Longer yellow lights at 4 camera sites

By Kevin Flynn, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Matt Mcclain / The Rocky

WL Contractors employee Anthony George digs a hole for an underground conduit for a red light camera system.

Denver is adding up to two seconds of yellow time at four intersections where it is installing red light enforcement cameras starting next month.

Coming as a result of a Rocky Mountain News investigation into inadequate timing at those signals, the increased yellow times will meet or exceed national guidelines for proper signal timing.

Without the change, the cameras could have become cash cows for traffic fines based on engineering defects rather than bad driving - and possibly brought an increase rather than decrease in accidents.

The fine is $75.

Cameras have been controversial around the country. When they are used at intersections with short yellows, the public has viewed them as revenue generators rather than safety measures.

Comprehensive studies have shown that their presence usually is accompanied by an increase in the total number of accidents because of drivers braking sharply to avoid a ticket when they should have safely gone through under yellow.

Overall, serious side-angle crashes can be reduced, but in some cases the number of those accidents has gone up. Cities such as Dallas have pulled out some of their cameras after increasing yellow times because they no longer generated enough tickets to pay for themselves.

Denver has yellow signals set at the legal minimum of three seconds, the time considered appropriate for 25 mph traffic.

"We want this program to be above reproach," said Brian Mitchell, Denver's traffic engineer. "We really are trying to improve safety."

The first camera is scheduled to go live June 10 on northbound Quebec Street at 36th Avenue. With a 45-mph speed limit there, engineering guidelines call for at least 4.3 seconds of yellow. That gives drivers a chance to stop safely or go through legally before the red if they are too close to stop.

But Mitchell said the yellow time on Quebec will increase to five seconds from three when the camera is turned on.

That change alone could substantially reduce red light running there. Denver's contractor, Redflex Traffic Systems, an Australian-owned company with U.S. offices in Scottsdale, Ariz., counted 38 red light runners in a 12-hour period there last year. That's one every 20 minutes.

But with studies showing increased yellow time can reduce red light running up to 96 percent, violators at the Quebec light could be reduced to one every eight hours.

Denver will put up cameras at three other intersections.

At eastbound Sixth Avenue at Kalamath, the yellow will increase to four seconds; eastbound Sixth and Lincoln Street will increase to 3.5 seconds; and westbound Eighth Avenue at southbound Speer Boulevard will increase to four seconds.

flynnk@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5247

• May 22, 2008

  8:47 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  RMN writes:

  safety or revenue ?

• May 22, 2008

  9:16 a.m.

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  suburbdweller writes:

  Denver's decision to lengthen the yellow lights will likely enhance safety positively. Based on Kevin's research, it is what REALLY needed to happen at these intersections.

  Unfortunately for the city, there probably won't be enough revenue generated to pay for the cameras, but at least they'll serve as a deterrent to blatant red-light running.

  I'm curious about other cities that have cameras. Aurora has several, including one at Mississipi and Chambers. Do their light times conform to those engineering standards?

• May 22, 2008

  9:35 a.m.

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  benn writes:

  Sounds like the best possible solution. Properly lengthen yellow lights, and use cameras to enforce red light running. Win-Win

• May 22, 2008

  10:03 a.m.

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  MarineGrunt writes:

  Camera or not.. if you run a read light you SHOULD get a ticket. I like the idea. But I ride on 2 wheels a lot. so...

• May 22, 2008

  11:10 a.m.

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  BKindel writes:

  Photo Radar and Red Light enforcement should be about safety, NOT revenue enhancement. To hear Boulder's traffic engineer tell it, the Boulder lights don't cover their own costs, but the reduction in the number of violations is worth the expense. I don't agree with many of Boulder's attempts at social engineering, but that makes sense to me.

  Fort Collins has had at least one such intersection for years, at College and Drake. People know it's there, and very few run the light. Its secondary benefit is keeping traffic on College at or below the speed limit.

  To my mind, the Denver lights will be a success if they never have to issue a ticket.

• June 2, 2008

  2:32 p.m.

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  666 writes:

  Now........if we could just get people to use their gosh-darned turn signals.

• June 4, 2008

  11:20 a.m.

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  ladida writes:

  So if they would just increase the yellow light times in proportion to speed at all lights, would we need the cameras???