A Texas motorist caught the city of Baytown using short yellows to trap motorists at a photo enforced intersection and of failing to protect sensitive private information. At a press conference yesterday, Byron Schirmbeck and his attorney, Randall Kallinen, announced that the city had agreed to drop a $75 ticket issued on April 12 for making a right-hand turn just 0.2 seconds after the light had turned red at the intersection of West Baker and Garth Roads. The yellow time at this intersection was set at just 3.1 seconds, even though state guidelines indicate that the yellow should have lasted no less than four seconds.
“I informed my councilman and he set up an interview with the police legal advisor and head of the red light camera program,” Schirmbeck told TheNewspaper. “They reluctantly admitted the amber times were too low but don’t admit any wrongdoing or have any explanation.”
Police reviewed the situation and ordered the yellow time at the intersection raised to 4.5 seconds on June 5. At least five other pending tickets will be dismissed, but Schirmbeck believes hundreds of other motorists may have been trapped by the same short yellow and deserve full refunds.
A small change in the length of the yellow warning period can make a significant difference. The vast majority of “violations” caught on camera happen after drivers misjudge the end of the yellow light by less than 0.25 seconds — literally the blink of an eye (view chart). According to a report by the California State Auditor, nearly 80 percent of that state’s tickets were issued for violations that took place less than one second into the red. By adding an extra 1.4 seconds to the yellow, violations should plunge at the intersection of Baker and Garth by more than 80 percent.
The shortened yellow helped boost violations, allowing American Traffic Solutions (ATS) to issue $222,587 worth of tickets in the month of April alone. Of this amount, ATS took a 55 percent cut, even though Texas law specifically bans per-ticket contract arrangements. Baytown cited a grandfather loophole clause in the law as the reason it has continued the practice.
Baytown has also failed to implement any privacy protections for the sensitive personal information accessed and stored by its vendor, ATS. Schirmbeck showed TheNewspaper documents provided by the city that contained unredacted personal information on every motorist cited by the red light camera program since May 2008. This information included the full bank account and routing numbers of anyone who paid by check.
“That’s a huge problem, in my opinion,” Schirmbeck said.
This sort of thing is why the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776 – when the government has become the enemy of the governed.
Schirmbeck showed TheNewspaper documents provided by the city that contained unredacted personal information on every motorist cited by the red light camera program since May 2008. This information included the full bank account and routing numbers of anyone who paid by check.
“That’s a huge problem, in my opinion,” Schirmbeck said.
That’s putting it mildly. If I had ever paid for a traffic violation in that town, I’d be screaming bloody murder. There are some unbelievably ignorant people in that police department, and they need to be punished for releasing that type of private info. If I had inadvertently done something like that when I was working for a local bank, they would have fired me immediately and probably investigated to see if it really was inadvertant.
3.1 seems short, but I’m fairly certain that the yellows are under 3 seconds in Chicago.
Kind of hard to stop on the main road next to my house (western avenue) that has a large graveyard by it and people fly by there at 40-50….
If you don’t want to get run over, you drive at least 40.
40mph = ~ 59’/second
45mph = ~ 66’/second
With people sitting one car length behind you, it’s cheaper to get $100 ticket than pay the deductible & increased insurance when someone rear ends you (or die when you are on a motorcycle like I am). It has been estimated ~ 25% of the people driving here do not carry insurance. Also: The red light tickets here are a “civil” violation IIRC, and are not counted against your insurance. However, 2 unpaid violations result in a boot/towing here. Used to be 3, but DALEY “fixed” that earlier this year.
I’m so glad I’m leaving Chicago.
I’m sure the mob is envious that they can’t also set up a scam like this to issue and mail tickets.
I’ve said it before, and I will repeat:
Criminal charges and jail time for those who approve and install traffic systems that decrease road safety.
If a couple of government employees and private contractors go to jail for installing these dangerous systems, more will think twice about gambling with the public’s safety for a few bucks.
-ted
With people sitting one car length behind you, it’s cheaper to get $100 ticket than pay the deductible & increased insurance when someone rear ends you (or die when you are on a motorcycle like I am).
If someone rear ends you, then it is almost certainly THEIR fault and THEIR insurance that takes the hit. A big time hassle if you do get hit, but unless they can prove something like none of your tail lights were working then it should always be the guy behind’s fault. The last time I was (a passenger) in a car accident, the driver sped through to try to beat the red light and rear ended the guy in front who had stopped due to the back up from the next light; 100% my friend’s fault.
I sympathize with motorcycle drivers though; I once saw a guy in an Escalade rear end and old Hispanic lady on her moped who had stopped at a red light. The worst thing was he spent 30 seconds finishing his cell phone call before he got out to check she was ok.
@sittingathome: “If someone rear ends you, then it is almost certainly THEIR fault and THEIR insurance that takes the hit”
True, but… insurance companies also use data to try to predict your likelihood of being in any accident – at-fault or otherwise. Illustrative hypothetical: if you’ve been in 16 accidents where someone else was at fault, the insurers are not going to cover you or you’ll have your rates jacked.
Besides, it’s Chicago. I’ve seen cops run red lights in Chicago.
sitting@home>
You are assuming the other people have any insurance…..
USAFMech>
I have been hit by cops running a red in Chicago before, I kid you not.
My girlfriend & I at the time were in a Taxi. The taxi had the green for oh, say, a good 6 seconds or so. Nobody was hurt (we had seatbelts) but man was I pissed. It was 9pm at night, pretty dark and the cops not only didn’t have any flashers on (they weren’t on a call) but no headlights either.
The cops asked if we were ok, told the taxi driver to take us to our destination (since it was only 6 blocks away and the car was driveable), and to “stop by the station so we can take care of everything”
I’m not sure if the taxi driver ever actually went there or not, because he was so freaked out.
If someone rear ends you, then it is almost certainly THEIR fault and THEIR insurance that takes the hit. A big time hassle if you do get hit, but unless they can prove something like none of your tail lights were working then it should always be the guy behind’s fault.
True, but doesn’t really change that it’s still better to take the chance at a $100 ticket instead of dealing with the accident, and still possibly having your insurance rates go up, any “good driving” deductible awards go away, etc.
I second zerofoo‘s motion.
It is quite literally criminal negligence to implement a system that decreases safety and may cause injury or worse.
And if we are to believe there is any shred of truth that any of these automated systems are for “safety”, two unequivocal rules must be in place:
1. The for-profit company cannot have any ongoing financial relationship beyond the initial sale and contracted maintenance and support (through an SLA)
2. All funds from the newly installed automated system categorically cannot go into a government’s general funds. They must, by law, automatically go into a special fund for either road repairs or accident-victim assistance.
This removes any monetary motives, at which point I can start to listen to the argument that any of these are “for safety”.
Kman if you do not think this is about safety then go to utube and look at the dozens of red light running accidents. Pretty powerful evidence why something was needed.
As for tailgating accidents, maybe they need something done about that also and ticket the tailgators.
If the red light times are too short for the speeders of Chicago, maybe that will slow them down also.