Traffic lights. We all know of them, we encounter them numerous times daily. It’s a simple concept: Green you go, yellow you slow, red you stop. There are little rules to remember, such as red on right and to yield on green when turning, but for the most part it’s as simple as what the color directs you to do. But, what happens when these intersections can be made to gain money autonomously? Someone wouldn’t do that, but it has been done. Red-light cameras installed at intersections catch the vehicle plate of red-light runners, and send them a fine without a single interaction with an officer. Even worse, these lights had been found to be rigged in order to make more money off this concept.

As a matter of fact, a report given by the Office of the Majority Leader in the United States House of Representatives in 2001 presented that the average time for a yellow light to duarte has been reduced by around 25% as in comparison to the mid-1970s.

So what does that mean? It means that intersections equipped with red-light cameras that have had their timing modified are essentially money traps. Reducing the amount of time for the yellow light to illuminate will result in more aggressive braking and even running the light without a choice. And when you do, boom. You’re fined.

In New York, a situation of this nature was occuring. An individual aware of it decided to take action. Dubbed the “Red Light Robin Hood,” Stephen Ruth would cut the wires leading to the cameras at intersections with shortened yellow light phases. These intersections not only generated $32 million for Suffolk County, but also caused numerous fatalities as a result of the shortened yellow light causing accidents.

So, what now? Red-light cameras do provide substantial revenue for the counties they are installed in. $600 million has been raised in Chicago alone since their install in 2003. And the honesty is that not all these cameras are rigged or in malpractice. The truth lies in that most of these cameras are installed at unmodified intersections and gain money from red-light runners that could’ve easily stopped their vehicle. So, it seems that these cameras are here to stay, and everything remains ethical and socially acceptable with them, as long as they aren’t rigged.