We’ve all had the experience while making a left-hand turn across a busy intersection. The light turns yellow and you wait for cars to come to a stop so you can proceed. But you have that 2-3 second timeframe where it can be exceedingly difficult to discern whether that car is going to stop or barrel through the intersection.
I’m thinking that many people die every year from making premature left-hand turns into traffic. So I’m going to throw this idea out there into the universe, free of charge, and maybe somebody can put it to good use:
A brake light positioned on the front of the car.
Might be mostly unnecessary but it’s certainly more useful than daytime headlights, right? Any auto engineers out there?
Actually not a bad idea. But on the other side, most people can tell distances and should be able descern whether they can make a turn in time or not. Also, legally, the person making the left turn has the right to complete that turn if he or she is in the intersection regardless of the color of the light at the time of the turn. So if you can’t actually complete your turn until 3 seconds after the light has turned red, it’s ok. Not that everyone knows this, but…
Is this true where you live? (former)Roommate would be interested to know, since he got a ticket for being at fault in a two-car collision (damaging MY car :mad: ), turning in front of a truck that ran a red light, even though (f)R was already in the intersection and turning after the light turned red.
Yes, the other guy got a ticket for running the red light, but the cop put (f)R at fault for the accident for crossing in front of oncoming traffic. Under your way of thinking, he would have been in the clear, but legally, (f)R was wrong.
Not to mention, from what I learned at driver safety class**, vehicles are not supposed to ‘creep’ into the intersection anticipating the yellow/red light. Technically, you would be in violation of blocking the intersection and a cop could pull you over for that. Not that too many do, unless you end up gridlocking the area.
**details unnecessary - okay, minor speeding.
screech-owlI think your fr got caught in a Catch 22. Though it was legal to complete his turn (due to red light). He impeded oncoming traffic due to the situ. pointed out in the OP (I.e., no idea truck wasn’t stopping).
Hmm, I was wondering. Don’t cha think it would be neat if we had variable brake lights: Instead of having a light that turns on when you depress the brake pedal, how about multiple lights that would illuminate bars depending on how hard you depress the brakes.
for instance, you depress the brakes -lightly- …one or two bars illuminate-
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press harder-
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Slam on the brakes!! -
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Wouldn’t this make it easier to discern upon first glance, or at a distance, how quickly people in front of you are stopping?
Well, yeah…but you’re the yellow light is supposed to mean “caution-slow down”, too, and outside of software copyright laws, that has to be the most violated law in existence.
I honestly think most drivers see traffic laws as really being traffic suggestions. How often does someone try to tell you that the law says you can rob someone as long as you leave them $5? Now how many people have tried to tell you that the police have to give you a 5-mph benefit of the doubt on your speed? And I bring this up acknowledging that I’m at least as guilty of these “little white crimes” as the next person.
I took one of those driver’s training courses too a few months ago. I remember the instructor going over left turns. He said there were a couple rules you had to follow in order to make a legal left turn, I can only remember one: Don’t get hit.
He said that even in the above case where the other driver was clearly at fault by running a red light, you broke a main rule of making left turns by getting hit. Therefore you’ll be cited. It sucks, because why you should be at fault when he was the one who clearly broke the law, but what can you do?
Oh, by the way, Ender is correct. I remember asking this question to the instructor. If I am pulled out (which is legal as long as you are in the intersection before the light changes) waiting to make a left turn, it’s my legal obligation to wait until the way is clear before completing my turn. Even if that means holding up traffic going the other way for a few seconds because they have a green light.