Green Light Cameras

[Calgary14]

I just read that an intersection in the NW caught 28,000 drivers last year speeding on green. Wow! Nice revenue driver for the city. Has anyone ever successfully fought one of these tickets? I've heard you can plead your case if the conditions are bad such as icy roads making it less safe to try to stop but not sure if that's true or not.

Personally I think if you are caught speeding 20k or over thru an intersection there should definitely be a fine to pay

[bossy22]

Is this the one by COP? They have a red light and green light camera there. I always see it go off.

[Boblobla]

So is this just permanent photo radar essentially? How do people not know to slow down when they see the sign with a camera on it on the side of the road?

[Inglewood Jack]

I read that it's the one at the corner of 16th ave and 10th st, kinda near SAIT and Earls or whatever. That camera's been there for years now...but why the need to slow down for them unless you were driving way over the posted limit to begin with?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

So is this just permanent photo radar essentially? How do people not know to slow down when they see the sign with a camera on it on the side of the road?

For me it was a road I was knew pretty well, but don't travel on it very often. I live in the deep SE but happened to be in the NW; so I was travelling on 16th ave. I got nabbed by the camera on 10th street NW. I wasn't really looking at road signs as I knew where I was going.

As for successfully fighting a ticket; I have never tried with the red light/ speed on green cameras. I did attempt to fight a multinova ticket back in the 90s, but I was sick on my court date. My defense there was that I had sped up to do an emergency lane change, and the camera had actually caught the guy who had cut me offand showed my car still in mid body roll. I guess it was obvious enough to the court; they dismissed the charge without me even showing up.

Now I believe they won't even give a ticket if there is another vehicle in the picture.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by Boblobla

How do people not know to slow down when they see the sign with a camera on it on the side of the road?

They're too busy texting.

[Dan02]

Doesn't hurt that the speed limit drops from 60 to 50 right before that intersection. Oh and it's a downhill through the lights. Cameras like that which are just cash grabs annoy me, obviously there is a problem where the signage isn't adequate to get the attention of a lot of divers but rather then try to fix that they would rather just print tickets, and for the record I've never been caught through there.

[puckluck2]

No surprise. Used to drive up there every saturday for hockey late at night and without exaggeration, there wasn't a single night I never saw it flash.

[GGG]

The goal in these high ticket areas should be to reduce accidents and number of tickets issued each year. I wonder if the traffic engineers at the city get access to this info to improve it.

As for beating the tickets apparently if you have a license plate holder that obscures the Alberta on the license plates because they cant determine if its an alberta plate or not.

[puckluck2]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Doesn't hurt that the speed limit drops from 60 to 50 right before that intersection. Oh and it's a downhill through the lights. Cameras like that which are just cash grabs annoy me, obviously there is a problem where the signage isn't adequate to get the attention of a lot of divers but rather then try to fix that they would rather just print tickets, and for the record I've never been caught through there.

The sign couldn't be more clear.

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by GGG

The goal in these high ticket areas should be to reduce accidents and number of tickets issued each year. I wonder if the traffic engineers at the city get access to this info to improve it.

As for beating the tickets apparently if you have a license plate holder that obscures the Alberta on the license plates because they cant determine if its an alberta plate or not.

Firstly, I don't think obstructing your plate is really the answer considering that alone is a ticket.

And, in regards to reducing accidents, they do...

http://www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Traf...t-cameras.aspx

From the year before any cameras were installed (2000) compared to 2011:

• total collisions at ISC locations have decreased by 17 per cent;
• fatal collisions at ISC locations have decreased by 100 per cent;
• injury collisions at ISC locations have decreased by 47 per cent; and,
• property damage collisions at ISC locations have decreased by 11 per cent.

How do you determine the locations?
Locations are selected based history and severity of collisions, violation rates, and traffic safety concerns.

[btimbit]

I've only gotten a speed on green once, on 14th st in front of heritage park. Doing 18 over at 1 in the morning. I knew it was there but thought it was facing the other way for some reason.

I agree with the idea behind these cameras but the 2 I drive through most are almost a hazard. Most people know where they are, and just slam on their breaks before the intersection, coast through, and speed up again.

[ken0042]

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the speed on green being added originally, but I do see where it makes it safe. Where I got my ticket; as mentioned the speed limit reduces and it's down hill. So if you are exceeding the speed limit going downhill; that makes it even that much harder to stop if you have to. (Setting aside that I think 16th ave should be at least 60 the whole way.)

Regarding 14th at Heritage, when it was red light only I saw more near misses as somebody doing 90 slammed on their brakes to avoid the red light ticket. Now those people slow to 70. Same with WB Anderson at Acadia; everybody coming off Deerfoot used to still be doing 100. Now they slow to 80.

Sure, you may see the odd person slam on their brakes last minute- but the numbers jar_e gave seem to indicate it's safer. It may still be a cash cow; but it only impacts people who are breaking the law, and makes the roads safer. I'll pay my $120 "stupid tax" and be on my way.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Doesn't hurt that the speed limit drops from 60 to 50 right before that intersection. Oh and it's a downhill through the lights. Cameras like that which are just cash grabs annoy me, obviously there is a problem where the signage isn't adequate to get the attention of a lot of divers but rather then try to fix that they would rather just print tickets, and for the record I've never been caught through there.

Running a province costs money. Wouldn't you rather the money comes from handing out fines for people breaking the law, instead of having your property, fuel and/or income taxes raised?

Is there proper signage at this intersection regarding speed limits, cameras, etc. that are well displayed and clearly visible? If so, then it's your own fault for getting caught. You can choose almost any speed you want to drive at. If you get caught for speeding, it's not a cash grab, it's your punishment. The same goes for texting while driving.

[The Yen Man]

I drive through the one on Beddington Trail and Country Hills Blvd everyday for the past 4 years. I've realized early that the thing has a 10km grace limit. It's a 60 km/h zone, so I always make sure I don't go over 68 km/h. *Knock on wood* so far so good.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by jar_e

Firstly, I don't think obstructing your plate is really the answer considering that alone is a ticket.

And, in regards to reducing accidents, they do...

http://www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Traf...t-cameras.aspx

I know they appear to reduce accidents but does the number of tickets issued each year at each location go down? You need to take the data and use it to make the intersections more inherantly safe rather than using enforcement to make them safe. Also you need a better breakdown of the data including standard deviations of accident numbers to ensure the success of the radar isnt just random chance.

For example the 100% reduction in fatalities obviously isnt statistically significant and likely due to randomness.

[Acey]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Oh and it's a downhill through the lights. Cameras like that which are just cash grabs annoy me...

As a SAIT student fed up of people going 80 kph through there and almost killing us, I kind of disagree. If you get a ticket at any intersection where it is CLEARLY signed for all directions, even those that don't have a camera facing that way, you deserve it.

[GaiJin]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

Running a province costs money. Wouldn't you rather the money comes from handing out fines for people breaking the law, instead of having your property, fuel and/or income taxes raised?

Is there proper signage at this intersection regarding speed limits, cameras, etc. that are well displayed and clearly visible? If so, then it's your own fault for getting caught. You can choose almost any speed you want to drive at. If you get caught for speeding, it's not a cash grab, it's your punishment. The same goes for texting while driving.

If it were a genuine tax, there would have to be some accountability why its collected and how its spent, not just a loose slush fund with no strings attached as that money is now.
So you have never missed a road sign in your life? C'mon. Some of these setups are engineered to make money, 16th ave and 68 st is a prime example, 90-70-90 for an intersection that used to be 80 km/hr straight through. Mcleod by stampede is another, right at the bottom of a hill with erratic light timing because of the C-train arms.

[GaiJin]

Originally Posted by Acey

As a SAIT student fed up of people going 80 kph through there and almost killing us, I kind of disagree. If you get a ticket at any intersection where it is CLEARLY signed for all directions, even those that don't have a camera facing that way, you deserve it.

Explain this, are you Jaywalking? Why are you walking out in front of cars , let alone cars doing 80?

[Acey]

Originally Posted by GaiJin

Explain this, are you Jaywalking? Why are you walking out in front of cars , let alone cars doing 80?

See the snow outside? That makes the road a bit slippery at times. Not sure if you've heard of it, but there's this thing where cars sometimes go off the road and hit stuff. As it turns out, cars are more likely to do this if they're travelling faster.