Yellow Light Shortening Busted

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: April 14th, 2008

The National Motorists Association has posted a compilation of stories from six US cities where yellow lights were shortened to increase municipal revenues. In intersections with and without cameras to bust red light-runners, in towns from California to Tennessee, local authorities have been quietly violating various state's laws regarding minimum yellow-light duration. These underhanded schemes have been uncovered by private citizens, local TV stations, newspapers and even judges, and as the NMA's conclusion to the roundup states, these six cases could be simply the tip of the iceberg: "These are only the cities that have been caught; it's likely that this happens much more than the general public has been led to believe. Many cities avoid the bad publicity involved with shortening yellow lights by installing the cameras at intersections with inadequate yellow light times from the beginning. If you or a family member receive an unjustified red-light violation ticket, it may be worth your time to check the yellow light duration at the intersection where the ticket was given out."

Edward Niedermeyer

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210delray on Apr 15, 2008
bws: I quote from Mr. Niedermeyer's news item: "The National Motorists Association has posted a compilation of stories from six US cities where yellow lights were shortened to increase municipal revenues...These underhanded schemes have been uncovered by private citizens, local TV stations, newspapers and even judges, and as the NMA's conclusion to the roundup states, these six cases could be simply the tip of the iceberg...." [emphasis added] The National Motorists Association operates under the guise of promoting the average motorist's best interests. It touts itself as a voice for the common man (and woman) against the arbitrary dictates of state and local government with regard to traffic laws and regulations. In reality, it is an anti-scientific organization that would like to take highway safety back to the dark ages of the 1950s when all we did was exhort drivers to behave. Didn't work then, won't work now. One technique they use is the "Big Lie." That is, they repeat an untruth over and over to the point that the average reader will believe it's true. And unfortunately, the average enthusiast WANTS to believe it's true. To my knowledge, nothing written or proclaimed by the National Motorists Association has ever been published in a respected peer-reviewed journal like Accident Analysis and Prevention or even as an SAE paper. No, the NMA pontificates via press release. No valid science undergirds their "research."

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GS650G on Apr 15, 2008

Say it isn't so. Do you mean government would stoop so low as to trick citizens and fine them? BTW the link appears to be broken

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Landcrusher on Apr 15, 2008

Yes, I have to say it... I told you so. Any system that allows for unchecked incentives like this will inevitably encourage unethical behavior. That is why the best government is the least government.

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Geeber on Apr 15, 2008
210delray: The National Motorists Association has posted a compilation of stories from six US cities where yellow lights were shortened to increase municipal revenues…These underhanded schemes have been uncovered by private citizens, local TV stations, newspapers and even judges, and as the NMA’s conclusion to the roundup states, these six cases could be simply the tip of the iceberg….” [emphasis added] The NMA found documented cases uncovered by private citizens and the media of municipal governments shortening the duration of yellow lights to increase violations (and thus increase fines). Stories such as this often break this way - private citizens, or the media tipped off by private citizens, investigate a story, and discover the facts. The facts seem to be well documented here. Here is an example taken from the NMA site: "The city of Chattanooga was forced refund $8800 in red light cameras tickets issued to motorists trapped by an illegally short yellow time." I seriously doubt that Chattanooga or any other city turns over collected fines to make people feel good. In this case, six municipalities were caught red-handed. Now, six out of all the municipalities using red-light cameras may not seem significant, but I have the sneaking suspicion that these aren't the ONLY six that have done this. If nothing else, this type of story lets municipalities know that they could fall under similar scrutiny, and thus should not engage in these shenanigans. 210delray: The National Motorists Association operates under the guise of promoting the average motorist’s best interests. It touts itself as a voice for the common man (and woman) against the arbitrary dictates of state and local government with regard to traffic laws and regulations. They are a watchdog group, and like any watchdog group, they may make a mistake. I'm glad that Ralph Nader made us all aware that safety should be designed into a vehicle before it hits the production line, but, after having read Unsafe at Any Speed, and listening to his comments on various auto safety topics over the years, I can tell you that he has made his share of mistakes, too. NMA performs a needed function, because not all laws are effective, stricter laws are not always safer (lower speed limits on limited access highways, for example) and there are laws proposed more with revenue generation than traffic safety in mind, regardless of their proponents' promises. 210delray: To my knowledge, nothing written or proclaimed by the National Motorists Association has ever been published in a respected peer-reviewed journal like Accident Analysis and Prevention or even as an SAE paper. We don't need an SAE paper or a report in a peer-reviewed journal to determine whether yellow lights have been shortened in duration since the installation of red-light cameras, or are violating the mandated minimum length of time for yellow lights. This can be measured and verified by reasonably competent people, and, judging by the reactions of local officials, I'd say that they were caught red-handed.

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