You're assuming you know how long it lasts, as does everyone else on the road. That is an exceptionally poor assumption. You can't make that assumption simply because you set the timing on your traffic light to 12 seconds of yellow. To make that assumption, every driver who sees your traffic light must not have ever seen any traffic light with a shorter yellow. One driver whose home town used 3-second yellow lights and red light cameras is not going to know you use 12-second yellows, and he's going to slam on his brakes as soon as they come on. Your 12-second drivers behind him are going to be forced to panic stop because of him.
If his home town used 3-second yellows without traffic cameras, without excessive enforcement, he's going to roll through anyway. He's not going to slam on his brakes