This Could Happen to You: Revenue-Hungry Cities Mess With Traffic Lights to Write More Tickets and Make Driving More Dangerous

‘As privately operated red-light cameras proliferate across the country, cities and towns shortening yellow lights spike the number of tickets, and thereby increase revenue. The profits come at a social cost, as shorter yellow light times have been associated with an increase in car accidents.
While not new, the profit-driven development continues across the country, with private companies like Redflex Traffic Systems reaping the rewards. In February, the city of Fremont, California, pledged it would refund at least $490,000 in tickets to drivers after it was revealed that for a period of time in 2016, yellow-light times at two key intersections were shorted from 4.7 to 4 seconds, driving an increase in tickets. Each of those intersections was outfitted with red-light cameras run by Redflex Traffic Systems.’
Read more: This Could Happen to You: Revenue-Hungry Cities Mess With Traffic Lights to Write More Tickets and Make Driving More Dangerous