Menlo Park installs red-light cameras at Chilco, Bayfront Expressway

Red light runners are evil. We need to prosecute them by any means necessary.

@resident 'Intentional red light runners' may be "evil" but aware that if the light timing is changed by the city, even slightly, that can caus an uptick in the number of cars accidentally trapped by the cameras - not necessarily "red-light" runners, but average drivers, with good records that get snagged just after light timing is changed.

If you are a pedestrian in a crosswalk with the green light, doesn't matter if the red light runner is intentional or "just distracted". Drivers need to pay attention all the time. Red lights are bright red. They are preceded by bright yellow lights.

PS. Don't tell pedestrians to wait until they are sure all cars are stopped in all directions before stepping into the crosswalk. Walk light cycles are so short in this city that if you wait too long to start crossing, cars will get a new green light before you finish crossing the street and then you are a sitting duck.

Cameras are primarily about money for the company and the city, not safety. Look at all the old redlight cameras threads on the Almanac.

Facts:
1) There are now 5 guilty pleas or verdicts in federal Redflex-related cases for fraud, bribery, or extortion. NO ONE should ever deal with Redflex.
2) Red light cameras produce profits above their high costs ONLY by ticketing mostly safe drivers (along with a tiny percentage that deserve it).
3) These cameras are mostly about ticketing slow rolling right on red turns, actions that almost never cause crashes. NHTSA research shows right on red turns, with or without a full stop, are involved in only six one-hundredths of one percent (0.06% or 0.0006) of crashes with injuries or fatalities.
4) Right on red tickets for not quite stopping are larceny, literally theft from safe drivers who endangered no one.
5) Menlo Park should join this group. These 79 California cities were reported to have dropped red light cameras, or prohibited them before any were installed. Anaheim, Arleta, Baldwin Park, Bell Gardens, Belmont, Berkeley, Burlingame, Cerritos, City of Orange, Compton, Corona, Costa Mesa, Cupertino, Davis, East LA, El Cajon, El Monte, Emeryville, Escondido, Fairfield, Fresno, Fullerton, Gardena, Glendale, Grand Terrace, Hayward, Highland, Indian Wells, Inglewood, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lancaster, Loma Linda, Long Beach, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, Manteca, Marysville, Maywood, Montclair, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Newport Beach, Oakland, Oceanside, Paramount, Pasadena, Poway, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands, Redwood City, Riverside, Rocklin, Roseville, Rowland Heights, San Bernardino, San Carlos, San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, San Rafael, Santa Ana, Santa Clarita, Santa Fe Springs, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, South Gate, South San Francisco, South Whittier, Stockton, Union City, Upland, Victorville, *Vista Jan. 2017*, Walnut, Westminster, Whittier, Yuba City, Yucaipa.
*cities where cameras operate until the end of their current contract on the dates noted*
33 plan to continue at this point. Note: The city of Modesto has a suspended program with an unknown future. They are still counted in the 33 number above, but only 32 programs are or plan to be issuing tickets currently, in a state that once had over 100 programs.
James C. Walker, National Motorists Association

Cars running red lights to turn right are a common cause of cars hitting pedestrians. Trust me, a car hitting a pedestrian at any speed is a very unpleasant experience for the pedestrian.

"Cars running red lights to turn right are a common cause of cars hitting pedestrians."

Source?

"Walk light cycles are so short in this city"

Source?

"We need to prosecute them by any means necessary."

Agreed. If suitable evidence doesn't exist - have PEOTUS waterboard them! In Gitmo!!

@Ritchie Rich

Here are your sources

Sources:

1) You know it
2) I know it
3) EVERYONE knows it

"1) You know it
2) I know it
3) EVERYONE knows it"

Wow. Scientific evidence if I ever heard it.

These cameras, per the city's own data, do NOTHING except collect money. Example: camera at Oak Grove and ECR. ZERO red light accidents before installation of red light camera. ZERO red light accidents after installation. BUT, tons of money into the city coffers. If red light cameras were actually being placed where there were ACTUAL, documented cases of red light violation problems I could support them. But there is ZERO evidence to support their use. They are nothing more than money generators for MP. Now there's another one. The City Council should be ashamed.

My wife and I have clean driving records (I've never had a violation in my 28 years of driving), and the only ticket the two of us have received in the past 10 years has been a slow right on red at ECR "south"-bound onto Menlo Ave.

I can't tell you how many times I've turned left from Ravenswood onto ECR "south" and been caught in the intersection as the light turned red owing to the horrible lane markings (people going straight onto Menlo Ave should have a lane marking that swings out a little bit to the right, but they don't, so some try to cut the angles and jog too far left into the turning lane), and the tight left turn with the road furniture jutting out too far, which combine to slow traffic on the turn. I wonder how often the cameras catch innocent drivers on that turn?

RLC are NOT about safety.

How many RLV crashes occurred out of ALL CRASHES in the intersection in question???? (Notice they didn't bring this up).

Of the RLV crashes, how many were:

DUI
fleeing police
stolen vehicles
not paying attention
medical

NONE OF THOSE would ever be stopped by a RLC!

The city needs to list HOW MANY CRASHES at that intersection, and HOW many were RLV and what the cause was. A RLC will not stop NONE RLV CRASHES.

Not bringing that up is DISHONEST!

Most RLC tickets are: right turn on reds, stopping on or over the stop line, and split second.

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