In the early history of civilized man, at some point people recognized that some sort of government would be better for a societal group that the rule of "every man for himself". People met and decided to (1) form a government and give up some of their personal freedoms for "the general good of our society", and (2) give up some of their money to fund the expense of the government. In the beginning, public servants were elected to "do the people's business". But it didn't take long before government began to see ITSELF as all important and the people as just an asset.. to be "tapped" and "bled"... to fund government activities and desires. As we all know, the U.S. Federal Government is the most grossly blatant purveyor of this principle. (Which is why I refer to them as "Gummint".... all disrespect intended.) Here's an example on a local level. http://www.motorists.org/blog/red-l...ght-shortening-yellow-light-times-for-profit/ P.S. Remember Lincoln's Gettysburg Address? "Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.. shall not perish from the earth". HA! It "perished" decades ago.
So lets see.... Door #1.... Longer yellow, fewer red light violations, fewer accidents and less city revenue. Or, Door #2... Ridiculously short yellow (in many cases, shorter than "recommended" or even "required by law"), MORE red light violations, MORE accidents, and MORE city revenue.... Which is more important... public safety or city revenue? The mayor ponders the dilemma...
Too friggin' funny. Years ago I got a ticket when the light malfunctioned and went straight from green to red with no yellow at all. I explained it to the copper and he said "ok I'll buy that but you turned in front of a bus afterwards so I'll write ya up for that". I beat it the Chicago way. I bought the clerk next to me at the CBOT breakfast and he had his mom who worked at traffic court "erase" the ticket out of the system.