halt or else to be well clear of the far side of the lights before they
turn 
red. I remember a case a few year ago where a driver was found not guilty
of 
going through a red light because the amber phase was too short and did
not 
give him time to brake to a stop before the red.

We've had speed cameras and traffic light cameras in the UK for about 10 
years now. It will be interesting to see how California implements them. 
Will they be preceded by warning signs to say "speed/light cameras operate

here"? Will the cameras be made highly visible by means of a yellow 
reflective panel on the rear (originally this wasn't done in the UK but is

done now)? Will the speed camera carry a reminder of the speed limit to 
leave people in no doubt (for some weird reason, this is not done in the 
UK).

I find the best deterrent against speeding is signs which light up to 
display the limit - but only if you are exceeding it. That's an excellent 
way of reminding drivers. Better to deter than to prosecute.

Sadly, traffic light cameras aren't effective against the worst offenders:

cyclists who think that red traffic lights simply don't apply to them.
There 
was a case a few weeks ago in the UK where a cyclist was killed when he 
ignored a red light and was hit by a car. The driver was rightly
prosecuted 
and imprisoned because she was speeding and was concentrating on sending a

text message at the time, but people seem to forget that the *cause* of
the 
accident was the cyclist avoiding the lights, not the driver being unable
to 
react in time.