Been a while since my last update as not too much has changed on the red light camera front. Newsday had an article last week about the cameras with some interesting info:
- Elene Contegiacomo from New Hyde Park has beaten a red light camera by proving that the car that ran the light was not hers (she was nearby and the offending car was nearly identical to hers)
- Yellow light durations are not expected to change
- Rear-end collisions have dropped in 40 of the 50 intersections in Nassau County with red light cameras
That last one is interesting, there are
a lot of discussions about red light cameras causing an increase in rear-end collisions because people slam on the brakes to avoid getting a ticket. For example this
2005 review by the Federal Highway Administration notes difficulty with putting together an accurate study, but says:
The bulk of the results appear to support a conclusion that red light cameras reduce right-angle crashes and could increase rear end crashes
I almost got rear-ended a few months ago for that exact reason. Anyway these numbers seem to show that the opposite effect is taking place in Nassau.
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Nassau County's report on their red light camera numbers shows that, overall, accidents have been reduced at intersections with cameras (Newsday article here). The only exception was the entrance to Roosevelt Field mall, where accidents went up.
I'm not a big fan of the cameras but I can't argue with them if they're proven to reduce accidents, which seems to be the case. I bet this means more cameras are in our future, just a matter of time.
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Nassau County reported some numbers on their red light camera program, which Newsday published a couple of articles about, including this one. Turns out the camera at Old Country Road and Ring Road has generated the most tickets in the whole county, by far, however accidents at the intersection actually went up 86 percent! I wonder if they'll take the camera down now since obviously it hasn't had the safety impact they hoped for. Check out these numbers, quoted from Newsday:
Cameras at the location produced 34,709 tickets in 2010 -- nearly 100 a day -- dwarfing the number generated at all other county intersections with cameras. At $50 a ticket, that works out to $1.7 million in potential collections from that one spot.
One hundred tickets a day - unbelievable!
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Some of you may have read the discussion here about a possible three second rule applying to making a right on red. Someone had written into Newsday saying they got a ticket for making a right on red even though they made a complete stop, and Nassau told them they had to stop for three seconds.
Newsday looked into it and received confirmation that there's no such rule, so just stick with a complete stop and you should be fine.
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Someone sent in a Nassau camera I was missing - Old Country Road and Ring Road North (the entrance to Roosevelt Field mall). I also have one listed right next to that entrance at Old Country Road and Clinton Road, looks like that area is heavily guarded!
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