Speaking of traffic, here's the report on first quarter 2008 revenues from Knoxville red light cameras:

2008 Program Collections 010108-033108
Fines paid to City of Knoxville= 266,685.27
Payment to Redflex= 417,631.54
Program total= 684,316.81

Detailed report here, crash rate analysis after the jump...

6 cities that were caught shortening yellow light times for profit.

Both Nashville and Chattanooga are on the list. Surely this couldn't happen in Knoxville?

The Editorial staff of the Knoxville News Sentinel has penned yet another in the series of “Can I carry your water Mr. Mayor” Editorials. Except this time it is a different Mayor, it is Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam. Bonus points for also carrying the water of the Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV.

The subject of this waste of ink and paper is how the defeat of a bill in the General Assembly that would require 5 second Yellow Lights where there are Red Light cameras is a victory for public safety. It is not a victory for the people, it is a victory for the revenuers.

C.E. Petro at “Thoughts of an Average Woman” has more as does Joe Powell at “A Cup of Joe Powell”. Here on KnoxViews a poll shows 97% of 77 respondents prefer a 5 second Yellow Light over a 3 second Yellow Light.

The Red Light cameras from RedFlex Inc. have been a stunning success. With over 62,000 violations the City of Knoxville and RedFlex are in the money with much more money just around the corner. Both the News Sentinel and the City of Knoxville know that increasing the Yellow Light duration from 4 seconds to 5.5 seconds reduces Red Light tickets by 96%. You can read the Virginia study here that proves just that. It also makes intersections safer, something that Police Chief Owen says he wants. Yet for some unknown reason he will not support a safe Yellow Light duration.

Which is worse in this Editorial? The glee the News Sentinel has that the bill was “properly killed”, or the closing line, “It would have been better for the lawmakers to seek those answers directly from city officials before trying to make a circus out of a serious traffic issue”? What kind of writer uses “properly killed” in an Editorial about public safety? The News Sentinel goes on to say, “The Tennessee Legislature certainly has better things to do than second guess and micromanage Knoxville's decision to use traffic-light cameras to ticket speeding motorists.”

Let’s be clear about this. This is not “micromanagement”. The Tennessee Legislature had to step in because the Mayor and the Police Chief have put revenue over public safety. Yet the pressure from the public is beginning to show. The Sentinel quotes Police Chief Owen, “Owen said he was not necessarily opposed to a longer yellow-light time if it can have a positive effect on reducing accidents, although he acknowledged the matter was more for traffic engineering than law enforcement. Let traffic engineering follow it up, then, perhaps giving the benefit of any doubt to motorists and increase the yellow-light time where warranted.”

So what exactly does Police Chief Owen mean? Does he mean if enough people are hurt then the traffic engineering people will increase the Yellow Light duration? Do people have to get hurt for the City to do the right thing? We live in a place of unaccountability. Neither the Mayor nor Police Chief Owen have any accountability for public safety, only the few people in the City traffic engineering department? Wonder if those poor people in traffic engineering are under orders from high above?

One of the worst decisions by Mayor Haslam and his administration was the approval and installation of Redflex Red Light cameras. But much worse than that decision was the decision not to change the Yellow Light timing to ensure traffic safety.

Whether this was oversight, incompetence, or greed will be difficult to ascertain. The engineering department of the City of Knoxville has stated it is too expensive to change the Yellow Light timing. Some think it is about the money. The Redflex system has already earned over two million dollars with a portion of that money going to the City of Knoxville.

One man has decided to go over the head of the Haslam administration and take this to the Tennessee General Assembly. That man is Rep. Joe McCord, the Republican from Maryville. Rep. McCord has introduced a bill that will require Yellow Light durations to be set at 5 seconds at all intersections where cameras are set up to photograph motorists.

In a story in today’s News Sentinel McCord was reported as saying, “he has heard reports that the yellow lights on Knoxville's monitored intersections are set at 3 seconds to boost ticket revenue."

Thank you Joe McCord for standing up for the people that have to drive on Knoxville’s streets. The first goal should be safety not revenue.

Rep. McCord’s bill mandates, “that the yellow, or caution, light be set at 5 seconds at all intersections where cameras are set up to photograph motorists. Another portion of the bill would forbid local governments from contracting with private companies to operate red light camera systems.”

Effectively this would end the contract between Redflex and the City of Knoxville.

I wonder if the Yellow Light duration will be changed now? Well Mayor, what do you think?