Attempt made in Milton, FL,  to claim RLC "reduced" violations by almost 60% when AMBER WAS INCREASED BY ALMOST 1 SECOND!

Ban the Cams comment:  If you read the first half the of article (see below) it seems to paint RLC as the "reason" the violations went down.

ONLY IN THE SECOND HALF IS THE CAT LET OUT OF THE BAG that the AMBERS WENT UP .7 (almost 1 second).

Quote: 

If there is one other factor Brand feels has been very important to this entire process it is re-setting of the yellow lights.

“We had them set at four seconds and the Florida Department of Transportation said that was fine,” Brand stated. “Then a citizen showed us a report from the DOT where it should take you 4.3 seconds to stop in a 45-mile per hour zone no matter what the conditions.”

After discussing the report and the citizens concerns, the City of Milton set the camera at 4.7 seconds, which is the standard for a car traveling at 50 mile per hour.

“We used the 4.7 second increment of time because we know people speed and we want to make sure they have ample time to stop according to the report,” Brand said. “The best thing about everything is this is the only variable that has changed since we started the red-light camera program.

“We are thrilled by the results and hope to see these numbers go down even more.”

The City of Milton started out with a standard of four seconds for the yellow, but made the official change on July 20 of this year.

 (note:  the paper doesn't give date breakdowns on the numbers in their 9/2011 article.  We had to research the what the paper had in past article on the numbers to find out what we could.)

For comparison, over in Arnold, MO, the Amber went up by 1 second, the RLV went DOWN 70%.  http://www.banthecams.org/Red-Light-Camera-News/missouri-state-moves-for-longer-yellow-reduced-violations.html or:  http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/34/3477.asp

IT IS MISLEADING AND DISHONEST FOR MILTON TO CLAIM RLC "caused" this decrease in August when the ABMER WAS LENGTHENED ON MID JULY!

*****  Note the 1300 number might include June numbers.  The Warning Tickets started on 6/15/2011.  http://www.srpressgazette.com/articles/light-13211-red-run.html

Quote:  Starting June 15, anyone who is caught running red lights at the intersection of Glover Lane, Parkmore Plaza Road or Dogwood and Hamilton Bridge Road will receive a warning tickets on June 15.

The paper goes on 7/1/2011 saying 400 warning tickets were issued.  The link is not working http://www.srpressgazette.com/news/warning-13375-cameras-light.html , but I copied this from a search on their paper: 

Red-light cameras catch 400-plus | warning, cameras, light, mail, tickets, red, intersections, surprising, sent, overseeing.
NEWS July 1, 2011

 !!!!!! We are not sure if the Ticket number just count all of August or part of July  See quote by Brand: 

“That is the thing we are wanting to do and I feel like we are achieving that with the program based on the results we have had the first month.”

Brand seems to be saying the Ticket numbers count only August.

Here is the article publised on it below:

http://www.srpressgazette.com/news/city-13875-red-light.html

Red-light violations down 60 percent
September 06, 2011 2:59 PM
Bill Gamblin
 

The City of Milton feels it has found the ticket when it comes to reducing the number of red light runners at three of the busiest intersections of the city.

During a warning period the City of Milton issued over 1,300 warning tickets (Ban the Cams believe this is part of July plus 15 days in June, see note above *****) , now since the red light cameras have been actively writing ‘red light’ violation tickets the number has fell to under 600 according to Milton Police Chief Greg Brand.

(Ban the Cams note:  It would be better if they GAVE THE DATES OF BOTH WARNING AND TICKET PERIODS IN THIER NUMBERS, don't ya think!)

“As of the end of August we had written 330 tickets and had 246 in the cue to go through,” Brand said. “This tells me that violations have gone down roughly 60 percent and that was our intention all along, this was a safety decision.

“I know people think this is a money maker for the City of Milton, but that was not our object. Our objection is safety and I feel we are achieving that according to the numbers.”

The cameras that are operational are located at:

· North bound traffic of Dogwood at Hamilton Bridge Road

· East and West bound lanes of Highway 90 at Parkmore Plaza Drive

· East and West bound lanes of Highway 90 at Glover Lane.

Brand indicated officers who process the images and video received from ATS (American Traffic Solutions) are rejecting roughly two percent of all tickets they process.

If there is one other factor Brand feels has been very important to this entire process it is re-setting of the yellow lights.

“We had them set at four seconds and the Florida Department of Transportation said that was fine,” Brand stated. “Then a citizen showed us a report from the DOT where it should take you 4.3 seconds to stop in a 45-mile per hour zone no matter what the conditions.”

After discussing the report and the citizens concerns, the City of Milton set the camera at 4.7 seconds, which is the standard for a car traveling at 50 mile per hour.

“We used the 4.7 second increment of time because we know people speed and we want to make sure they have ample time to stop according to the report,” Brand said. “The best thing about everything is this is the only variable that has changed since we started the red-light camera program.

“We are thrilled by the results and hope to see these numbers go down even more.”

The City of Milton started out with a standard of four seconds for the yellow, but made the official change on July 20 of this year.

While some are very opposed to these cameras, it was an act by the Milton City Council, which established the cameras along with the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act (HB 325) passed by the Florida Legislature.

This act makes the owner of a motor vehicle liable for payment of a minimum civil penalty of $158 if the owner’s vehicle proceeds into an intersection equipped with a photographic traffic control monitoring system if the light is showing a steady red signal.

The ATS System activates when motion is detected just prior to the stop bar after the traffic signal has turned red. It captures two images of the alleged violation from the rear.

The first image shows the vehicle at the white stop bar and the illuminated red light. The image shows how long the yellow had been displayed, the date and time of violation, and how long the light had been red before crossing the stop bar.

The second image shows the violator in the middle of the intersection with the red light illuminated.

The license plate image is close-up from one of the images captured.

Cameras also record a 12-second digital video of the violation, which includes six second prior to and after running the red light.

One of the other concerns citizens raised was the number of rear-end accidents when someone made a sudden stop at one of the three intersections where the cameras are installed and recording traffic, but that is not the case either.

“I don’t know of a single rear-end collision that has occurred at the intersections where the cameras are,” Brand said. “I have asked and talked to the officers, but I have not heard of one being reported.”

Brand pointed out the main purpose behind the cameras being used is to curb improper driving behavior.

“I had a person who asked me why not make it five seconds,” Brand recalled. “I explained if we make it too long of a yellow then someone would run the yellow thinking they still had time and would cause an accident.

“That is the thing we are wanting to do and I feel like we are achieving that with the program based on the results we have had the first month.”

(Ban the Cams note:  You mean money.  Be honest, it is better that way.  Better yet, GIVE US A BREAKDOWN:  Right turns, stop line and how many were  under 1 second before and after, come on I DARE YA!)

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