http://napavalleyregister.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_9d9eb7bc-947a-11df-a8ad-001cc4c03286.html

Red-light camera trap

.Dear editor,

I used to think that all the controversy surrounding the red-light tickets was kind of bogus. After all, I thought rather smugly, Don’t run a red light! Then I was caught in an obvious red-light trap.

One morning around

6 a.m. I was turning right onto Highway 121 from Highway 29 when a bright light flashed so brightly, I jumped. Had I actually run a red light? The light had barely turned yellow; how could it be red so soon? When I watched the video it showed that the green had turned to yellow, red and back to green in a matter of

3 seconds all told. That was obviously bad timing of the lights, so I was sure if I fought it in court they would let me off. I had to pay for the ticket before I could get a court date or pay an extra $300 fine, which I thought very wrong of the city. Guilty until proven innocent.

When I got to court, there was a sheriff at a table reading over and over again red light information. For instance, the yellow light remains on for

3.2 seconds before turning red. When I got to the judge she viewed my video. Look at how fast it went from yellow, red and back to green, I said, it’s faster than the 3.2 seconds. I see your point, she said, but you were in the intersection when the light was red. Guilty. Next.

I was shocked! If I had slammed on my brakes the instant the light turned yellow I would have been creamed by the flatbed truck directly behind me. What a crock.

Since then I have sat at that light to go straight through but watched the timing of the lights for the right turning lane and noted that the yellow light does not stay on for

3.2 seconds. What a trap. Wahoo for the city, lots of cash.

Gary Kranz

Napa
 

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