Senior Citizens of Canton, City Council is planning on taking more of your money if they move forward with plans to install red light cameras for ‘traffic enforcement.’ City Council know that it is political suicide to say so, but that is exactly what red light cameras do.
The ‘average’ driver driving an average car at 35 MPH requires 2.57 seconds from the time the brakes are applied until they stop. Add to this the time it takes to perceive that a green light has changed to yellow, and then the time to react. Studies have shown that it takes 1 second for the ‘average’ person to perceive the yellow light and as much as another second for the ‘average’ person to react. We will use 1 second for perception and reaction times combined, as the Traffic Engineering Manual does. If the ‘average’ driver requires one second to react, and they are traveling on a 35 MPH road, they require a minimum yellow light time of 3.57 seconds. I have been traveling around Canton for most of my life, and I seldom see yellow lights this long. These numbers are for ‘average’ drivers. These numbers were calculated using 20 FPSPS deceleration rate, which is faster than the Traffic Engineering Manual calls for, but I am demonstrating a bare minimum possible without loss of control. The yellow lights in Canton are already too short at some intersections for this.
I have shown you the numbers for the ‘average’ driver. Studies show that elderly drivers can take 40% longer to stop, due in part to longer perception times. If the ‘average’ driver needs 3.57 seconds, an elderly driver can require a five second yellow light to stop in time to keep from getting a red light camera ticket. This calculation does not take into account the clearing of the far side of the intersection. This is just how long it can take a senior citizen to stop before the stop line from when the light changes to yellow. Add to this the 1 second extra yellow time REQUIRED by Ohio law if the intersection has a red light camera installed. Do you really think that Canton will have a six second yellow at any intersection? The answer is “No.” They will set the yellow to bare minimum or even less. Senior Citizens will be the ones suffering the most when these red light cameras are installed.
There have been some senior citizens in cities that have red light cameras involved in crashes because they stop at a stale green light, scared of a red light camera ticket. Senior Citizens are at risk of rear ending a car that stops suddenly when a light changes to yellow. Senior Citizens are at higher risk for injuries when they are involved in crashes, so these red light cameras are endangering the lives of senior citizens.
All residents of Canton need to contact their City Council member and voice their opposition to these red light cameras in Canton Ohio. City business owners will suffer, you need to contact your council members. Why would I risk a red light camera ticket to do business in Canton, then have to pay for parking and put up with panhandlers when I can drive to Belden Village and park for free, not have cameras ticketing me and I have never been hit up for money in the Belden Village area. If I do not feel like going to Belden Village, I can drive to New Philadelphia, where people are walking outside in downtown at 9:00 PM without any fear of being robbed, mugged, or having their cars broken into. The way I see it is these red light cameras will only contribute to the decline of the City of Canton.
For some great information, see Stopping Distance Website.