Traffic lights stuck on red

[scottmitchell74]

Interesting.

In the US when this happens we treat it as a stop sign, and you proceed in turn.

Yes, but having driven in the US on a large number of occasions (I'm proud to say up around the 20,000mile mark), US drivers are generally more considerate, patient and more abiding of traffic laws than a lot of moronic UK drivers.

Interesting!!! I've driven in Scotland and Barbados many times and I'd say the Scots were nice. Bajans...depends but generally decent...and us US??? Tools! The lot of us!

[emjaybee]

Interesting.

In the US when this happens we treat it as a stop sign, and you proceed in turn.

Yes, but having driven in the US on a large number of occasions (I'm proud to say up around the 20,000mile mark), US drivers are generally more considerate, patient and more abiding of traffic laws than a lot of moronic UK drivers.

Interesting!!! I've driven in Scotland and Barbados many times and I'd say the Scots were nice. Bajans...depends but generally decent...and us US??? Tools! The lot of us!

One trip to Dallas/Fort Worth area, about 1/2 mile from our hotel was an area being developed. The roads were all in place and finished, but not a single building or obstacle for about a square half mile. In the middle of all this was a four way intersection (crossroads) with a STOP sign at each way. There was very little traffic passing through the area, but every car stopped at their STOP sign, despite the fact that you could see absolutely no cars for about 500yds in any direction. THAT  would never happen in the UK.

The wife went crackers at me when I just carried on at 40mph through it. "You'll get a ticket" she said.

"There's not a vehicle for 500yds in any direction, who the hells going to give me a ticket?"

"That's not the point" she said.

Can't reason with 'em.

[scottmitchell74]

I can see your point. There is a certain courtesy/decorum at stop signs. In city traffic, however, we seem to lose our minds like everyone else.

I'm the chief of sinners.

[themadhippy]

As I was on my way to Banbury I dropped into the Nick

It was open    must have been a wednesday between 10:57 and 11:02

[njee20]

Road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants are 4 times higher in the US than the UK. I've always found driving poor in the US. Our roads are among the safest in the world, although there are always a few morons obviously!

a few years ago, I was on my way home after a night shift, and saw a really dangerous bit of driving on the A23 and onto the A273.

clocked the make / model / colour / reg of the offending vehicle, found a layby, pulled in and rang the non emergency line .....

hold....
message about dedication to superb service from chief constable ....
hold ....
hold ....
message from P&CC about dedication to superb service ....
hold ....
hold ....
hold ....

answer 

explained what had happened, gave details, but had not got the last letter of the reg ....

"I'm sorry but there's not much I can do as you didn't get the full reg no" 

explained that when I was at school there were only 26 letters in the alphabet, and wondered what the chances were that two cars of that make / model / colour would be listed in the 26 possibilities ?

" I'm sorry , sir, but I do not like your attitude, and if you continue I will end this call"   

I'm paying for the call, and he's going to end it cause he can't be bothered to do his job ?
amazing that when they want to they only need a partial reg 

needless to say the conversation ended, by me ending the call, hey my dime 

as the saying goes 'what's black and goes click brrr?'
'I don't know'
click brrrr 

Doesn't seem unreasonable to me; you didn't have the full registration. They're chronically underfunded and over stretched, and you expect them to check 26 potential variations so that they can pursue a single report from one person of some subjectively poor driving? Good luck with that. Do you give your phone number missing a digit too? Only 10 variations there, surely people can try them all?!

[emjaybee]

You could start an argument in an empty room.

With a computer in front of them it would take about 60 seconds to check 23 variations (no 'I'  'O'   'Q'  ).

A small price to pay for safer roads.

[port perran]

Those figures quoting maximum timings are regulatory guidelines for traffic managers and have no legal binding.
Quite simply it is an offence to pass a traffic light on red.
However, advanced driving (which by the way is largely about applying common sense to any situation) would suggest that if it is safe to proceed in this situation then do so (at slow speed) but be prepared to stop. Traffic coming the other way may well have applied the same sensible logic. Proceeding with caution means that it is possible to pull in at a wider point (if their is one) and hence pass oncoming traffic in relative safety.
The worse case always in these situations is that following traffic merely tags along behind the first car (sheeplike). It is necessary to think about the consequences of one's  actions before moving.
The guidance about phoning the company who has erected the lights or the local authority or the police is, of course, a sound one.

[jpendle]

One trip to Dallas/Fort Worth area, about 1/2 mile from our hotel was an area being developed. The roads were all in place and finished, but not a single building or obstacle for about a square half mile. In the middle of all this was a four way intersection (crossroads) with a STOP sign at each way. There was very little traffic passing through the area, but every car stopped at their STOP sign, despite the fact that you could see absolutely no cars for about 500yds in any direction. THAT  would never happen in the UK.

The wife went crackers at me when I just carried on at 40mph through it. "You'll get a ticket" she said.

"There's not a vehicle for 500yds in any direction, who the hells going to give me a ticket?"

"That's not the point" she said.

Can't reason with 'em.


[/quote]

Just to be clear, if any kind of LEO (NCIS slang there) saw you, you would have been pulled over and ticketed. There is ABSOLUTELY NO TOLERANCE for failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign over here.

I once got a ticket in the car park of a state recreation area for failing to stop at the stop sign with no one around except the park ranger, who gave me the ticket, and I wasn't even leaving the car park.

John P

[jpendle]

OK Good time for a rant about US drivers.



Sorry no rant.

My rational self decided that I shouldn't alienate a nation that has nuclear weapons, or one whose government could deport me 

Regards,

John P

[jpendle]

Interesting.

In the US when this happens we treat it as a stop sign, and you proceed in turn.

Yes, but having driven in the US on a large number of occasions (I'm proud to say up around the 20,000mile mark), US drivers are generally more considerate, patient and more abiding of traffic laws than a lot of moronic UK drivers.

It depends where you are in the US. On the whole, US drivers aren't any better than UK ones, if anything they are worse, as its much easier to get a drivers licence here.

Regards,

John P

[Intercity]

I see all sorts of really bad driving everyday, ranges from stop signs that are regarded as suggestions right through to the cell/mobile phone drivers, just yesterday I pulled up to a 4 way stop (on my regular route to work), because I stopped, the guy on the cross street felt like he could go even though I got there first, why did he think that? Because he rolled through without stopping.

The one traffic law I rarely see people comply with is a non-working traffic light, law says to treat as a stop sign, that rarely happens and you risk being in a smash (probably by the guy on his phone that rolled through the previous stop sign)

I could go on, but I need my blood pressure to be low before I get in the car for the next run of the gauntlet.

[The Q]

Interesting.

In the US when this happens we treat it as a stop sign, and you proceed in turn.

Yes, but having driven in the US on a large number of occasions (I'm proud to say up around the 20,000mile mark), US drivers are generally more considerate, patient and more abiding of traffic laws than a lot of moronic UK drivers.

It depends where you are in the US. On the whole, US drivers aren't any better than UK ones, if anything they are worse, as its much easier to get a drivers licence here.

Regards,

John P

At age 14.in some states...

[njee20]

You could start an argument in an empty room.

With a computer in front of them it would take about 60 seconds to check 23 variations (no 'I'  'O'   'Q'  ).

A small price to pay for safer roads.

There's a website in Sussex for reporting bad driving like that; Operation Crackdown. It may only take 60 seconds for them to check every permutation, but when they don't even attend burglaries I'd sooner they didn't spend 60 seconds hundreds of times over because someone didn't quite remember a number plate. What if there were 3 potential matches? What if the bit he remembered was actually wrong and there are none? It's just a waste of time.

And FWIW, although I'm unsure of why I'm rising to your bait, I didn't argue at all, merely said I didn't think it unreasonable.

[Merrylee]

There's nothing worst when the traffic lights fail at a junction/crossroads and it becomes a 'free for all', 'may the best man win' as everyone nudges out tooting and shouting as they all think they have the right of way.
Simple solution would be the solid white border around the traffic light top section, would have a broken line version on the least priority route.
This means they would give way and the rules would fall back to standard high way code on 'give way' procedures.
Ron

[njee20]

There's actually a reasonable amount of evidence that suggests removing traffic lights makes for safer and quicker driving conditions, as people, in the main, apply common sense and caution to a situation. When faced with traffic lights people are just slaves to the rules.

One of many articles here, although he in part talks about installing roundabouts instead of traffic light junctions.