[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

The problem you're missing is that shorter yellow times = less reaction time to make stop/go judgement, even to the point where these times could be negative, resulting in running the red light or making an unsafe stop and possibly being rear-ended...all detailed in the Dick Armey report.

A yellow time that is too short coupled with an all-red phase is not adequate.

[Alberta's Child]

. . . shorter yellow times = less reaction time to make stop/go judgement, even to the point where these times could be negative . . .

I didn't miss that point -- I've pointed out several times on this thread that if a signal is not designed to provide adequate perception/decision/stopping time at the posted speed of the roadway during the yellow phase, then the signal design is flawed. In a case like this, the engineer who designed it ought to be fired, then beaten with a hammer. In a case like this, the engineer would pay for his mistake in a way that a police officer or (even worse) a politician never would.

Armey made numerous allegations in his report, some of which were valid and some of which were based on some misconceptions of how traffic signals are designed. If you know anyone who has been unjustly ticketed at one of these intersections, send me a Freep mail with the details. I know that there is an ingrained sense of injustice and "fighting the system" here, but in a country where someone can get a few hundred thousand dollars for spilling hot coffee on himself, I'm certain that a design flaw in a traffic signal would attract the attention of every lawyer on the face of the earth.