
In my home town, drivers
reportedly run red lights 120,000+ times each day!
First, there are two basic types of red light
runnersthere's the daydreamer or distracted driver
who just doesn't see it, and then there's the driver who's
impatient and accelerates on the yellow signal instead of
stopping and waiting the average 45 seconds of a signal cycle!
Some of us are guilty of both offenses. Are we really in that
much of a hurry? Running red lights kills hundreds of us every
year.
Don't be fooled by
painted lines: "The box" starts at the "lateral
curb line," indicated here by the dotted black
line.
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What constitutes running a red light?
It means your vehicle entered the intersection after the signal
turned red. In order to know whether you've entered an intersection,
you must know where the intersection begins. The boundary
is farther out than you might think, and that causes part
of the problem. Here's the definition in my state: the intersection
boundary (in Arizona) is the extension of the lateral curb
lines (of two or more cross streets). The lateral curb line
is an unpainted line drawn from corner to cornerjust
imagine a line drawn from the "point" of each corner
(where the outer edge of the sidewalk meets the outer edge
of the cross street sidewalk) across the street to the next
one. The painted stop line and crosswalk are typically several
feet nearer to you than the boundary, and many drivers erroneously
believe the last crosswalk line marks the edge of the intersection.
This error can result in an extra bit of time for the light
to turn red before you actually enter the intersection, resulting
in a violation. PLEASE NOTE: The definition of intersection
varies from state to state and the differences can be significantyou
need to know what the law and definition is in YOUR state.
In my state, if you entered the intersection
legally (on a green or yellow signal), you have the right
to clear the intersection even after it turns red. You will
find that most states have similar provisions so that left
turning traffic doesn't get bogged. In all of this, though,
the legalities are not the most important issue.
In the defensive driving world, we say,
"the green light anticipator met the red light procrastinator."
The collision of these two is usually a "T-bone"
- where the two vehicles meet at a 90 degree angle. It's not
a "nice" collision. The typical speed through an
intersection is over 50 mph! You'd find this is one of the
most commonly fatal collisions - one in which seat belts and
normal rear-firing air bags won't help you much.
Be careful around intersections. If you
get a yellow light, stop. You can anticipate when the light
is about to change, so it is no excuse to say it was too late.
If you have the green light, watch for the red-light runnerlook
left, right, then left AGAIN to make sure the intersection
is going to be safe before you enter it, even on one-way streets
(because somebody might be going the wrong way AND running
red lights). Red light runners are often speeding as well,
so make sure you look down the road far enough to see them
coming.
Running red lights is too dangerous,
both for you and for others, no matter how pressured or late
you are. Slow down,
grow some patience! Pay
attention to your driving so you aren't one of the oblivious
red-light runners. And live to drive another day!
<Rule
#8: Motorcyclist, Protect Thyself!
Rule # 10: Drive Precisely!>