The public relations depends also on the idea that traffic lights are safety devices, which they are not. They're traffic flow efficiency devices, allowing the green direction to run the intersection without slowing or negotiating right of way. It's a step up from stop signs, which actually are danger devices, because you assume the other guy has a stop sign if you don't have one yourself, even if you can't see it. When a stop sign doesn't allow enough opportunities for the stopped direction to go for the traffic that's there, they put in a light to raise the efficiency.

Obviously running a red light or stop sign without looking is dangerous; but running a light or stop sign with due caution is perfectly safe; merely illegal. One of the most amazing things was that anybody was able to get in an exception for right-turn-on-red against the mythology that running a red light is dangerous.

The cameras, and mostly the public, don't distinguish; which becomes part of the red-light camera justification.

Excellent observation.

A friend of mine used to always ask me, at what point does running a red light become legal. For instance, if the light is broken.

How long should you wait there? Technically, running it at any point is illegal, but if it is malfunctioning, you have to do something.

I once observed the bench trial of a ticket case where it was evident the person did not even stop for a red light, and yet the person was found "not guilty" by the Court. According to the defense attorney's argument, the law establishes that you are not to cross the painted "stop line" on the road after the light has changed to red. The evidence submitted by the defense showed that the city had failed to ever paint any stop lines at this intersection. The court said the person had not disobeyed the law, because he had not crossed the painted "stop line" after the signal had turned red. Talk about getting off the hook on a technicality.

It has been rumored, but never really proven, that in the City of Virginia Beach (where I grew up) that you cannot be convicted of disobeying a street sign that doesn't bear the city seal.

Now, I don't recommend anyone go around running stop signs, but I did notice that just about every sign in the city has a city seal on it.

What is so cool is that in my state, Texas, it is the law that you can not only turn right on red, but you can also turn left on red provided you are on a one-way street turning onto a one-way street. I actually had to point this law out to a rookie officer once who tried to ticket me because I had done so.

I thought I had already blogrolled this site ...

I told you they were doing this months ago! Yep. I ranted my ass off about it.

Of course, I'm just a girl. :P