Re: (No Audi Content) Intersection BigBrother: Follow Up

[Luis Marques <marques@ti.com>]

From: "Lawson, Dave" <dlawson@ball.com> wrote:
>
> I would find out if she was truely running the red light, ie
> (a)starting from behind the crosswalk and progressing through the
> intersection when the light is red, or (b)having been stopped in the
> intersection waiting to turn and then clearing the intersection after
> the light has changed red. Option (a) is illegal and (b) is legal... 

I'm not sure option (b) is legal either.  While you can legaly enter the
intersection while the light is green, stoping in the middle of the
intersection waiting for oncoming trafic to clear could technically be
considered "blocking an intersection" and a cop could write you up a
ticket if he felt like it.  I know... everybody does it and sometimes
it's the only way to see if there are cars coming if someone else is
waiting to turn left (here where we drive in the right side of the road)
from the oposite side and even I do it every now and then, but it still
could be considered illegal if the cop or big brother felt like it.

> ...BTW, in colorado it is legal to enter an intersection when the
> light is yellow. A yellow light is the same as the green light or so
> the police said. 

As I understand it, this is the case everywhere.  Green means you have
the right of way, yielding to traffic which is already traversing the
intersection (but it doesn't mean that nobody is running his/her red
light!! - "Look both ways before crosing the street" we were told when
we were young).  Yellow means it is still OK to proceed, but red is
coming up so if you have enough time/space to stop safely, you should
because red is coming up and you don't want to run it, possibly
endangering other motorists.  If in your judgement you feel you can't
make a safe, controlled stop, or you are certain that you have enough
time to enter the intersection, then you can proceed and if the light
turns red while you are clearing the intersection (assuming it was
yellow when you crossed the big white line), you are still within the
law.  That is, you either ran the red light, or you didn't, but there is
no such thing as "running the yellow".

Now, if you do what 50% of the trucks here in Dallas do and floor it
when you get the yellow light (the other 50% run the red light), you
could get a speeding ticket even if you entered the intersection on
time.  The oficer doesn't need a radar to nail you.  A simple vissual
estimate citing you for going "too fast for conditions" or worst,
"reckless driving" would be enough to land you in traffic court -  and
let's be reasonable; if you are driving at a reasonable speed in the US,
you are probably going at least 5mph over the limit before flooring it.

Of course, ligths should be timed so that anybody driving at a
reasonable speed has either enough time to clear the intersection or
stop before the light turns red.  I can see how an unscrupulous little 
town might rework their lights so that they only stay yellow a fraction
of a second allowing for a steady revenue source from out-of-towners.

Luis Marques
'87 4kcsq