Traffic Camera Shenanigans

Radley Balko | February 27, 2007

A television station in Lubbock, Texas found that in eight of the twelve intersections where the city plans to install red light cameras, yellow lights were shorter than the minimum safety guidelines established by the city engineer.

More interesting, that same city engineer promised the Lubbock city council last year that he wouldn't increase yellow light times at intersections with cameras. In a telling moment of candor, Jere Hart told the city council that though the public prefers longer yellow cycles, and though studies show longer yellows dramatically reduce red-light running and collisions, lengthening them would cut into the revenue the cameras are expected to generate.

This isn't the first time a city has fiddled with yellow light timing to boost revenue.