TeslaCam saves the day at a red light camera

[jat255]

Got dinged by one of MD's many wonderful red light cameras last night, at which point I was already well into the intersection. Thanks Elon for the always-on dashcam! I look forward to sharing the video with them when they get around to sending my $75 ticket in the mail.

 

[nvx1977]

I dunno, from your vid, it looks like you were going slow enough that it was safe to come to a stop when the light turned yellow.

 

[brobinson]

you were behind the crosswalk when the light turned yellow and going slow enough to stop. good luck with that.

 

[jat255]

Could have? Probably yes, but my dog in the back seat would not have appreciated the sudden stop. Point being, these cameras fine people all the time for "entering the intersection after the light has changed to red", when that clearly wasn't the case in this instance. Just glad to have the camera to be able to tell my version of events.

 

[jat255]

good luck with that.

In MD, there is no legal requirement to stop when the light is yellow. You are only forbidden from entering the intersection once the light turns red.

 

[nvx1977]

OP is right, if this article is correct. His video should exonerate him from the citation.

In some states, it’s illegal to enter an intersection on a yellow light. However, in Maryland, a steady yellow light is just a warning that the light is about to turn red. In other words, you’re allowed to enter an intersection while the light is still yellow, just not after the light has turned red.

Red Light and Stop Sign Tickets in Maryland

 

[jat255]

@novox77, poking around that site, I had no idea that this was a rule in MA (that you are not allowed to enter an intersection on a yellow). I got my license in NH, but mostly learned to drive on 128/95 north of Boston, and I can assure you that this is a de jure regulation and not a de facto one. My experience with most other drivers was that you got a few seconds after the light turned red to make it through!

 

[whatthe2]

In MD, there is no legal requirement to stop when the light is yellow. You are only forbidden from entering the intersection once the light turns red.

Agreed. No reason you should have stopped there.

Maybe it got the guy behind you?

 

[jat255]

Maybe it got the guy behind you?

Looking at it, you might be right, actually. He stopped, but on the crosswalk, and it looks like it flashed when he hit the stop line. I just love that we all have front, side, and (some rear) video coverage to be able to look at all this. It's probably a small effect, but I think eventually it should make the roads safer in general if people realize there are cars on the road recording their driving behavior as well as the traffic enforcement cams and such.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

@novox77, poking around that site, I had no idea that this was a rule in MA (that you are not allowed to enter an intersection on a yellow). I got my license in NH, but mostly learned to drive on 128/95 north of Boston, and I can assure you that this is a de jure regulation and not a de facto one. My experience with most other drivers was that you got a few seconds after the light turned red to make it through!

Having driven in MA for most of my adult life (learned here, moved away but visited, then moved back), yellow has almost always meant "hurry up and get through".

I've done it in front of cops many many times and since the ACLU would burn MA to the ground if they tried to install red light cameras here, I've never had a problem.

I learned something today.

 

[whatthe2]

Having driven in MA for most of my adult life (learned here, moved away but visited, then moved back), yellow has almost always meant "hurry up and get through".

I've done it in front of cops many many times and since the ACLU would burn MA to the ground if they tried to install red light cameras here, I've never had a problem.

I learned something today.

Exactly. And to those people saying he should’ve stopped on a yellow, that’s a great way to get rear-ended when people behind you aren’t expecting you to slam on the brakes for a yellow.

 

[CullinKin]

Looking at it, you might be right, actually. He stopped, but on the crosswalk, and it looks like it flashed when he hit the stop line. I just love that we all have front, side, and (some rear) video coverage to be able to look at all this. It's probably a small effect, but I think eventually it should make the roads safer in general if people realize there are cars on the road recording their driving behavior as well as the traffic enforcement cams and such.

Does the dash cam automatically record from all angles now? How did I miss this?

 

[ilg]

In my experience, those lights flash all the time. I'm also in MoCo. I've gotten intersection camera flashes on many occasions when making a right on red (after a complete stop and thorough check for traffic and peds). "Four Corners," in Silver Spring, is notorious for it. None of them have turned into a ticket in the mail, though.

I don't know if they set it up that way in an effort to let people know they're watching, or whether it's just poorly calibrated and a real person looks at the captures and sh*t-cans them. Either way, I don't seem to be getting bunches of nuisance tickets that I have to fight. I hope the same holds true for you.

 

[jat255]

Does the dash cam automatically record from all angles now? How did I miss this?

Still only the front, left, and right, but since the side cameras are pointed so far towards the rear, you get some rear coverage. I'm looking forward to if we get the B pillar and rear view cameras included too!

 

[JeffK]

It's strange that the light didn't turn to red before you entered the intersection. Maryland is supposed to have 3.5 second yellow lights at intersections with red light cameras.

 

[jat255]

whether it's just poorly calibrated and a real person looks at the captures and sh*t-cans them.

I know they do a manual review, so you're probably right. I also think it might have been the guy behind me, like @whatthe2 suggested.

 

[jat255]

It's strange that the light didn't turn to red before you entered the intersection. Maryland is supposed to have 3.5 second yellow lights at intersections with red light cameras.

I also did not know this was a thing (glad I'm learning today!). By my pretty poor "one one-thousand" count in my head, it does look like it was about 3.5 seconds in the video.

 

[ModelNforNerd]

Exactly. And to those people saying he should’ve stopped on a yellow, that’s a great way to get rear-ended when people behind you aren’t expecting you to slam on the brakes for a yellow.

Yea, pretty much anywhere in the Northeast, you'll get rear-ended stopping for a yellow.

 

[Rockster]

When I got my license in MD, many years ago, the driver's handbook said that yellow light were set to last "one second per 10 mph of the speed limit, rounded up to the nearest second," meaning that a 35 mph road would have a four second yellow light, a 55 mph road a six second yellow light, etc. I since moved away from MD but during my recent visits back there it seems that rule has gone out the window and the yellow lights are considerably shorter than that.

Maybe a long time MD resident can chime in on this but I can't help but wonder if their shortening the yellow lights coincides with the introduction of red light cameras.

 

[JeffK]

From the rearward facing camera that catches the light change from yellow to red, you're clearly in the intersection already though.

supposedly

Once the violation is detected, the camera will take a colored photograph of the violator’s car just before it crosses the stop line.

So it might very well be the guy behind you who entered the crosswalk.