When the traffic light is stuck on red...

[Backroads]

What's your tactic? 

Before in life, I've maneuvered to the other lane or backed up if available. Today I was wild and ran that stuck red light after sitting there for possibly ten minutes, lost in thought, and then giving myself five more minutes to observe. I did wait for the other lane to be clear. 

[Just_A_Guy]

9 minutes ago, Backroads said:

What's your tactic? 

Before in life, I've maneuvered to the other lane or backed up if available. Today I was wild and ran that stuck red light after sitting there for possibly ten minutes, lost in thought, and then giving myself five more minutes to observe. I did wait for the other lane to be clear. 

Only ever happened to me once, in downtown Provo, with Just_A_Girl at a completely deserted intersection.  After about 5-6 minutes I exited the vehicle and ran over to the sidewalk to push the "walk" button in the appropriate direction.  

[zil]

I think if the state of Utah (or the relevant sub-entity) could screw up traffic lights more, they would.

For example, at a left turn on my way home from work, you can only turn left on the green arrow (there's no yield and go when it's safe option).  Well, the wires that trip the light are in a relatively small space and a significant percentage of Utahns (are airheads - oops, did I say that out loud?) pull forward past the stop line while the light is red, so they're no longer over the wires, thus the light will never trip unless a second person pulls up right on their bumper - if that person leaves, for example, a car length between the first car and himself, we'll all sit there in the left turn lane and never get a green arrow.  It's extremely annoying that people can't figure this out.  They'll sit there through light after light without ever realizing that maybe no one is on the trip wires because the first and second cars are in exactly the wrong spots.  Eventually, the second car succumbs to pressure (and the honking of horns) and pulls up enough to trip the light.

Why people can't just stop behind the stop line, I do not know.  Why Utah can't put the wires over a larger area, I don't know.

There's another light on the way to work which so strongly favors the cross traffic that I have to believe the triggers are controlled by some corrupt soul for whom it's convenient.  The cross traffic is a side street (compared to the main road), and yet the lights are set up so that if someone is at the light on the side street, they'll immediately get a green - even if the main street light has only been green long enough for the first car to get half-way through the intersection - and no, I'm not exaggerating - I could post videos (if I felt like going through the dash cam videos to find one).  But a long line of cars can be at the light on the main street and it has no effect - the light won't stay green longer, it won't trip immediately, nothing.  That stupid side street has total precedence.  Interestingly, the side street is the one (a few blocks north) on which city hall is located.

[seashmore]

5 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

Only ever happened to me once, in downtown Provo, with Just_A_Girl at a completely deserted intersection.  After about 5-6 minutes I exited the vehicle and ran over to the sidewalk to push the "walk" button in the appropriate direction.  

I've done that multiple times. In my previous neighborhood, there were two traffic signals that were not very favorable to cars leaving the neighborhood. I've also manipulated lights and green arrows by intentionally stopping a car length behind the white line and creeping towards it to make sure I trip the wire. It's almost like a game for me.

[zil]

13 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

Only ever happened to me once, in downtown Provo, with Just_A_Girl at a completely deserted intersection.  After about 5-6 minutes I exited the vehicle and ran over to the sidewalk to push the "walk" button in the appropriate direction.  

I'm pretty sure there's some law against the driver leaving their vehicle in traffic.  And there's a law against running a red light.  So why not just run the light (if there's literally no one / no other cars around)?  Now, I think (could be wrong) that Just_A_Girl could have exited the vehicle without breaking the law.  So, is chivalry an excuse for breaking the law?

[Backroads]

39 minutes ago, zil said:

I'm pretty sure there's some law against the driver leaving their vehicle in traffic.  And there's a law against running a red light.  So why not just run the light (if there's literally no one / no other cars around)?  Now, I think (could be wrong) that Just_A_Girl could have exited the vehicle without breaking the law.  So, is chivalry an excuse for breaking the law?

No. JaG, too, lives on the wild side.

[zil]

14 minutes ago, Backroads said:

No. JaG, too, lives on the wild side.

Right, the wild side of Provo, Utah.

[Just_A_Guy]

2 hours ago, zil said:

So, is chivalry an excuse for breaking the law?

Always.

[Just_A_Guy]

1 hour ago, zil said:

Right, the wild side of Provo, Utah.

Yep.  Locals call it "Lehi".

[mirkwood]

What time do you go to work @zil?

 

You know that stop sign down the street next to Pres. R's hosue?  Guess which sister runs it every time I see her go through it?

[zil]

4 minutes ago, mirkwood said:

What time do you go to work @zil?

 

You know that stop sign down the street next to Pres. R's hosue?  Guess which sister runs it every time I see her go through it?

I leave for work at oh-dark-early.   (around 5:35 or so)

Not sure if you mean the one on his street or the one on the main street just around the corner, leaving the subdivision, but either way... Not me.  But I could guess.  I hate the way the road is arranged there.

[anatess2]

My very first thought about American traffic lights... Wow, it's amazing how an entire country of people are fully controlled by a box of lights!

In the Philippines, traffic lights are there so nobody would end up shooting each other over who gets to go first.  If your "opponent" is an empty space... there's no fight!  It's all yours baby. 

 

 

[Just_A_Guy]

4 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

My very first thought about American traffic lights... Wow, it's amazing how an entire country of people are fully controlled by a box of lights!

In the Philippines, traffic lights are there so nobody would end up shooting each other over who gets to go first.  If your "opponent" is an empty space... there's no fight!  It's all yours baby. 

Stoplight cameras don't care that there was no traffic in the other direction.

Edited August 28, 2017 by Just_A_Guy

[anatess2]

1 minute ago, Just_A_Guy said:

Stoplight cameras don't care that there was no traffic in the other direction.

Right.  Another one of those crazy American robocop things where an inanimate object that only has less than a second view of the incident is sufficient to give you a citation.  I mean, we can use a 1 minute video on Facebook to unrighteously declare someone the spawn of satan.

 

[pam]

Just now, anatess2 said:

Right.  Another one of those crazy American robocop things where an inanimate object that only has less than a second view of the incident is sufficient to give you a citation.  I mean, we can use a 1 minute video on Facebook to unrighteously declare someone the spawn of satan.

 

Wow..ain't that the truth?

[anatess2]

3 minutes ago, pam said:

Wow..ain't that the truth?

Yeah, the split-gymnast incident is out there now causing lots of internet fights worldwide!  It makes me wonder... what is the real story here?

Edited August 28, 2017 by anatess2

[zil]

25 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

My very first thought about American traffic lights... Wow, it's amazing how an entire country of people are fully controlled by a box of lights!

That's nothing compared to the magic paint we put on the roads.  People will break the law by running those lights.  People will break the law by speeding.  People will break the law by tailgating.  People will break the law via illegal lane changes.  But holy magic paint, Batman, they will not use a non-lane (like the shoulder or center turn lane) to pass you illegally.  It's weird.  Weird, I tell you!

Edited August 28, 2017 by zil

[anatess2]

Just now, zil said:

That's nothing compared to the magic paint we put on the roads.  People will break the law by speeding.  People will break the law by tailgating.  People will break the law via illegal lane changes.  But holy magic paint, Batman, they will not use a non-lane (like the shoulder or center turn lane) to pass you illegally.  It's weird.  Weird, I tell you!

You know what, that's so true too!  If I'd have thought of this sooner, I coulda got myself some of that magic paint to put between my 2 kids in the van!

[Fether]

21 hours ago, Backroads said:

What's your tactic? 

Before in life, I've maneuvered to the other lane or backed up if available. Today I was wild and ran that stuck red light after sitting there for possibly ten minutes, lost in thought, and then giving myself five more minutes to observe. I did wait for the other lane to be clear. 

If I'm the only tax payer on the road, the road is mine and i can do what I want

[Bini]

I use common sense, which, doesn't always go hand-in-hand with the law. I've been met with a stuck red light a few times in my life and after waiting patiently for x amount of time, I eventually make the decision to go through it, once it is clearly safe and no cars are headed through.

[Anddenex]

On 8/27/2017 at 4:19 PM, Backroads said:

What's your tactic? 

Before in life, I've maneuvered to the other lane or backed up if available. Today I was wild and ran that stuck red light after sitting there for possibly ten minutes, lost in thought, and then giving myself five more minutes to observe. I did wait for the other lane to be clear. 

This reminds me of a funny experience, when I decided my senior year I wasn't going to run any stop light, even if no cars were around. I tended, previously, to follow the NCNCNS rule (No Car No Cops No Stop) or the CCS rule (Cars Cops Stop).

One night, it was 1am in the morning, coming home from a swing dance party and I stopped at a light. I rocked back and forth and the little car I had didn't weigh enough for the sensor. At times this light was on a timer, but the timer wasn't working. I watched the green light go, yellow, then red and then back to green around 10 times. I was stopped at that dumb light for 15 minutes or so. At that time, my impatient self said, "Forget this!" and I begin to move forward. I was a quarter of the way in the intersection when my light turned green. HA! Stupid light! From then I would wait for a few minutes, if light didn't change, I would run it (and I kid you not, each time I would run it, the light turned green as I was around the same place. I am thinking the sensor was in the wrong place for my small car).

Edited August 28, 2017 by Anddenex

[zil]

25 minutes ago, Anddenex said:

One night, it was 1am in the morning

[Anddenex]

Just now, zil said:

"One night, it was 1am in the morning, coming home from a swing dance party and I stopped at a light." I was a good "senior" zil.

[zil]

Just now, Anddenex said:

"One night, it was 1am in the morning, coming home from a swing dance party and I stopped at a light." I was a good "senior" zil.

Whatever you say, "Mr. I don't know that 'a.m.' and 'morning' don't happen at 'night'"!

[Backroads]

1 AM in the morning that night, two dead kids got up to fight...