Adding one second of time to yellow lights equipped with red light cameras could save lives said State Sen. Dan Duffy (R-Lake Barrington) and State Rep. Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein), who on May 16 called on Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan to allow House lawmakers to vote on legislation that will make intersections safer for Illinois drivers.
Senate Bill 3504, sponsored in the Senate by Duffy, passed with overwhelming support and was sent to the Illinois House where Rep. Sullivan picked up sponsorship of the legislation. Unfortunately, upon the bill’s arrival in the House, Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan vowed not to release the bill to committee, in effect killing the legislation.
“In addition to making intersections safer and reducing accidents, our ‘One Second for Safety’ bill will also drastically reduce red light camera tickets,” says Duffy. “In the Senate my bill had overwhelming bi-partisan support. The bill’s co-sponsors include both Republicans and Democrats. The Black Caucus worked very closely with me on this bill. Why would Speaker Madigan personally block this legislation from being released to a committee?”
Senate Bill 3504 extends yellow light traffic signals by one second in intersections equipped with red light cameras. Recent studies have shown that when yellow light time is increased, the occurrence of accidents drop sharply. One study from Texas A&M University found that accidents drop by 35 to 40 percent when a mere second of yellow light time is added at troubled intersections. The bill follows all federal traffic safety guidelines, which require yellow light time to be between 3 and 6 seconds.
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Ed Sullivan, says he hopes that the Speaker will change his mind and allow the legislation to be released to committee.
"This legislation is a common sense measure aimed to increase fairness and safety at intersections where red light technology is being implemented," stated Sullivan. "Short and inconsistent lengths of yellow lights serve no one; strict and uniform standards should govern this technology."
Duffy and Sullivan are hoping to put pressure on Speaker Madigan to release the bill to committee. “This bill passed in the Senate with flying colors. Now one man, Speaker Madigan, is single handedly deciding its fate. This isn’t the right way to make public policy,” said Duffy.
