Many Red Light Cameras In IL Down Or Coming Down!

Down in Lakemoor! Coming down in Lake Zurich...

Successful class-action lawsuits get much of the credit! Red Light Cameras

Austin, TX removed those this past year. The total count of accidents dropped with it.

They won't be leaving the city of Chicago anytime soon.

Austin, TX removed those this past year. The total count of accidents dropped with it.

Why would fewer red-light cameras lead to fewer accidents?

Why would fewer red-light cameras lead to fewer accidents?

It's pretty simple, really. I've actually seen it play out in the real world. Vehicle #1 goes through a stale yellow. Vehicle #2 stops abruptly to avoid running the red light. Vehicle #3 slams into vehicle #2 because #3 thought #2 was going through the intersection.

FYI... I have been on both ends of the rear-ender situation having been held liable for rear-ending someone who came to a dead stop in the middle of a highway in rush-period traffic AND being ticketed for an uninsured motorist rear-ending me because "I didn't leave him enough room".

Also... if you don't know... when they took the guardrails down from the Pacific Coast Highway fatal accidents went down.

City near me had up at this location they went off sometimes for no reason.....they are gone now the city wasnt getting much of the revenue off of the system....The company installed was reaping huge benefits lol

Vehicle #1 goes through a stale yellow. Vehicle #2 stops abruptly to avoid running the red light. Vehicle #3 slams into vehicle #2 because #3 thought #2 was going through the intersection.

Oh, I see. I guess I have a different way of looking at it. If vehicle #3 was keeping a safe following distance and was paying attention he would not have run into vehicle #2, who was properly stopping for the changing traffic light. I don't see how that relates to red-light cameras at all. Drive your vehicle properly and you won't run into the person in front of you. It won't matter if there are cameras around or not.

[I was] ticketed for an uninsured motorist rear-ending me because "I didn't leave him enough room".

You were ticketed for not leaving enough room for the person behind you? What does that mean?

You were ticketed for not leaving enough room for the person behind you? What does that mean?

I'm also curious about this. I've never heard of such a violation. Is this something like "aggressive driving?" Is it that you cut in front of someone without leaving enough room? For me, it doesn't make sense unless you took an aggressive posture in the situation. Otherwise, you shouldn't be responsible for the following distance between you and the vehicle behind you.

Brett says:

Oh, I see. I guess I have a different way of looking at it. If vehicle #3 was keeping a safe following distance and was paying attention he would not have run into vehicle #2, who was properly stopping for the changing traffic light. I don't see how that relates to red-light cameras at all. Drive your vehicle properly and you won't run into the person in front of you. It won't matter if there are cameras around or not.

I have done a decent amount of driving in Chicago and can attest to the scenario that Marc Lee describes. My personal opinion with regard to Chicago is that it is about revenue generation rather than safety.

The length of yellow light in Chicago is a split second and it immediately changes to red. At most intersections, traveling at the posted speed, you almost need to make a panic stop to NOT run the red light. For people in Chicago who know this, they will be prepared for this. But for out of town people they will not be prepared for the car in front of them to slam on their brakes. Brett is correct that you can avoid rear ending someone if you maintain a proper following distance. But in Chicago, that following distance needs to be sufficient for a panic stop for the driver in front, which your average driver does NOT maintain.

Bird-one: correct me if I'm wrong on the light timing. Although, you may disagree with me that its about revenue generation rather than safety.

I agree with what Brett is saying. I've lived in Illinois my entire life and remember life before the cameras, and after. Not sure if the rules are the same everywhere but here in Illinois you have to have your front axle over or on the white line by the time the light turns red. And when turning right on red have to come to a full, complete stop before continuing. All it really did was in the beginning make for some good revenue because people either didn't quite understand the rules or choose to ignore them until they got that 110 dollar ticket in the mail. I don't think they increased accidents or really decreased them either because for me personally I rarely ever saw people blowing through red lights to begin with. The IHSA however did do a study and said accidents decreased by as much as 30 percent in some areas.

The city of Chicago though did get sued and it was founded that some lights were rigged so that it would change from yellow to red in about 2 seconds flat. So saying that they are there to generate revenue is probably also a valid argument.