Anyone who drives down Genesee Street in Utica knows…there are a lot of lights. And with that comes a lot of time waiting for the green light.
What if that traffic light changed because it knew you weren’t speeding? It’s actually a thing in other cities in the country.
Sounds like a dream come true for good drivers and a nightmare for speeders.
N RotteveelN Rotteveel
Rest In Red Concept
Imagine driving down an empty street, and instead of hitting a wall of red lights, the signals actually reward you for obeying the speed limit.
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That is the reality in cities like Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Portland, Oregon, where a new traffic strategy called “rest in red” is flipping the script on speed enforcement.
These behavioral traffic signals stay red until a vehicle approaches. Automated sensors continuously track your speed: if you are cruising at or below the limit, the light turns green before you even need to brake, rewarding you with a smooth ride.
If you are speeding, the light stays stubbornly red, forcing a complete stop. Portland officials have dubbed it a “virtual speed bump,” and early data proves it works.
On one busy test corridor, the system successfully dropped average speeds from 39 mph down to the legal 30 mph limit.
Tracy FoxTracy Fox
How Do They Handle Emergencies
For those worried about first responders, the tech is completely foolproof. Ambulances and fire trucks use standard Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) transmitters to instantly override the system.
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The intersection drops its speed-monitoring protocol, turning the light green for the emergency vehicle while holding cross-traffic safely at a red.
What Do Insurance Companies Think?
Though major auto insurers have yet to publish formal position statements on the pilots, this technology aligns perfectly with their overarching “Safe System Approach.”
Insurers strongly prefer infrastructure designs that passively prevent drivers from making fatal errors.
By physically forcing speed compliance without issuing controversial financial fines, “rest in red” lights bypass the usual political backlash associated with automated speed cameras all while targeting the high-speed intersection crashes notorious for causing severe injuries.
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Gallery Credit: Credit – Polly McAdams