Red Light Cameras

I remember when red light cameras were nothing more than a horrifying vision from the future. We would wake up in a cold-sweat, after a mechanized villain had robbed us blind for being a split second late at a yellow light, or having a speedometer that was a little off. Typically that nightmare ended with the harsh reality that someday, the training, experience, and judgment of a police officer would become obsolete.

In recent weeks, it has become apparent to me that we technology's intended purpose is not always realized in the human environment. Red light cameras are particularly frustrating to me. I find them to be distracting and feel that I am less safe at intersections regulated by them. As I drive around I see traffic lights that are set on timers, which in most cases allow drivers to catch green light after green light as they move from one end of town to the other. However, if you are like me, you typically catch a yellow at the first or second intersection and spend the next 8-10 blocks wondering if you need to speed up or slow down in order to safely navigate the 3-5 cameras that await ahead.

I have seen this scenario play out in three major ways. 1) people driving 5-10mph over the speed limit to catch-up to the green light pace; 2) people driving 5-10mph under the speed limit attempting force the light to turn red before they get there; or 3) continuing with their current pace and either stopping at a "green-yellow" or rolling the dice on a "yellow-red." And this doesn't even address the car that has been stopped in the intersection for 20 seconds that turns on red because an oncoming driver pressed his luck with a yellow-red.

The problem is that cameras are limited in what they see, and how they interpret those images. Cameras are incapable (at this point) of considering which type of driver is in front of or behind you. They do not know how oncoming traffic impacts your decision making, or any of the multiple considerations (lighting, weather, traffic pattern, etc.) that impact your driving decisions.

If the goal of these cameras is to prevent people from running red lights and causing fatal T-Bone accidents, perhaps we should get back to the basics. When your light turns green, look both ways for oncoming traffic and then proceed. A camera will not stop a distracted driver at 35-40mph, but alert driving will improve your safety while on the road.