Stop lights? Stop Lights!? They ain't stopping anyone, I've noticed.
- Thread starter Aldo
- Start date
Re: Stop lights? Stop Lights!? They ain't stopping anyone, I've notice
^Yes, they might. There's an intersection not far from where I am, where the speed cameras go off (they have those series of bright flashes) regardless of how fast drivers are going or whether they are running a red light or not. The intersection is a well known speed trap in the area (it had been covered several times in the Washington Post. They even go off when no cars are passing through the intersection at the moment. This has been going on for several years now.
^Yes, they might. There's an intersection not far from where I am, where the speed cameras go off (they have those series of bright flashes) regardless of how fast drivers are going or whether they are running a red light or not. The intersection is a well known speed trap in the area (it had been covered several times in the Washington Post. They even go off when no cars are passing through the intersection at the moment. This has been going on for several years now.
Trelane
Lieutenant Commander
Re: Stop lights? Stop Lights!? They ain't stopping anyone, I've notice
I know, I live in the Pacific Northwest and there's plenty of places here where pedestrians are aching for these bozos to flagrantly blow through a signal and get flagged down / surrounded by cops conveniently sitting nearby as there's Tim Horton's everywhere.
Especially if they're near / in a school zone.
I'm waiting for the RCMP to have one bad day too many, (infidelity at home or something really sad like seeing a kid dead in a housefire,) triggering a psychotic break, and a session of going virtually-Rodney King on one or more of these thoughtless clods.
I know, I live in the Pacific Northwest and there's plenty of places here where pedestrians are aching for these bozos to flagrantly blow through a signal and get flagged down / surrounded by cops conveniently sitting nearby as there's Tim Horton's everywhere.
Especially if they're near / in a school zone.
I'm waiting for the RCMP to have one bad day too many, (infidelity at home or something really sad like seeing a kid dead in a housefire,) triggering a psychotic break, and a session of going virtually-Rodney King on one or more of these thoughtless clods.
Re: Stop lights? Stop Lights!? They ain't stopping anyone, I've notice
^especially when the cop is on the other side of the highway, who wouldn't be able to do anything. Today, I saw traffic back up because someone was pulled over in the opposite direction on an interstate.
^especially when the cop is on the other side of the highway, who wouldn't be able to do anything. Today, I saw traffic back up because someone was pulled over in the opposite direction on an interstate.
Re: Stop lights? Stop Lights!? They ain't stopping anyone, I've notice
Something like half the traffic lights in the NoVA/DC area are on sensors. However, that's mostly notable late at night when there's not much traffic.
In the US you are allowed to make a right turn on red (treat it as a stop sign) unless it's specifically posted "No Turn on Red". This posting is more common in some states (Massachusetts) than others (Virginia).
The exception, of course, being the US Virgin Islands where the same rule applies to left turns, since they drive on the left there.
Which is why it's a good idea to pull into the intersection (without blocking traffic) if you're waiting for a left. This means that even if you need to wait for the red to actually turn, typically 2 cars (you and the one behind you) will be able to make the turn per cycle rather than just one. The other direction is not unduly delayed by this in most cases since there's a built-in delay of 2 seconds or so before they get the green.
[Jack O'Neill] WHAT? [/Jack O'Neill]
What are you talking about? The traffic lights are automated by a configured system depending on the intersection, based on studies of traffic patterns periodically. It won't change timing of changes based on amount of traffic on a given road.
I've seen green lights stay for a long while on a road with no traffic at all...., and lot of cars on one road waiting for a red light to change when there's no traffic on the intersecting road....
Something like half the traffic lights in the NoVA/DC area are on sensors. However, that's mostly notable late at night when there's not much traffic.
In the US you are allowed to make a right turn on red (treat it as a stop sign) unless it's specifically posted "No Turn on Red". This posting is more common in some states (Massachusetts) than others (Virginia).
The exception, of course, being the US Virgin Islands where the same rule applies to left turns, since they drive on the left there.
Which is why it's a good idea to pull into the intersection (without blocking traffic) if you're waiting for a left. This means that even if you need to wait for the red to actually turn, typically 2 cars (you and the one behind you) will be able to make the turn per cycle rather than just one. The other direction is not unduly delayed by this in most cases since there's a built-in delay of 2 seconds or so before they get the green.
Re: Stop lights? Stop Lights!? They ain't stopping anyone, I've notice
And, once again this morning, I was honked at for obeying the sign that read "No Turn On Red".
Also, not that it would have made any difference to me, but it happens that there's also a police station on this particular corner. 
And, once again this morning, I was honked at for obeying the sign that read "No Turn On Red".
Also, not that it would have made any difference to me, but it happens that there's also a police station on this particular corner. Similar threads
