mandax

What are they for? I see cameras at intersections while I'm driving, and I always wonder what they're used for. Does someone sit there and watch all the tape, looking for people running red lights and such? Is the footage reviewed when there's an accident?

What?

edropus

Some of them take pictures when someone runs a red light.

Others have sensors that see police and ambulance lights and switch when they see them coming to speed up the traffic as they approach.

Others are used by TV stations and other sources to monitor traffic.

Depends on the camera.

JosephB

I don't know about where you all live, but here, speeding up to beat a yellow light is epidemic. Often, it's right before the light changes -- and they just end up running a red light. I welcome the cameras.

Drivers in Atlanta and the south in general are horrible. There are more accidents here than anywhere in the country.

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A-L

I thought drivers in the south drove better than those up here. When I was in Mississippi the drivers were great, and oddly they drove really slow. Unlike up here where they drive really fast and are prone to explode when you go the speed limit.

Sam Winchester

Over here, we have no cameras at intersections, to the best of my knowledge. The only cameras I know of are for speeding, and they're usually outside of towns.

The amber light thing here used to be damned confusing. Lights used to change from green to amber and then red. But on the reverse trip, they did the same thing. So when you came to an amber traffic light, you didn't know whether it was after being red or green. So they changed it so that only amber would come on after a green light. It didn't stop anyone. People still drive through amber lights willy-nilly.

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Remedy

You know, the south is the only place I've seen "Minimum speed" signs instead of speed limit signs. Everyone goes twenty over anyway, so I guess putting a min works better than putting a max. No one would pay attention to it.

To be honest, I like the general attitude about driving down here. I'm an impatient person, and I hate to sit in traffic because the person in front of me is going ten below the limit.

I'm definitely not advocating that all Georgia drivers are good though; far from it. I spent last night listening to my elderly grandfather talk about how my grandmother (who is senile) is going to drive him home from surgery. She hasn't driven in four years and damn near killed us last time by stopping in the middle of the highway. (Little do they know that they are so not going to be doing that. One of my uncles will, or I will; they'll be dead by the weekend otherwise.)

To the OP: besides catching people running red lights, some also record the speeds that people are going through at and take pictures of those who are speeding by some significant amount. The pictures are then used to find the plate of the car (which is in the picture) and mail a ticket to the person who ran the light/sped.

Olly Buckle

That sounds a little confused Sam, the order of traffic lights in England is red, red and amber, green, amber and then back to red again. That was used by Peter Sellers to describe the "flashing night lights of Old Bal-ham" over forty years ago and I don't think it was ever different, I can't imagine it was in Ireland, but maybe.
Over here we have "Yellow box junctions" to maintain flow and stop junctions getting blocked, a yellow grid is painted on the road that one must not enter unless the exit is clear or you are turning right. These are sometimes enforced by cameras. Another sort of camera, not necessarily on junctions but quite often there, is the number plate recognition camera which will read a plate, check it with police data bases and notify a police car parked further up the road if it does not check out properly for road tax and insurance or is on a stolen or wanted list.

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mandax

Wow, that's all pretty hardcore. So speeding and running red lights, eh? What about other stuff? Illegal u-turns and such? Sorry, but this interests me for some reason.

Harlett

Don't be silly. Those cameras are really aliens sent to take over the world! huzzah!

I never exactly knew what they were for, just assumed. My assumptions were corrext, so it would seem.

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Sam Winchester

Not in my time, but my father told me about them when he started driving. The lights would go from green to amber to red. And then you'd sit waiting, and they'd change back from red to amber to green. If you were sitting there waiting, there was no problem. But people coming to a light that was amber didn't know whether it was going to turn green or red. So they changed it. Red now simply turns to green to avoid confusion. I'm nearly certain it was the case here in Ireland, but I'll find out for definite.

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Blood

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandax What are they for? I see cameras at intersections while I'm driving, and I always wonder what they're used for. Does someone sit there and watch all the tape, looking for people running red lights and such? Is the footage reviewed when there's an accident?

Such cameras were installed in Dallas, TX. (I believe) for the purpose of catching and ticketing drivers who ran red lights. The cams record the tag and a ticket arrives in the mail. Supposedly a win/win situation since it would not be cost effective to have a cop at every traffic light 24/7, but cameras yes. Cops may only be able to catch 5% of these offenders, but cameras could catch 100% all the time. So if the # of incidents, accidents and traffic fatalities declined by 80%, catching 100% of the remainder would generate a sizable increase in the city’s revenue.

The problem, as it turned out to be, these cams worked to well. Drivers were just not stupid or desperate enough to run traffic lights where these cams were clearly visible. So...city officials had them removed, naturally.

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Olly Buckle

You have me wondering if the lights ever operated like that in England now Sam, it must have been a long while ago if they did.
That still sounds like a win situation to me Blood, in fact I would say that if it means everyone keeps to the law and does not jump lights they are doing a better job than if some people are breaking the law and being caught. That prevention principle means speed cameras are painted bright yellow and you get warning signs before them in this country, mind you it does not mean that they don't catch anyone, some motorists should lose their licence, if you are going to drive fast you should be extra aware of hazards (which is where they are situated) and paying enough attention to notice signs and flourescent yellow boxes.

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The Backward OX

Well, goodness gracious me.
I am familiar with this concept of yours of having two lights on together, from TV and whatnot, but had believed it to be green and amber rather than red and amber. Ok, so I'm wrong, again. But, pray tell, what earthly use would it be to any driver to see a red and an amber simultaneously? He's already stopped. He can't be any more stoppeded. Is its intent perhaps something like the double sets of lights that are now all the vogue at car-racing circuits, where the drivers sit riding their clutch with the handbrake on and the engine revving at about 5-6000 per, waiting for the lights to be extinguished?

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SoNickSays...

Hey Olly, I didn't realize we lived so close!

I got this traffic lights question wrong every time I studied it, until the test. Red, red-amber, green, amber, red. Like you said.

But I'm a very sdafe driver. If it's amber, I don't put my foot down. I put my foot down on green

Nick

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