Back in the late 90s, I received a ticket for going 42 in a 35 in Beaverton. The only problem was that the area was clearly marked at 45. Using my skills of verbal persuasion and a number of photos that I took, I managed to get my ticket and a number of other tickets issued by the same van dismissed without a court appearance.

And I am told that Beaverton traffic court was really crooked at the time.

What I think is that traffic tickets are just one more form of revenue for municipalities and most municipalities don't really care if the revenues are collected justly or not.

But those new digital countdown clocks on the pedestrian signals are great. They give motorists a clear indication of just how much acceleration is needed to reach the intersection before the light turns.

Do those red light cameras record bicyclists who blow the light? And do they get tickets? Probably not, since there is no way to identify them.

A moronic question. It would take a death wish to disregard a traffic signal on a bicycle. And there is really no waybto identify a driver either, except maybe using one of those new $500,000 digital cameras.

So right Allan, we are all grateful that the bikers let us use the roads at times. $681,000, not for cameras, but for upgrades plus tens of thousand per month for services. I think we should discontinue the Police and go to satellite surveillance. That would get us in the limelight again.

It would take a death wish to disregard a traffic signal on a bicycle.

Wow, then I see two or three suicidal cyclists every day. But I have only seen a couple cars in my lifetime run a signal.

And there is really no way to identify a driver either

Except for that pesky little license number on the bumper. Now, we all know that just identifies the registered owner. But someone still gets a ticket.

If you do a search, there are plenty of legal cases where it was shown that transportation or subcontract workers adjusted the signals to shorter yellows than specified in law, in order to generate more ticket revenue.

See San Diego and Phoenix as examples.

This should be about increasing awareness and safety, and not revenue generation.
All proceeds should after costs, be disbursed to road improvements rather than providing an incentive to produce more revenue. Better yet get rid of them.

Jon, it's nice to see you at least agree with mevabout driver I'd from the red light camera. But I can't help wondering what planet you are posting from where you see a thousand or so instances each year of people on bikes riding through red traffic lights without stopping. Sorry to say that's just not believable. I'd like to remind you, too, that these so-called "cyclists" you are frightened of are just people, who happen at the moment to be riding a bike.

Driver I.d., that is.

Every time I drive downtown (twice a week for school) I see no less then two bicyclists who roll through a red light. Almost 100% of the time it is at the two intersections right before going over the hawthorne bridge.

"Wow, then I see two or three suicidal cyclists every day."

Yup. There are cyclists who don't follow traffic laws.

"But I have only seen a couple cars in my lifetime run a signal.'

Really? That seems hard to believe. I bet I could catch at least one a day blowing through a light that's changed, which is what we're talking about (not speeding through a standing red) if I ficused on observing the phenomenon. Although that happens too, I got t-boned once while a passenger in a cab by a guy who blithely drove through a standing red.

The biggest difference between bikes blowing reds and cars is that if I'd been t-boned by a bicyclist, he would have been throwing over the roof of the car and I would have been amazed but uninjured. I totally think that bikers should obey traffic laws, but think the idea that the real impacts of bikes running reds and cars running reds are equivalent is ridiculous.

It would be great if the city would be more forthcoming about this program. Do they have a standard for the length of the yellow light? Are they willing to put it out there?

I come from suburban Chicago. One city there had a huge sign at their border stating that if one drove at 35 MPH on that particular road, then all that driver would see is green lights, (I'm paraphrasing here.)

It seems as if the idea of synchronizing traffic lights is either taboo or not done here. I do suspect that they tinker with yellow lights, and I'm sure nobody at PDOT will cop to that if it were the case.

Reason #173 that I avoid going into downtown.

If the city really wanted to affect car emissions without spending money or social engineering, it would consider doing things to make car travel more efficient.

Unclogging roads cuts down on idling cars, which will help preserve gas and help keep emissions out of our air.

I understand wanting people to drive less, it's a good thing, really. But the car in its current form is years away from replacement, and maybe instead of bankrupting us for the toys of tomorrow, we can do the cheap fixes today.

I'm afraid, however, that the powers that be don't want to fix "car" issues, other than to force us out of them. I wish people would force the powers that be out of their land of unicorns and puppies and back into the real world, or into the unemployment line.

Just a thought.

"But I have only seen a couple cars in my lifetime run a signal."

You really ought to get out more, because that's ridiculous. I've had multiple cyclist friends t-boned by red-light running motorists. In the most egregious case, the officers didn't cite the motorist because he said the sun was in his eyes. They reserved their ire for the cyclist who gave them a raft of sh*t for not citing the motorist. I suppose he should just thank his lucky stars they didn't shoot him.

Pat M. - There are morons who ride bikes and morons who drive cars. Both are dangerous. And when bicyclists are morons with pedestrians then we know who gets injured only morons on bikes don't have to carry liability insurance to pay for their recklessness. Just yesterday I was using a crosswalk when an rude rider who was using the sidewalk was weaving in and around walkers in the crosswalk which he entered late and was trying make it out before the light changed. I had to get out of his way. Too bad bikes don't get out of car's ways. And I see a lot of cyclists with no helmets, no lights at night, and doing incredibly stupid lane changes. I don't like either bad drivers or bad cyclists but when it comes to rude to pedestrians, then cyclists take the prize.

Allan I: I used to have an office on Barbur Blvd. until recently. It was located at a busy intersection and I could clearly see the entire intersection from my window. Without really looking hard, I could see at least two or more bike riders blowing through that intersection on a red light virtually every work day. And i won't even get started on all the idiot bike riders I've encountered who ride at night with no lights of any kind and wear dark clothing as well.

Sorry Allan, Im not afraid of anyone. Except politicians. But I work downtown, and I see cyclists run signals every single day.
I have even seen them get up on sidewalk to make turns at red lights, then get back on the street mid-way up the block. And occasionally the wrong way on a one-way street!

Ron Morgan- I bet I could catch at least one a day blowing through a light that's changed, which is what we're talking about (not speeding through a standing red)

Apparently I missed that. I was talking about running a standing red. Thats a deathwish in any vehicle.

What I think is that traffic tickets are just one more form of revenue for municipalities...

According to the link that Jack provided, Portland doesn't realize any revenue from the system. But the contractor, Affiliated Computer Services, sure does: $17,000 a month, plus $18 to $27 a ticket.

Does anyone else see a problem here?

Thank you John Rettig for the information.
I was just going to ask about the revenue and who benefits. I had heard that the revenue is mostly realized by a company, not the city.
My question then is, who is paying for the new camera systems that were proposed recently?

Well, there's this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=-qvXbIenivk

"Does anyone else see a problem here?" Yes, follow the contributions to pols by Affiliated Computer Services. Then there is always the under-the-table contributions, free trips and gifts, lobbying by ACS benefiting local pols, and jobs for friends and family. It's happening here in spanking clean Portland.