ALT-1 Red Light Etiquette

From 3arf

Red light, Green light!

There is an old joke about a taxi that picks up a fare and while driving along he zooms through a red light and keeps going then zooms through the next one and the next one. By now the passenger is scared almost to death when all of a sudden he slams his brakes and stops at a green light. When the light turns red he zooms right through it too. The passenger yells at him to pull over. When the driver stops, the man starts asking him if he is crazy running all those lights and the cabbie replies; “No, I'm not crazy, it’s just that my brother drives a cab here too and he always runs the red lights! “

OK, bad joke, but the point is Tulsa and most large cities in the U.S. have a serious problem with people running red lights. How many times have you sat at a light and waited for four cars to clear the intersection after you had the green?  I have researched the state laws for Oklahoma by going to the Department of Public Safety website and have studied a copy of the Oklahoma State Drivers Manual cover to cover and here is what they have to say: you may not enter an intersection (this means crossing the white line indicating the crosswalk) unless you can clear the intersection without stopping. It also states that a YELLOW light means to stop if you can do so safely before entering the crosswalk at an intersection. You can be given a ticket if you are seen accelerating into or through an intersection on a YELLOW light (I would suggest that if you can’t stop on the YELLOW you should coast through it). And a RED light means to stop before the crosswalk at an intersection and remain stopped until the light turns green. The GREEN light means you can cross an intersection or turn, if allowed, but you must make sure the intersection is clear before proceeding; in other words, no matter how tempted you are to pull out into the intersection and run in to the idiot running the redlight you would be equally liable for the collision.

I will admit I am not perfect, but I do try hard to abide by these rules when driving. It may be all my years of riding motorcycles but I am constantly watching what is going on around me in traffic. My wife says I drive like a grandpa most of the time (I’m not stereotyping here, I think). I was surprised to learn the rule about not entering an intersection unless you can clear it without stopping but the same is true for u-turns. U-turns are only legal if you can perform them without stopping or backing up during the maneuver. You are allowed to make a u-turn at any intersection that is NOT marked:  U-turns not allowed. So the wise choice is to give yourself a three count when the light turns green because you never know; the guy going the other direction could be that cabbies brother.

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