Here is the current state of affairs in SF.

Gas = $4.41 / gallon

Parking ticket = $50 (minimum fine, sfgate story)

“Raising parking fines will lead to more abuse on the streets,” said Luis Estrella, a San Francisco parking-control officer for the past eight years who said he was punched last year by a firefighter who got a $50 ticket.

Downtown meter violations, for example, will be fined up to $60, and parking in a street-cleaning zone will set drivers back $50. The city now makes about $90 million a year from parking fines. The increase would bring in an estimated $13 million more in the new fiscal year.

COLA Formula revealed!

A study performed by the National motorists association has shown that increasing the time that a light is Yellow during it’s cycle can markedly improve the safety of that intersection. Conversely, decreasing the time can increase revenues from tickets generated by the cameras at those intersections. Money or safety, amazing that Union City California was one of the six busted for trapping motorists with short yellow times.

Short yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection.

Some local governments have ignored the safety benefit of increasing the yellow light time and decided to install red-light cameras, shorten the yellow light duration, and collect the profits instead.

With red light running being one of the cities major issues, along with gun play and road rage, I wonder how SF measures up wrt Yellow light times.

More on the subject

• Study finds red-light cameras could actually cause more accidents
• On Biking in San Francisco
• Open Letters Upon Close Calls

h/t BoingBoing, Leftlane, NMA.

Cyborg Enforcers Illustration courtesy of Mike Kline