Red light cameras shown to cause accidents

What's needed are longer yellows.
 
Some cities that use these cameras shorten the yellows in order to collect more money, which is what these are really all about (not safety).
 
Give people enough warning and that will truly make intersections safer.

So firstwagen, are you saying that I shouldn't report this bit of news, because it's not to your liking?
 
As they saying goes, "don't shoot the messenger..."

I have read, before, about how increasing traffic controls can also increase accidents (and decreasing controls also decreases traffic accidents).
  
In a small town in the Netherlands they built a highway going right through it and traffic accidents skyrocketed (as expected). They brought in an 'expert' and their solution was to put up all of these new signs and painted lines on the road (etc etc) to help curb the amount of accidents. It did the opposite and accidents increased.
  
So, they tried something radically different and took everything out. No signs, no lights nothing. I think the only thing they kept was that the main downtown road was made into cobblestones so that people had to drive a bit slower. Strangely unexpected that the problem was solved; accidents went way down.
  
Argument has it that by giving the pedestrians and motorists responsibility they were able to cope far better than before. Interesting concept when you think about this article.
  
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I agree, ateixeira. I've even actually been driving at the speed limit and found myself having to stomp hard on the brakes for some of those 'short' yellow lights.

I wasn't aware that municipalities were shortening the yellow times on intersections that had red-light cameras. Interesting. But not surprising.
 
To rebut firstwagon, safety IS part of the governments responsibility for us citizens. However, the problem is that they often have TOO much power. We don't need to be protected from ourselves. Where does free choice come in? If we CHOOSE to let the government protect us from every possible thing that enters our life, then we effectively sign over ALL of our liberties to them. That's NOT what government is supposed to do. Allow people to make their own choices in life. If they screw up and injure someone (or worse...) then let them pay the consequences for that choice too. Preemptive laws are not proven to work.

People need to learn not to attempt to run yellow lights. This is a culture thing. Dallas is actually considering removing some red light cameras because they're working too well. You read that correctly, people AREN'T running the lights, thus not enough revenue.

Texas has the slow yellows that Ateixeira speaks of. A yellow will typically last about 5 seconds, as opposed to California where the average time is 2 seconds.

Redlight cameras working too well in Dallas:
 
http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/15/dallas-is-considers-shutting-off-red-light-cams-since-theyre-w/

I think the problem is not soley the red-light camera. I think the problem lies with a lot of drivers who are not paying attention as well. How often have you been going down the road only to look up and realize that the intersection you are about to enter is about to turn red? You then realize that you are really going to fast to stop, so you gun and clip through right as it turns red. But if the light as a camera, you jam on the brakes screech to a halt and thus you are safe. But then the poor person behind you, who was also not paying attention because he was following you and because he was too close, couldn't see that the light was changing and rammed into the back of you.
 
All this could have been avoided if you had just paid attention and looked far enough ahead to know that light might be changing as you approach it and thus change your speed accordingly. Granted it could be true as well that yellow lights are getting shorter and there have been times where I have been caught in that "point of no return" where I just have to go through no matter what and if the yellow is just a couple seconds slower than it should be, I would end up running the red.