Signals should be longer to be safer

I am a retired police officer after serving 35 years with the Erie County Sheriff's Office, Patrol Division. What I saw more than 35 years is that the cycles of traffic signals got shorter and shorter. The idea apparently is to keep everyone happy by moving a little traffic at a time instead of a wait.

Everyone is in a hurry these days, and drivers get frustrated when only a few cars go through the signal and then they may get stuck for two or more turns on the signals.

If the Department of Transportation wanted to make intersections safer, they should make the green and arrow cycles longer so the cars don't have to wait over and over at a red light. To me, they contribute to the unsafe conditions at intersections.

People don't mind waiting a few seconds more when they know the traffic at a signal will cycle through the intersection.

Usually, a well-placed intention becomes a fundraiser for any town or city, and then the politicians are more interested in how much money is made per intersection. Giving a summons or ticket to a violator should teach a lesson to the violator; however, the reductions in moving violations to parking tickets in the court systems of today make my point. This practice only makes the vehicle and traffic laws pointless to the police officer. One could sit at any stop sign, or signal intersection, anywhere in the U.S.A. and observe drivers passing through without observing the traffic control devices. Cameras go a long way in assessing traffic conditions and accidents; however, cameras at intersections created for collecting fines for signal-runners are another fee for government to indirectly place their hand in your pocket.

Has anyone noticed when a police car is present at an intersection, the drivers don't violate the law?
Vincent Delgato
Retired police officer