Advocacy & Safety - why do people blow red lights?

last night i recal one guy slowing for a red and then going through it anyway. a minute later as i walked past the next intersection some guy blew a red and near t boned this other car.

i called the police and told them about it. what else could be done? and why do people do that? i know some of it (from experience when i was first driving) can come from not seeing the lights (i went through one once when i didn't even notice it there until it was too late) due to the business of the surroundings (this was in downtown dallas).

You are in Dallas, the land of the self entitled and self important driver. All that matters is that they get where they need to be when they need to be there. How dare you get in their way with your bike, or your red light, or your school bus.

i roll thru signs and lights when the coast is clear -- fuel economy. horribly inefficient to convert all that good kinetic energy to heat.

You are in The USA, the land of the self entitled and self important driver. All that matters is that they get where they need to be when they need to be there. How dare you get in their way with your bike, or your red light, or your school bus.

fixed it for ya

oh, look at that, it's yellow, I can make it if I speed up... still yellow... still yellow, oh crap it's red and I ain't gonna stop, get outta the way you damn peds, you're holding me up.

ME ME ME, I'm the only person that matters. Rampant Alpha behavior I guess?

last night i recal one guy slowing for a red and then going through it anyway. a minute later as i walked past the next intersection some guy blew a red and near t boned this other car.

i called the police and told them about it. what else could be done? and why do people do that? i know some of it (from experience when i was first driving) can come from not seeing the lights (i went through one once when i didn't even notice it there until it was too late) due to the business of the surroundings (this was in downtown dallas).


Thank you johnny Q law!

My time is more important than anyone else's. Learn that mantra and you'll be fine. :D

actually, we have a lot of count down lights intersections, but some people still try to go through the intersection after it's been red for 1sec. And then we also have red light cams, but people still fail at stopping at the red.
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa131/AEObikes/evening%20commute/evening006.jpg
another reason: people forgot the real meaning of the yellow light, which is start braking if it's safe and go through intersection cautiously if you can't stop behind the line.

but oh well, case and point, go through intersection cautiously ALL THE TIME, look left, look right, look left again, listen for any cars and proceed :p

because they can get away with it until a red-light camera gets installed at the intersection or they get in an accident.

...go through intersection cautiously ALL THE TIME, look left, look right, look left again, listen for any cars and proceed :p

I look both ways when walking across a one-way street. I've seen too many idiot drivers go the wrong way down a one-way street.

It all comes down to the fact that laws and law enforcement don't really want to solve the problem.

If red light running faced the following punishment people would stop:

1st offense- Fine to equal $1000 or 1/3 bluebook value of the car, whichever is greater
2nd offense- Fine to equal $2000 or 2/3 bluebook value of the car, whichever is greater
3rd offense Fine of $5000 AND car is seized for public auction.

Traffic fines are typically priced according to economic theory applied to the need for revenue
taken in the form of fines. They are set low enough so that people barely change their behavior.
The cops want drivers to break traffic laws- that way its easy to write citations and collect fines.

Red light running (to me) is totally different. Red light runners cause collisions and kill people. This
is totally different from a driver speeding 10mph over the limit. Save the money making fine-rates
for those types. Red-light runner fines should ONLY be priced for a deterrent effect to hopefully
stop the behavior or at least significantly cut it down.

rant over

I do it to avoid carjackings.

Thank you johnny Q law!

DUDE! I call the cops ever time I see a drunk driver or a bad driver doing stupid sh1t! I give them a full description of the car, driver AND their f'king tags! :eek: :mad:

It's simple. They think they are too important to bother stopping.

You are in the USA

Don't think for a second that the US has anywhere near the worst driving in the world, we aren't even close. Try driving somewhere with no cops, no laws, no form of enforcement and no licensing system, you just pay $50 and get a license with no test. Then you'll realize that if someone even slows down for a red light before blasting through they are doing everyone else a favor.


It all comes down to the fact that laws and law enforcement don't really want to solve the problem.

If red light running faced the following punishment people would stop:

1st offense- Fine to equal $1000 or 1/3 bluebook value of the car, whichever is greater
2nd offense- Fine to equal $2000 or 2/3 bluebook value of the car, whichever is greater
3rd offense Fine of $5000 AND car is seized for public auction.

Traffic fines are typically priced according to economic theory applied to the need for revenue
taken in the form of fines. They are set low enough so that people barely change their behavior.
The cops want drivers to break traffic laws- that way its easy to write citations and collect fines.

Red light running (to me) is totally different. Red light runners cause collisions and kill people. This
is totally different from a driver speeding 10mph over the limit. Save the money making fine-rates
for those types. Red-light runner fines should ONLY be priced for a deterrent effect to hopefully
stop the behavior or at least significantly cut it down.

rant over

Are you kidding? The punishment has to fit the crime. That's the point of having a civilized system of laws. Maybe cops have better things to do like catching murderers than sitting on a street corner waiting for someone to run a red light. Bottom line, if you don't want to become one of those Tbone accidents then pay attention when you approach an intersection and look for someone that's not slowing down instead of driving with your own head up your *****.

whoa, don't hold back... say what you think:p

I think I may be having a bad day......

Hey mods - please move to A&S

thanks!

Don't think for a second that the US has anywhere near the worst driving in the world, we aren't even close. Try driving somewhere with no cops, no laws, no form of enforcement and no licensing system, you just pay $50 and get a license with no test. Then you'll realize that if someone even slows down for a red light before blasting through they are doing everyone else a favor.



Are you kidding? The punishment has to fit the crime. That's the point of having a civilized system of laws. Maybe cops have better things to do like catching murderers than sitting on a street corner waiting for someone to run a red light. Bottom line, if you don't want to become one of those Tbone accidents then pay attention when you approach an intersection and look for someone that's not slowing down instead of driving with your own head up your *****.

You do realize there is a difference between a traffic/patrol cop and a homicide detective, right?

why don't we have those count down things? i went through a red (supposedly. i didn't bother to argue it) once on my bike. ever since i slam on yellow since i don't know how long these yellows last. what's the point in a yellow?

You do realize there is a difference between a traffic/patrol cop and a homicide detective, right?

Yeah. But city and county cops almost all start out as patrol. And most have to go back to it when they get promoted. My dad was patrol for about 15 years before he moved into detectives then went back to patrol when he got promoted. Now he's moved to Detectives again and he'll retire from there. My step dad was patrol for about ten years and now he's working in the public schools.

EDIT: Plus Detectives and School Resource still do things like party patrol. And I'm sure that's where a lot of us 20-somethings have had run in's with cops.

I asked the neighbor kid what the different colors on the traffic light meant.
This is what he said:

Green means go.
Yellow means step on the gas.
Red means go through but look for cops.

" why do people blow red lights?"

I assume it is because they a weak riders? Too weak to accelerate back to speed from a stop? That's what I have always thought.

OP's talking about motorists, not cyclists

OP's talking about motorists, not cyclists

Really? Are you sure? Oh well.
I haven't seen a car flat blow a stop light in a long time. It is so rare that I don't give it much thought.
Bikes on the other hand, It is extremely rare to see one of those stop for a light.

Really? I see motorists do it all the time in downtown PDX.

^^^^^^Yes, I haven't seen a car just blow a light, well I guess a long time, because I can't remember ever seeing it. I see cars slow to a near stop before turning on red, but just blow a light, no.
And I live at a corner with a stop light. So it's not like I don't encounter many stop lights.

^^^^^^Yes, I haven't seen a car just blow a light, well I guess a long time, because I can't remember ever seeing it. I see cars slow to a near stop before turning on red, but just blow a light, no.
And I live at a corner with a stop light. So it's not like I don't encounter many stop lights.

Go to New Orleans. Stoplights are mere suggestions.

Some time ago, the DC Government distributed "I Brake for Red Lights" bumper stickers.

Paul

I look both ways when walking across a one-way street. I've seen too many idiot drivers go the wrong way down a one-way street.

Sorry for being a little off-topic but monogodo reminded me of something I actually saw happen.

Driver is going the wrong way down a one-way street. Another driver yells to him "You're going the wrong way!"

First driver yells back… "How do you know where I'm going?"

Where I am, on busy streets you can pretty much count on at least two or three cars going through the red light once it turns red. It's like people think there's a 2 second grace period where you can still go right before the light in the cross traffic turns green. And this is not an exaggeration... It'll happen nearly every time.

I think the reason's the same for both motorists and cyclists - laziness.

^^^^^^Yes, I haven't seen a car just blow a light, well I guess a long time, because I can't remember ever seeing it. I see cars slow to a near stop before turning on red, but just blow a light, no.
And I live at a corner with a stop light. So it's not like I don't encounter many stop lights.I think it's easy to say that one sees cars "blow" red lights "all the time" if one is lax about the meaning of "blow a light."

Yes, cars go through on yellow and sometimes the light turns red before they're through the intersection. Yes, cars slow and turn right on red. But do cars "blow"-- i.e., intentionally drive straight through at speed-- red lights "all the time" in downtown Portland? Nope. You're far, far more likely to see a cyclist do it than you are to see a driver do it-- and even in Portland, drivers vastly outnumber cyclists, which tells you something about relative percentages of red light blowers in each camp.

I think it's easy to say that one sees cars "blow" red lights "all the time" if one is lax about the meaning of "blow a light."

Yes, cars go through on yellow and sometimes the light turns red before they're through the intersection. Yes, cars slow and turn right on red. But do cars "blow"-- i.e., intentionally drive straight through at speed-- red lights "all the time" in downtown Portland? Nope. You're far, far more likely to see a cyclist do it than you are to see a driver do it-- and even in Portland, drivers vastly outnumber cyclists, which tells you something about relative percentages of red light blowers in each camp.

Agreed on your definition of blow and with it see the same vehicle type pattern here.

Yes, cars slow and turn right on red. But do cars "blow"-- i.e., intentionally drive straight through at speed-- red lights "all the time" in downtown Portland?

At bicycle speed they do.
(in Penticton, anyway. Assuming the same for Portland).

That's the difference right there... cyclists often approach a stop/red at a speed that, if you were in a car, would be the same speed which cars regularly roll on thru stops/reds.

At bicycle speed they do.
(in Penticton, anyway. Assuming the same for Portland).

That's the difference right there... cyclists often approach a stop/red at a speed that, if you were in a car, would be the same speed which cars regularly roll on thru stops/reds.

So you see cars creep through red lights at 1-5mph a lot? They may creep up to them, just as we cyclists do, but I don't recall too many instances of drivers puttering through them - blowing through them yes, but hardly ever puttering. ;)

At bicycle speed they do.
(in Penticton, anyway. Assuming the same for Portland).

That's the difference right there... cyclists often approach a stop/red at a speed that, if you were in a car, would be the same speed which cars regularly roll on thru stops/reds.Drivers here tend to roll through at 5 MPH or less. They do not blow through at 20 MPH.

Cyclists who slow and go tend to roll through at 5 MPH or less. Cyclists who blow through tend to do so at 20 MPH or greater.

Where I am staying there is usually a car that will go through a red light, not turn on a turn lane, etc.. It is crazy...

As far as biking, it is a lot easier for a biker to check and stop at a red light if there is a car coming rather than not. Also if there is a car they have a little more ability to dodge it or whatnot. Not saying its ok to blaze through a red on a bike, it just seems like the typical reasoning.

So you see cars creep through red lights at 1-5mph a lot? They may creep up to them, just as we cyclists do, but I don't recall too many instances of drivers puttering through them - blowing through them yes, but hardly ever puttering. ;)

I guess what I mean, is that I regularly see both cyclists and motorists "gliding through" stop signs at jogging speed.

No that I think about it... I also see joggers doing the same thing :D

I guess what I mean, is that I regularly see both cyclists and motorists "gliding through" stop signs at jogging speed.

No that I think about it... I also see joggers doing the same thing :DI agree. Especially about those scofflaws in running shoes. :lol:

In my opinion, "blowing through" means something different than "slow and go," though. In my opinion, blowing through means there's a red light or a stop sign, and the person blowing through either sees it or should have seen it, and ignores the traffic signal, "blowing through" at speed, without slowing down, often without even looking for cross-traffic.