Those impossibly short yellow lights getting you down? Well, they're supposed to. Red light cameras, gotta hate 'em. Not becaue we're all inveterate speeders that just can't force ourselves to slow down for the safety of our fellow man, but because , in many states, the game is rigged.

In many cases red-light cameras are installed by private vending companies for a percentage of the profits. In California, a recent court decision has forced the state to move from a percentage basisof paying the red-light vending companies, to a flat rate in order to remove the temptation of shortening yellow light times to increase revenue.

Yellow-light times are not an arbitrary designation. They are calculated at intersections to take into consideration speed limits, road conditions and visibility curves. But yellow-light shortening is such an exemplary revenue generator,that many municipalities find it to hard to resist. While there are the infamous" Six Cities " stated as the worst offenders: Chattenooga and Nashville Tn., Lubbock and Dallas Tx., Union City Ca. and Springfield Missouri, many go unchallenged, some simply by placing shortened yellow lights where they were already substandard.

The latest such case occurred in Arizona. According to regulations, the yellow light at a certain intersection was timed at 4.3 seconds: 4 seconds for the speed limit of 40 mph, 0.3 for the curvature of the road. Yet, over 1000 motorists were ticketed, in part, because the traffic light lasted only 3 seconds, 70% of the required length. Thanks to some savvy motorists, the light was timed, complaints were filed, and the drivers were refunded fines and their citations cleared from their records. (Which also saved them an insurance increase.)

Comprehensive studues have all reported that red-light cameras are associated with an increase in accidents. A study from the Virginia Transportation Research Council also linked the camera to increased crash costs. The USF Dean of Public Health states: "Instead they increase crashes and injuries as drivers attempt to make abrupt stops at camera intersections."

Change IS happening., More and more drivers are calling into question the legality of these cameras under the "Writ of Habeas Corpus " ,, under which the STATE must prove its' right to install the cameras. There are also the thousands of legal battles going on daily to prove that the yellow-light shortening has been done for a cash basis and not in the interest of public safety.

But there's a much easier way to protect yourself now. AND the majority of police departments are actually in favor of these devices. There are three I was able to find just doing a little light research.

The RoadpilotMicroGo is useful only if you're planning on traveling to England. You have to buy the actual device ( 49 lbs) plus the same for 1 yr subscription, 100 lbs for 3 years.

Njection can be downloaded onto your Garmin device, and has a database of 50,000 speedtraps world-wide, areas with high radar use and speed cameras and works with Microsoft LiveMaps. Couldn't find an actual cost on this one, other than needing to purchase a Garmin device.

PhantomAlert seems to be the best deal out there. You can download over 200.000 enforcement locations worldwide. Speed traps, red-light cameras,school zones, construction areas, dangerous intersections railroad crossings, and, not too sure about the advisability of this one, DUI checkpoints. Most , if not all, have a genuine safety benefit as well as a financial one. It can be downloaded onto Garmin, TomTom and multipole mobile devices. Priced at $9.99 mth, $39.99 yr, and $ 99.00 life-time. Law enforcement has come out strongly in favor of these devices, citing the safety benefits.

II have to say, I see very little downside to any on these devices, depending on your need, and hope to see alot more of them