A US Department of Transportation study showed that increasing yellow light times by one second reduced the number of accidents at an intersection by 40%. You'd think this would lead to countrywide adoption of longer yellow lights, but it hasn't in Florida.
In Florida, yellow lights got shorter when red light cameras were installed. Of course, this isn't surprising, seeing as red light cameras are operated for profit by a privately owned company, and are clearly implemented by municipalities to increase revenue. Florida DOT denies that the shortening of yellow light times below the federal recommendations was to increase red light revenue, but has also promised to review the timing guidelines and lights after this report aired.
For shame, Florida.
Related: Washington DC is Doubling its Number of Traffic Cameras
Related: The 10 Most Frustrating Types of Car Accidents
[via Channel 10 News]
