I'd rather be flashed, fwiw.
You Will Love This One ! It is way too close for comfort!
- Thread starter 3CATSAILOR
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NorthBeachPerso
Honorary SMIB
Yellow lights are inconsistent and chaotic. Here's why.
Yellow lights are just one of the many problems with stoplights that experts want to improve.
glhs837
Power with Control
High beams or not?I'd rather be flashed, fwiw.
1997...three vehicles involved. One fatality...a small boy...and severe injuries to another child and the driver of one of the vehicles.
The accident was not directly caused by excessive speed though. The driver immediately responsible was distracted by fire engines turning in to LFS and rear-ended a Mustang stopped in SB lane waiting to turn left in to the school.
Yellow lights are inconsistent and chaotic. Here's why.
Yellow lights are just one of the many problems with stoplights that experts want to improve.www.yahoo.com
Now THIS is a problem. Haven't we all been in the dilemma zone? (I've always think of it as "the Clash Zone")
What is the reasoning behind different yellow lengths? And short yellows? If the road ragers said, "Oh they only have a short yellow so you'll get in an accident because they're being greased by local mechanics and it's just a money grab" I'd think they might be onto something.
When my light turns green I always look and make sure it's actually clear first, and I'm certainly not going to dog out the guy who tried to catch the tail of the yellow light and didn't quite make it. It's the VIP type who had plenty of time to stop and didn't because he didn't want to wait 2-4 minutes for the next green that pisses me off.
What annoys me is bad drivers who peer pressure the rest of us into being bad drivers. Example: sign says "merge 1 mile" and bad drivers immediately crowd into the through lane and get pissed at people who pass them and merge correctly. Then they won't let you in to merge as they're supposed to, so now more people clog the through lane prematurely.
How that ties in is the dipshit behind the guy in the Clash Zone can clearly see they aren't going to make it, but they go for it anyway. So now front guy has to not only make his own yellow light decision, but he has to worry about what the person in the car behind him is going to do. So he's forced through a red light that he may have normally stopped for, but he doesn't want to get rear ended by the dipshit behind him.
Driving rule #1: you cannot go faster than the car directly in front of you. That's what brake lights are for.
And now I'm off on a tangent and don't remember the point I was trying to make....
glhs837
Power with Control
Now THIS is a problem. Haven't we all been in the dilemma zone? (I've always think of it as "the Clash Zone")
What is the reasoning behind different yellow lengths? And short yellows? If the road ragers said, "Oh they only have a short yellow so you'll get in an accident because they're being greased by local mechanics and it's just a money grab" I'd think they might be onto something.
When my light turns green I always look and make sure it's actually clear first, and I'm certainly not going to dog out the guy who tried to catch the tail of the yellow light and didn't quite make it. It's the VIP type who had plenty of time to stop and didn't because he didn't want to wait 2-4 minutes for the next green that pisses me off.
What annoys me is bad drivers who peer pressure the rest of us into being bad drivers. Example: sign says "merge 1 mile" and bad drivers immediately crowd into the through lane and get pissed at people who pass them and merge correctly. Then they won't let you in to merge as they're supposed to, so now more people clog the through lane prematurely.
How that ties in is the dipshit behind the guy in the Clash Zone can clearly see they aren't going to make it, but they go for it anyway. So now front guy has to not only make his own yellow light decision, but he has to worry about what the person in the car behind him is going to do. So he's forced through a red light that he may have normally stopped for, but he doesn't want to get rear ended by the dipshit behind him.
Driving rule #1: you cannot go faster than the car directly in front of you. That's what brake lights are for.
And now I'm off on a tangent and don't remember the point I was trying to make....
So the reasoning behind different yellows come from the thought that different speeds requires a longer "get ready to slow/stop". A 25mph driver doesnt need as much yellow as someone going 55. Is that accurate? Cant say.
I can say that quite a few places have indeed been caught lowering yellows after placing ASE systems. Again, note each story has a link to factual local news article describing the issue.
6 Cities That Were Caught Shortening Yellow Light Times For Profit - National Motorists Association
Short yellow light times at intersections have been shown to increase the number of traffic violations and accidents. Conversely, increasing the yellow light duration can dramatically reduce red-light violations at an intersection. Some local governments have ignored the safety benefit of...
We agree on the idiots who cannot comprehend that the zipper merge is the best fastest way for two rows of traffic to become one. In intersections where the third lane is added that ends after the intersection, I generally wont take that lane unless I can be first, or I'm on the bike with the ability to blend into smaller spaces.
Ah, that was a busy year for me. Working mid shift Dyna, wife working days, newborn at home. One car. Living in a shack rented from Tmar Wathen.
Didnt recall that one.
I used to "challenge" yellow lights for the sake of saving time. Once I realized I was only saving a couple minutes, I check my rear view mirror and if I don't have someone riding my bumper, I stop. My life and health are worth more than beating the light. JMHO. Life is too short already to roll those dice.
Same with lights turning green. You can't trust other drivers. I know the timing of the lights I use daily and check to be sure other traffic is stopped before proceeding. Route 4 and 235 can be a shitshow. That 1/2 a second to glance left and right could save your life.
Same with lights turning green. You can't trust other drivers. I know the timing of the lights I use daily and check to be sure other traffic is stopped before proceeding. Route 4 and 235 can be a shitshow. That 1/2 a second to glance left and right could save your life.
Which shows how stupid elected officials are because perhaps that increases fines, but it also increases accidents.
My understanding of red light cameras is that it doesn't flash you the second it turns, there's like a 1 or 2 second delay before it takes your mugshot. There was a city meeting here not to long ago and the speaker told everyone that. I don't know if they all work that way, though, or if this is just something my city did.
glhs837
Power with Control
Which shows how stupid elected officials are because perhaps that increases fines, but it also increases accidents.
My understanding of red light cameras is that it doesn't flash you the second it turns, there's like a 1 or 2 second delay before it takes your mugshot. There was a city meeting here not to long ago and the speaker told everyone that. I don't know if they all work that way, though, or if this is just something my city did.
So the 1-2 second delay would be just enough time to capture your plate about 1/2way across the intersection, its not a grace period. 45mph is 66 feet per second. Most multilane intersections are in the 120-160 feet range, stop line to stop line.
So the system triggers when you cross the stop line the very millisecond the light turns red. But it doesn't take the "proof" picture until one second later. That gets your plate and the red light both in the picture.
I don't understand what you're talking about. You see the light turn yellow, that's 3-4 seconds until it turns red, then you have another 1-2 seconds to make it through the intersection. Maybe I drive faster than you but that seems like plenty of time.
glhs837
Power with Control
We are talking about two different thing. The systems don't care about yellow, and I wasnt referring to yellow times when talking about camera timing. Once the light turns red, anything breaking the plane of the stop line triggers the camera, which takes the picture after a long enough delay that your car is firmly in the intersection in the picture. You usually get two pictures, one showing your car crossing the stop line and showing the signal to be red. The other is to show your car in the middle of the intersection.
1. Picture 1 establishes that you crossed the stop line when it was red not yellow. Since entering on yellow is legal, they need that shot.
2. Picture 2 establishes that you didnt just cross the line and stop, but that you cossed the intersection. Some places have actually started issuing citations just for crossing the stop line, not even entering the crosswalk tossing out the fig leaf that it's about safety.
DannyMotorcycle
Active Member
Replace stop signs with traffic circles
DannyMotorcycle
Active Member
The electric lights have electrolytes!
DannyMotorcycle
Active Member
Ah do I sense the Jesus driver? Never breaks any traffic laws.. ALways inside the lines eh? Never exceeds the speed limits? never lets teh wheels touch the lines..
Never impeded the flow of traffic in the left lane by obeying the speed limit? yes that's still impeding. If you don't understand that please ask a cop.
let s/he/they/them who is without traffic code sin cast the first windshield stone. If you're not the absolute perfect driver, i think it's a bit hypocritical to complain about someone else navigating the traffic laws as they see fit also when it's not endangering others.
I'll further go on to say again, the spirit of the law is for traffic devices to control the flow of traffic to avoid accidents. If it's 3 am or broad daylight
and you can clearly see from a mile away there is nothing you can collide with, I DGAF if you blow a stop sign or red light or speed. Or if you're sitting an a really long red light and you see there is no traffic around, idgaf if you decide to run it. I like to be a little bit past the white line (but not crosswalk) so technically i'm just clearing the intersection after deeming safe as my officer friend taught me.
If no one is endangered, I really don't care what you do. I welcome it.
Never impeded the flow of traffic in the left lane by obeying the speed limit? yes that's still impeding. If you don't understand that please ask a cop.
let s/he/they/them who is without traffic code sin cast the first windshield stone. If you're not the absolute perfect driver, i think it's a bit hypocritical to complain about someone else navigating the traffic laws as they see fit also when it's not endangering others.
I'll further go on to say again, the spirit of the law is for traffic devices to control the flow of traffic to avoid accidents. If it's 3 am or broad daylight
and you can clearly see from a mile away there is nothing you can collide with, I DGAF if you blow a stop sign or red light or speed. Or if you're sitting an a really long red light and you see there is no traffic around, idgaf if you decide to run it. I like to be a little bit past the white line (but not crosswalk) so technically i'm just clearing the intersection after deeming safe as my officer friend taught me.
If no one is endangered, I really don't care what you do. I welcome it.
DannyMotorcycle
Active Member
Its' funny how people want cameras but don't want GPS tracking by govt... the cameras will track your location too.
I wonder how many of these for profit cameras give kick backs to the politicians.. it's crazy that the camera operators get a percentage of the profit.
I wonder how many of these for profit cameras give kick backs to the politicians.. it's crazy that the camera operators get a percentage of the profit.
3CATSAILOR
Well-Known Member
SHA simply doesn't know how to, or don't want to get their lights timed correctly. - Separate from this - When I was a young driver my Dad always said only worry about what is in front of you and not behind you. I don't think they do anything on purpose. For example, a red light at Exploration Drive at 3:00AM with no cars around at all. And worst yet, you have to wait for it to eventually cycle through with no one around. The Gate 2 light with the Gate completely closed does the same. SHA can put their lights on different schedules. They choose not to. They don't care about the drivers.Now THIS is a problem. Haven't we all been in the dilemma zone? (I've always think of it as "the Clash Zone")
What is the reasoning behind different yellow lengths? And short yellows? If the road ragers said, "Oh they only have a short yellow so you'll get in an accident because they're being greased by local mechanics and it's just a money grab" I'd think they might be onto something.
When my light turns green I always look and make sure it's actually clear first, and I'm certainly not going to dog out the guy who tried to catch the tail of the yellow light and didn't quite make it. It's the VIP type who had plenty of time to stop and didn't because he didn't want to wait 2-4 minutes for the next green that pisses me off.
What annoys me is bad drivers who peer pressure the rest of us into being bad drivers. Example: sign says "merge 1 mile" and bad drivers immediately crowd into the through lane and get pissed at people who pass them and merge correctly. Then they won't let you in to merge as they're supposed to, so now more people clog the through lane prematurely.
How that ties in is the dipshit behind the guy in the Clash Zone can clearly see they aren't going to make it, but they go for it anyway. So now front guy has to not only make his own yellow light decision, but he has to worry about what the person in the car behind him is going to do. So he's forced through a red light that he may have normally stopped for, but he doesn't want to get rear ended by the dipshit behind him.
Driving rule #1: you cannot go faster than the car directly in front of you. That's what brake lights are for.
And now I'm off on a tangent and don't remember the point I was trying to make....
3CATSAILOR
Well-Known Member
If take a minute and look back at the film on U Tube of the County Commissiner meeting about getting the Speed Cameras authorized you will see Commimssioner Mike Hewitt correcting the Sheriff's Deputy giving the presentation. He corrected him when the Officer accidently said "revenue" Every time he said revenue Commissioner Hewitt corrected him. I thought it was "interesting".
A lot of places I've been, the lights switch at a certain time to either pressure or approach trigger (no idea which it is). So like if there's no traffic through and you approach a red light, it will turn green for you right away. (Does that make sense?)
glhs837
Power with Control
Sure does. A lot of places have switched to smart cameras that look for vehicles and trigger the lights based on that. Same way a lot of intersections switch to flashing yellow for the primary and red for the secondary after a certain time. The old method is an inductive loop buried in the pavement. That's what those line are, trenches for the lines. Motorcyclists not big fans as sometimes its not easy to get them to sense a bike. The caemras are much better. They can see whats in a lane, how many, and what lane they are in.
Yeah, I do pay attention to whats behind me. Ever since that jackass rear ended my motorcycle while I was travelling 25mph and he was doing 30mph.
About timing. I suspect that Exploration hasnt rated high enough on the priority list to get the trigger cameras set up yet. Hell, look at how long it took to get red arrows for the left turners on 235 by Gate Three, and that intersection has been killing people for years.
Thats on youtube? Do you have a link? I was out of town when that happened. And that is interesting. Mike, like every other govt fan wants nothing in your mouth (and mind) other than "save the kids". But imagine imagine the things he could spend on if the Sheriff had an extra 400K in his budge that didn't come from the county. "Its not revenue, its fines paid by eeeevilll speeders!!!!" If it looks like revenue, smells like revenue, and spends like revenue, that's what it is.
Shall I not get you started on "the prison industrial complex"?
I might be in favor of ditching flashing yellow lights. Yellow to warn you it's getting to turn red, sure. But the flashing yellow light is an invitation for dummies to plow head first into oncoming traffic. Intellectually they must know that it means yield because they got it on their driving test, but I'm thinking the part of the brain that stores that information dumps the second they walk out of the DMV. If the intersection needs a traffic light, just do it. Don't make it iffy because a significant number of our fellow motorists don't have good judgment.