SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus (COVID-19)

i don't like the short yellow. oftentimes you're at that make or break point, even below the speed limit

 

40 cases in mass hachoo setts today. pretty dang good two weeks post memorial day weekend

 

every time I've noticed "man that was a SHORT yellow!" ... there was a revenue (oopsi meant redlight!) camera at the intersection, or a popo waiting nearby.

funny how those red light cameras always have shorter yellows. when we're told they are put in place "for public safety" , but it's fairly obvious that shortening yellow lights causes:
heavier panic braking prior to the intersection (because they know there is a revenue generator)
less time to clear the intersection

as far as tag readers, well, it's publicly visible so there isn't much to complain about.... unless the pumping gets smart and votes to make them illegal to use, like cellular snooping, internet snooping, Google maps Aerials, and other invasions of privacy.

don't see that happening tho

 

Texas nurses refusing the vaccine face losing their jobs

Related:
"Surgical Nurses outraged by being forced to wash hands......"

Science and data.....

 

it's texas, they're 'different'

 

Yeah....
It's like a whole nother country!

 

Has anyone timed those short yellows to learn whether or not they meet state requirements, federal guidelines, and local norms for other lights?

It would seem that if they really are short, this should be a productive route for litigation. I've heard of some places where too-short lights have led to mass citation dismissal, or sometimes removal of the photo system entirely, especially when proper light timing doesn't meet "revenue expectations".

 

Heard of such stories, but Pa yellows were short before red light cameras.

 

it's helter skelter here, i don't think we have any red light cams that give tickets here, but not positive.

i'm more concerned about getting broadsided. i always look both ways and try to stop if possible.

of course, the cops could be waiting down the road, but we don't do traffic violations much anymore.

 

One of the benefits of my bifurcated career as a squid was that I got to hang with a lot of LEOs when I transferred out of the sneaker Navy, and started using 782 gear.
LEOs are almost universally under-paid and in many departments they come from the military to begin with so they're well represented in the reservist communities.
It's not a "de-fund" thing.....but rather, like teachers, their relatively low pay is a long-term thing.

On year-long deployments you learn a lot about the LEO life, and as an added bonus you get hours and hours and hours of "can't make that up" stories on those loooooong mid watches.

LEOs HATE to do traffic with an unbridled passion, which is why although there's no quota per-se, they're kinda like the science and data profession.
More paper = more work performed = better performance evaluations.

LIKE the scientific field, paper is measured by the pound, and "peer-reviewed."
TIFWIW....

So.....
Red light cameras.

It's sorta like crack cocaine.
If you want to spoil their evil plans to subjugate you and take all of your money......it's remarkable easy!

Just stop when the little light goes red.

If you're hypermiling, it's SHOULD be easier to do and more "earth friendly" to boot.

 

60 cases today, i have to think vaccinations are working

 

+1 on vaccinations working

Pfizer, AstraZeneca preventing hospitalizations from Delta variant in Britain - North Shore News


"A new study in England suggests even just one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are extremely good at keeping people from ending up in the hospital if they contract COVID-19 from the Delta variant of the virus that causes it.

The news is particularly welcome in Canada, where a focus on first doses means more than two-thirds of Canadians are now partially protected from COVID-19, but only about one in eight are fully vaccinated."

 

... um, isn't that a little too late? At least in areas that have not adopted grace periods. Or by the letter of the law here, stating that we are supposed to be out of the intersection by the time it turns red. Though enforcement generally seems to be more in line with the law where I was first licensed, where it was illegal only to enter the intersection after it turned red. No legal issue with still being in the box and proceeding to an exit at the red instant. (Not that I received any practice then, the town had no traffic light until years after I left.)

I'll agree that the majority of ticketed 'victims' are guilty of knowing misbehavior and owe. But that is no excuse for the revenuers to make the yellow lights short to increase their catch. These yellows should no shorter than the federal guidelines (which vary according to speed limit and slope), and no shorter than the average non-camera-ed traffic signals in the area.

 

MSNBC reports delta version is both more contagious and severe with more hospitalizations. However, only the non-vaccinated are suffering.

Source: US coronavirus: A new coronavirus variant is on the rise. Here's why experts are concerned - CNN

(CNN)The Delta variant is on its way to becoming the dominant strain of coronavirus in the US, raising concerns that outbreaks could hit unvaccinated people this fall.

And a new study shows the Delta variant is associated with almost double the risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha variant. The Alpha (B.1.1.7) variant, which is "stickier" and more contagious than the original strain of novel coronavirus, became the dominant strain in the US this spring. But health experts worry the Alpha variant could be trumped by the Delta variant, which appears to be even more transmissible and may cause more severe illness for those not vaccinated.​

Not good.

Bob Wilson

 

that's a HIPPA violation right there. expect to see some very happy surgery techs/nurses/yuuuuup and doctors too that win lawsuits for hospitals that violate or attempt to violate their privacy about immunization history.

requiring a face shield, gloves, dressings, hair nets, and similar barriers have nothing to do with immunization history, and are not related.

no matter how loud a person yells "science!" they are still looked at the same.

 

herd immunity did a great job killing off The Blessed Virus Religion...

some people still think it was god, vaccines, or wearing 3 diapers in their faces, and that's fine too.

 

thankfully, yes, there are some thinkers out there.

here's an example:

"
Longer yellow lights are on the way, thanks in part to a man a state government agency once forbade from criticizing red light cameras without a proper license.

As The Newspaper reports, the Institute of Transportation Engineers -- which develops standards for managing all aspects of driving under the US Department of Transportation -- has agreed with recommendations made by a team of engineers that found ITE-approved yellow light timing standards reduced public safety and resulted in more accidents.

Traffic signal yellow times could begin rising at intersections throughout the country next year. The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) expects to have a proposal in early 2020 to address the problem of overly short yellow times for motorists making left-hand or right-hand turns. An ITE panel concluded in September that a team of engineers who objected to the practice were right on the fundamental issue: drivers approaching an intersection to make a turn under certain conditions can neither safely stop nor legally proceed without risking an automated ticket.

The appeal of ITE yellow light timing standards was brought by a group of engineers that included an engineer who the Oregon Board of Engineers once infamously claimed wasn't an engineer.

The team that filed the appeal consisted of Oregon engineer Mats Jarlstrom, Safer Streets LA executive director Jay Beeber, North Carolina professional engineer Brian Ceccarelli, and the National Motorists Association's professional engineer Joe Bahen. The appeal used a physics model to prove mathematically that the ITE's current recommended practice dangerously shortchanged drivers making turns.

Jarlstrom was fined $500 by the Oregon Board of Engineers for practicing engineering without a license. Jarlstrom does, in fact, have an engineering degree. He's just not licensed by the state. The Board took this to mean it could tell Jarlstrom to stop presenting his red light camera research to public entities. A federal court disagreed and Jarlstrom obtained an official apology from the Licensing Board.

His criticisms of red light cameras (and the consequent shortening of yellow light times) were correct. ITE guidance allowed city engineers to shorten yellow times on left/right turn signals by approving a calculation that shaved 5 mph off the speed limit solely for the purpose of determining yellow light timing.

The research presented to ITE showed this made things much more dangerous for drivers approaching turning lanes during a yellow light. It created a "dilemma zone" where drivers were given two options, both of them bad: make an unsafe stop or get a ticket.

The "dilemma zone" is where cities using red light cameras make their money. Research cited by The Newspaper shows the majority of red light camera citations are issued to drivers who misjudged the end of a yellow light by less than 0.25 seconds.

ITE now appears to be distancing itself from camera-based enforcement efforts, something it has actively encouraged in the past. This is from a 2001 Congressional report on red light cameras that directly quotes ITE's guidance:

When the percentage of vehicles that entered on a red indication exceeds that which is locally acceptable, the yellow change interval may be lengthened (or shortened) until the percentage conforms to local standards, or enforcement can be used instead. (Page 5, emphasis added).

Cities and towns looking for more revenue have taken those standards to heart, shortening yellow times and increasing enforcement. Municipalities and red light camera companies made money while drivers absorbed the risk. Now, ITE's wording suggests the equation for yellow light timing shouldn't be used solely for the purpose of calibrating red light cameras for maximum profitability.

The Recommended Practice is not intended to declare, at a snap shot in time, if a vehicle “has violated the red signal” and the use of this document and red light running enforcement should be at best loosely connected. Change intervals should be developed using variables that reflect average people and vehicles.

The deployment of red light cameras directly correlates with shortened yellow light intervals. Driver safety is the sales pitch, but the real motivating force is the extra income. Increasing yellow light intervals from the ITE minimum does actually have a positive effect on driver safety, but it's hell on revenue streams. Here's how things changed in Georgia after the state mandated a one-second increase in yellow light intervals.

Suwanee was first to end ticketing on January 19 after issuing just 68 citations under lengthened yellow (the equivalent of 110 tickets per month). This compared unfavorably to the 2008 average of 580 tickets per month which helped the city land $414,540 in revenue. In Duluth, the program issued 652 tickets in October compared to 215 last month. As a result, Duluth will let its contract for the program -- which generated 10,386 tickets worth $727,020 last year -- expire in May. In Dalton, 122 tickets were issued at the intersection of Highway 41 and Shugart Road after the light was increased in January. The previous year, the number of monthly tickets averaged 460.

The ITE spent years nudging cities towards "enforcement," rather than safety. It's finally dialing that back and it took the work of outsiders to get it moving in the right direction. Hopefully, this guidance will be applied and red light camera companies will find themselves in the dustbin of history.
"


source:
The Guy The State Of Oregon Said Wasn't A Real Engineer Just Helped Convince The Government To Extend Yellow Light Intervals | Techdirt

 

Ain't a HIPPA violation if the nurses are fighting it publicly.

 

As a potential patient, I want every medical and support staff to be vaccinated. If they can't bear the thought, they need a change of career to something that vaccination status doesn't matter.

Bob Wilson

 

funny how 'herd immunity' coincided with vaccinations