Legislation To Alter Traffic Signals: Dubious And Dangerous
[Publisher’s Note: We are pleased to feature this column from Steven Foley of the Minority Report website. I would remind you that the opinions expressed are those of the author only, not necessarily mine – Flash]
Legislation To Alter Traffic Signals: Dubious And Dangerous
By Steven Foley
How do traffic lights best keep the greatest number of people from having the least number of accidents?
This is the question at the heart of the current debate over AB 612 (Nazarian). The bill is expected to be heard in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing next week, Tuesday, June 18th.
AB 612 aims to lengthen a yellow signal by approximately one second. It assumes that giving motorists a greater amount of time to slow the speed of their vehicle and come to a stop would prevent more accidents. And yet, oddly, the change is only called for at intersections at which a red-light camera is already in place. Whytarget only intersections where safety measures have already been implemented? Why not other intersections or all… Read More