Traffic Lights Worldwide Set To Change (theregister.co.uk) 161
A Swedish engineer's umbrage at a traffic ticket has led to a six-year legal fight and now a global change in the speed with which traffic light signals are timed. From a report: After Mats Jarlstrom lost an initial legal challenge in 2014, a federal judge in January this year ruled Oregon's rules prohibiting people from representing themselves as engineers without a professional license from the state are unconstitutional. And now Jarlstrom's calculations and advocacy have led the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) to revisit its guidelines for the timing of traffic signals. As a result, yellow lights around the globe could burn for longer -- ITE is an international advisory group with members in 90 countries. Jarlstrom discovered a problem with the timing of traffic lights in Beaverton, Oregon, after his wife Laurie received a $260 ticket for a red light violation from an automated traffic light camera in 2013. Jarlstrom, who studied electrical engineering in Sweden, challenged the ticket, arguing the timing interval for yellow lights fails to account for scenarios like a driver entering an intersection and slowing to make a turn. A slightly longer interval, he argued, would allow drivers making turns on a yellow light to exit intersections before the light turned red. Even a small timing increase would help -- the automatically generated ticket in this case was issued 0.12 seconds after the light turned red.
Vastly overstates the effects (Score:5, Informative)
The headline and summary vastly overstates the actual effects of a voluntary standards-body's new guideline.
The standards-body's revisions almost undoubtedly aren't legally-binding. Even if the are legally-binding, most of the time that sort of requirement is tied to a set revision of the standard, not tied to ongoing changes. Otherwise municipalities would have to scramble to make changes every time a guideline changed.
And realistically, I don't expect the guidelines to be binding at all. Municipalities set their own rules for light timing, and have even been caught violating their own published rules for things like red-light cameras, where yellow lights have been shaved shorter and shorter in the name of revenue. So don't count on this published guideline amounting to anything at all.
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The standards-body's revisions almost undoubtedly aren't legally-binding.
Given that the timing for yellow vary not only between country but even between states in the USA, the standard ... isn't.
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The standards-body's revisions almost undoubtedly aren't legally-binding.
Given that the timing for yellow vary not only between country but even between states in the USA, the standard ... isn't.
The timing varies from city to city, and even within cities, even on roads with similar traffic volumes, speed limits, and intersection physical dimensions.
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Yeah, but you have to remember that Jarlstrom is a bit of a folk here now, so even if the guideline has no effect, his followers can take it as further proof that he is right while the bureaucracy and civil engineers who doubted him were wrong and corrupt.
I don't know whether the entire bureaucracy and civil engineers who doubted him are corrupt, but there was certainly a disproportionate and ill-conceived response to his original communication. Shouting down someone with a valid point using a dubious legal stratagem instead of actually responding to the point raised is at the least cowardly and short-sighted. The verdict was a big F U to those who believe that they are so important that no one not in the priesthood can criticize them. Too bad the individ
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Using your authority to shut up a troublesome dissenter is pretty much the definition of "wrong and corrupt" to me. The only reason this was relatively small potatoes was because those beauracratic idiots didn't have more authority to begin with. It doesn't matter. I've heard of horror stories about housewives on homeowner association boards. Some people are just born to be petty tyrants, even if they only have a tiny pond to play in.
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Yes.
The only reason this is done is because well, red light camera abuse.
Red light cameras can be safety enhancing. Unfortunately, in the US, it was proven they are not safety enhancing devices, but revenue enhancing devices. Private companies were operating the red light cameras, and sharing revenue with the town/city/etc. The only reason they got found out was the red light camera companies were caught bribing the officials - to deliberately reduce yellow times below what was safe or recommended. All of w
Short yellows with cameras actually REDUCE safety (Score:2)
Red light cameras can be safety enhancing. Unfortunately, in the US, it was proven they are not safety enhancing devices, but revenue enhancing devices.
Actually, red light cameras (especially with short yellows) have been shown to INCREASE accidents.
People see the light turn yellow at a camera intersection and slam on the brakes - getting rear-ended by the guy behind who didn't expect this (and may not have as good a view of the light).
This happens even if they DON'T shorten the yellow (though, of course, w
Revenue-generation (Score:2, Insightful)
That's what traffic cameras in the US are meant to do -- make money.
Here where I live in Florida, a commercial 3rd-party runs the system and tickets you.
Broward and Dade both were caught setting ridiculously short yellows -- to make money.
And while we're at it, the current Broward government -- go look up what color it is -- has made it their stated goal to turn driving in Broward into a hellhole to push people into public transport -- in a city not really friendly to public transport.
https://www.sun-sentin [sun-sentinel.com]
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Wow. What a great example of putting the cart before the horse.
Re:Revenue-generation (Score:4, Insightful)
The Automobile the symbol of Freedom, is Americas governments biggest source of income, also one of leading cause to much of the incarnation in the United States.
I just looked up the numbers, and I don't think that you're right. Federal, State, and Municipal governments that I'm subjected to the whims of predominately make revenue from personal income taxes, payroll taxes, and corporate income taxes, with the state adding sales taxes and real property taxes to the mix, and the cities predominately depending on sales taxes.
As far as "incarnation", since the advent of effective birth control, few babies are conceived in cars anymore, so the automobile is no longer the leading cause of incarnation in the United States.
I was thinking of another case with an engineer (Score:4, Insightful)
https://reason.com/2019/01/02/judge-confirms-that-oregon-engineer-has/ [reason.com]
Yes, this dealt with a yellow light. But it was specific to the red light camera's where the timings had been shortened to get more money.
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Fixing the wrong issue (Score:3)
A slightly longer interval, he argued, would allow drivers making turns on a yellow light to exit intersections before the light turned red. Even a small timing increase would help -- the automatically generated ticket in this case was issued 0.12 seconds after the light turned red.
Traffic light cameras work differently over here. Dutch traffic law does not exactly require you to be clear of the intersection when the light turns red; it requires you to safely stop in front of the stop line at a yellow light if possible (and carry on otherwise), but not cross that line on a red. The cameras watch you when crossing the line and make a picture (2 in fact) if you cross on a red. There's no issues with drivers slowing down making a turn and still being in the intersection when the light turns red, with any duration of the yellow light, in other words that duration is a non-issue. The only "downside" of this scheme is that when the light turns red, the light for the other direction cannot turn green immediately; there's a 1-2 second delay to allow stragglers to clear the intersection.
I'm not sure if the law and cameras work like this in many other countries, but to claim that "traffic lights worldwide" are set to change seems a bit of a stretch.
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I don't know of any intersection where the light instantly turns green as the other light turns red. Every intersection that I know of has some duration when it's red for all directions, simply to allow the intersection to clear before letting anyone proceed.
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Yes, it's smart to have a safety margin. It's also smart to treat the system as if the safety margin is not there; otherwise the safety margin becomes less effective.
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Every single light in LA changes cross-traffic to green without any perceptible delay, in my experience. Doesn't stop people (including me) from sitting in the intersection until it's red and only then turning, since otherwise it'd be impossible to turn left on many streets. Cross traffic is usually polite enough to wait, and I've yet to be photographed by a red light camera.
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The only "downside" of this scheme is that when the light turns red, the light for the other direction cannot turn green immediately; there's a 1-2 second delay to allow stragglers to clear the intersection.
One thing I found striking when coming to the Netherlands is that the traffic lights basically immediately change. I understand what you're saying because I've witnessed it in other countries, but basically this is a completely non-existent issue in the Netherlands and I definitely have never seen a 1-2second delay. The safety margin around where I live may be 1/2 a second or so max.
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There needs to be 1-2 seconds of all red to allow the safe clearing, mainly the people turning left (in USA) usually have to wait for red light to complete the turn, even for first vehicle.
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There needs to be 1-2 seconds of all red to allow the safe clearing, mainly the people turning left (in USA) usually have to wait for red light to complete the turn, even for first vehicle.
No there doesn't - and in a large fractions of US intersections there isn't.
What is needed is for drivers, upon receiving the green light, to refrain from entering the intersection if any cross-traffic vehicles from another part of the cycle are still in the intersection, rather than just flooring it when the green appear
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So long as the yellow is sufficiently long, that is a sensible approach.
The problems (in the U.S., no idea about Germany) is that in some places the yellow is sufficiently short that not crossing the line on red may be physically impossible, or at least, not possible within normal human reaction times. Often the shortening of the yellow "just happens" to coincide with the installation of a red light camera.
Some amount of global (Score:2)
The word "global" in the article is probably taken from ITE's website where "global" means US+Canada+Australia+New Zealand.
I assume that the timings already vary due to local considerations, such as average speed, width of roads, neighbourhood, etc.
I think the headline is slightly exaggerated.
Wait a second.. (Score:2)
A slightly longer interval, he argued, would allow drivers making turns on a yellow light to exit intersections before the light turned red.
I was under the impression that the law was that you can legally enter an intersection when the light is yellow, but the moment it turns a steady red, you must then stop. Vehicles IN the intersection after the light turns red legally have the right of way and are allowed to proceed. So as long as you enter the intersection before the red light is shown, regardless of if you are accelerating or slowing down, you may proceed.
So I get where adding some time to the yellow light might be a good idea, I don't
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I get where adding some time to the yellow light might be a good idea, I don't see how this engineering argument changes the law or negates the woman's ticket. IF she entered after the red light was displayed, the ticket was legit as the law is written.
I think the argument is that if you make the yellow too short, it's not possible for someone approaching the intersection to stop before the red in time under certain circumstances.
More people will run the light (Score:2)
With a longer light time more people will run the light which will mean an increase in accidents.
Congrats. You've just made the body shops happy with all the work they'll be getting and hospitals for all the money they'll collect treating those injured in accidents.
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Simpsons did it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
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No. It is made possible for people who intend to drive lawfully to do so without being ticketed. The ones who do not intend to drive lawfully will need to be ticketed, which is fair once it is made reasonable and possible to obey the law.
Red light scam cams (Score:2)
It's almost as if someone is violating the law to get more traffic ticket money....
Yes, there are actually rules and guidelines on the length of those yellow lights.
Well, I would hope so (Score:5, Funny)
Traffic lights that don't change aren't much good, are they?
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Global exaggeration (Score:2)
A libertarian victory of the pragmatic kind (Score:3)
If the outcome of this case really is a worldwide change, it represents a notable victory for the pragmatic libertarianism pushed by Reason Foundation, EFF and Institute For Justice, as opposed to the society-means-nothing Randian theoretics that most people think of first when they hear that term.
These organizations attack the sort of abusive, money-grab regulation that Oregon's requirement for an irrelevant certification represents, and which the worldwide shrinkage of the yellow light interval when cameras are in use represents.
Yellow light is useless in my city (Score:3)
The only way to be relatively safe from being ticketed is to watch the crossing walk timer ticking down as you approach and plan to be stopped before it hits 0 (and the yellow light comes on briefly . . . VERY briefly).
Of course, while it can decrease your chance of getting a ticket, that probably comes as the cost of less safety for everyone else, as it is a distraction for a driver in an already busy place.
Something which should indeed be standard (Score:2)
I've only ever once encountered a light with a non standard timing, I don't know if it was faulty or not but it resulted in coffeee being spilt by the passenger in the car I had to brake so hard.
They should all definitely have the same timing, there should be no "oh this one is short because of X" - no. This needs to be something predictable and timed safely.
If we knew, with certainty, that there was NOT a money hungry red light camera attached to the lights, AND we knew that the green, for the opposing
The LONGER the yellow (Score:2)
Re:What an asshole (Score:5, Informative)
The law states you aren't to enter an intersection when the light is yellow. If you are making a left turn when the light is yellow, you have enough time to stop and wait for the red. Just pay the fine and get on.
Not where I live it doesn't.
It states that you're not to enter the intersection when the light is red. The yellow is to notify the driver that the red light is coming, so that the driver can choose to proceed or can choose to stop, based on the driver's judgement.
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Oregon is different:
In practice, this means the burden of proof is on the driver to prove they could not stop for the yellow.
Another stupid Oregon driving law is the one (ORS 811.440) that forces right turning drivers to cross over a lane of traffic rather than merge into the lane first and then make th
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I've noticed that laws in Washington state are often very poorly written.
I think Oregon fixed that law: 2017 ORS 811.440 When motor vehicles may operate on bicycle lane [oregonlaws.org]: "A person may operate a motor vehicle upon a bicycle lane when: (a) Making a turn; (b) Entering or leaving an alley, private road or
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When making a turn, not when preparing to make the turn.
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
> In the U.S., every area, even small towns and local government entities, is allowed to make its own laws
No, those are the ten dumb home-rule states. The other forty are either partially or entirety Dillon's Rule.
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Another stupid Oregon driving law is the one (ORS 811.440) that forces right turning drivers to cross over a lane of traffic rather than merge into the lane first and then make the right turn.
You mean make the right turn from a left/center lane, instead of the actual right-most lane? Oregon is stupid.
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No, he's stupid.
811.440 is about bicycle lanes. Cars aren't allowed to enter them when turning, unless the are proprietorially marked.
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And what's with that whole "you can't pump your own gas" thing in Oregon, amirite?
People should stay away from Oregon! Laws there are dumb, and the weather is always rainy! Stay home! Don't move to Oregon!
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People should stay away from Oregon! Laws there are dumb, and the weather is always rainy! Stay home! Don't move to Oregon!
Aha! Spotted the person who lives in Oregon and loves it (and thinks the state is populous enough already).
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Actually I live in Washington state - but people who move to Oregon often then eventually decide to come up here.
But I do love Oregon, especially the coast. Where it always rains and smells like elk poo.
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Actually I live in Washington state - but people who move to Oregon often then eventually decide to come up here.
I see more and more California plates on cars these days. Perhaps we should blow the western-most bridges over the Columbia as a defensive action. Most of the Californians probably wouldn't figure out they could head upstream to cross.
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I concur,once, the person pumping gas accidentally pump cat urine into my tank! I yelled at him but he couldn't hear my over the 24/7 ice storm we have for 8 straight months.
For your safety, stay away.
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Another stupid Oregon driving law
What do you expect from a state that is full of people too dumb to operate a gas pump? I've always wondered if they import the gas station attendants from other states...
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In New Zealand.
Green Go
Amber Stop if Safe to do so (i.e. Default response should be to stop unless braking to stop by the line would cause you to skid through the intersection)
Red Stop always.
In my time, I have known one person to get ticketed for running the yellow.
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In Oregon, if you are in the intersection when the light goes red, it's a violation; regardless of the color of the light when you entered.
Re:What an asshole (Score:5, Interesting)
If you had looked up the city's own rules on yellow light duration then you might have been able to get out of that ticket. It has happened here with red-light cameras as both American Traffic Systems and Redflex have gotten caught violating the actual rules.
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hanging rosary beads
Is that what the kids are calling it today?
Re:What an asshole (Score:4, Insightful)
This is bullshit and you know it.
There is no secret that camera ticketing systems have been designed to "generate" revenue by adjusting the times to ensure that even a non-infraction is likely to result in a false positive.
People like you saying "just pay the fine and get on" are the blight on society. Your attitude is "literally" what helps keep government corrupt!
You are no longer allowed to say shit about any form of corruption without being a fucking knob of a hypocrite!
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And what if there is no guarded left-hand turn signal? Then I have to either a) hope the traffic engineer in my municipality programmed single-way green lights in both directions, giving me a guarded opportunity to turn or b) never get to turn left, because there is sufficient volume of through traffic coming opposite me.
Traffic lights are expensive [citation needed], so I can understand why on lower volume roads guarded left signals aren't used. In every place in the US I've lived its completely common
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Where I live, the law is that the driver is not to enter the intersection on-red. Clearing the intersection is not defined that way.
The problem, again, where I live, and perhaps in Oregon, is the definition of intersection. The stop-line for the crosswalk is not the start of the intersection, and neither is the crossing road's legal right-of-way. The intersection is defined based on the curbs or painted lines on either side of the intersecting road. Depending on where the crosswalk is painted, the far
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I lived for 17 years on a side street off of a road that had grown over time to be very heavily travelled. It was two lanes both ways and had a 55 mph speed limit, so it could accommodate a lot of volume, but the intersections were designed before traffic was heavy. So, the left turn to my house had a dedicated lane that was 40 feet long and no turn arrow. During busy times, the only cars that turned left were the ones that ignored the law. There are thousands of intersections like this in the US.
We also ba
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Re:What an asshole (Score:5, Informative)
The law states you aren't to enter an intersection when the light is yellow. If you are making a left turn when the light is yellow, you have enough time to stop and wait for the red. Just pay the fine and get on.
Your statement is as flippant as it is wrong. Citation to the relevant Oregon law, please.
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
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That said, I don’t think the timing the issue, but rather traffic cameras which prioritize revenue over safety. We removed all the traffic cameras around here because it
Re:What an asshole (Score:4, Informative)
The law states you aren't to enter an intersection when the light is yellow.
Nope.
The law states that you aren't to enter an intersection that you cant clear before the light turns red, even if it was green when you entered.
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In practice, of course, this is impossible to obey perfectly, because sometimes traffic just suddenly stops while you're in the intersection. Also, at least here in California, I've seen traffic lights where, when turning left, even if you pull out into the intersection the instant that the light turns green, it is red before you fully clear the intersection. These lights are short because they don't want to hold the light green for very long at intersections where there's likely to be only a single car.
I
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In practice, of course, this is impossible to obey perfectly, because sometimes traffic just suddenly stops while you're in the intersection.
In practice, this scenario usually means you weren't paying attention to what was already happening ahead of you. Traffic rarely "just suddenly stops" immediately after it was flowing freely.
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It does when the traffic lights are timed so badly that one traffic light effectively gates the flow of traffic through the previous light. And if you think this is rare, you must not have ever driven through Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View, or San Francisco during rush hour. :-D
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
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Not exactly. The law states that you cannot enter an intersection when there is not sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians. [oregonlaws.org]
So you can still be in the intersection when the light turns red, as long as you don't block cross traffic.
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The law states you aren't to enter an intersection when the light is yellow. If you are making a left turn when the light is yellow, you have enough time to stop and wait for the red. Just pay the fine and get on.
That makes no sense. In that case there is no point in having a yellow, since you would have to slam on the breaks as soon as the yellow starts to avoid a violation.
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
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Don't forget, not all states are the same.
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Almost forgot to mention, Oregon also allows right turns on red lights. (Or left turns if it's a one way street going to the left.)
Right turns on red are permitted nearly everywhere [wikipedia.org] in the United States, and that's based on a Federal law that would restrict funding to states if they kept them illegal.
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
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By your reading of the law, there is no such thing as a yellow light, it is a red light.
The truth it that the law says you are not to INTENTIONALLY enter the intersection after it turns yellow, but if after it turns yellow, you slow down at a safe speed (rather than slamming on the breaks and getting hit from behind) and find yourself in the intersection then you may legally turn.
He claims that is what happens, and that the fault was that the camera is set to ticker too early.
Given that the ticket occurred
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The law states you aren't to enter an intersection when the light is yellow.
This statement of OP's is mostly correct with regards to Oregon law. Quoting ORS 8:11.260 (4) [oregonlaws.org] (bolding mine):
Steady circular yellow signal. A driver facing a steady circular yellow signal light is thereby warned that the related right of way is being terminated and that a red or flashing red light will be shown immediately. A driver facing the light shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, shall stop before entering the marked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or if there is no m
Re:What an asshole (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: What an asshole (Score:3)
There isn't a state in the US where Yellow means stop, else what would Red mean?
And yet if you had read the article, you would know that Oregon is one of those states that don't exist.
Re: What an asshole (Score:2)
Re:What an asshole (Score:4, Interesting)
Problem is getting half-committed while waiting for an opening that doesn't come until the light is changing. If you don't move you are now blocking the folks on your right making a left turn and may not be able to back up due to cars behind you. A solution would be never to half-commit and just wait 2-5x as long every time and piss off everyone behind you, but that sucks.
How about just "Don't Block the Box" ? Who cares if people behind you get pissed off and honk. They're the Real Assholes in this situation.
Re:What an asshole (Score:4, Insightful)
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Problem is getting half-committed while waiting for an opening that doesn't come until the light is changing.
No, you just go through after traffic is stopped by the red light.
The signals control who gets to enter the intersection. In your scenario, you're already entered the intersection and you should get out as soon as it is safe (which it is once the opposing traffic is stopped by the red light).
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Maybe if they added a color to tell you that the light was about to change. No, wait. :-D
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Maybe if they added a color to tell you that the light was about to change. No, wait. :-D
Rapidly flashing yellow for 2 seconds, then solid yellow (then flashing yellow turn arrow, if appropriate).
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I'm not going to check the vehicle code in 50 state. The two of the three states I've lived in: California and Massachusetts, say if the light is yellow you must stop if you can do so safely.[1][2]. It's probably even easy to do 99% of the time if you aren't speeding too. Just for a measure of balance, the third state I've lived in: Illinois, says you may enter on a yellow, it is just a warning that the light is about to change.[3] Ain't States Rights just grand?
Even with the different wording, the laws in California, Massachusetts, and Illinois are effectively the same, there are conditions in which entering the intersection on a yellow is perfectly legal. No one is going to get ticketed in either California or Massachusetts for entering a late yellow, because the driver can argue in court that they did not predict that they could stop safely.
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Because it requires an advanced degree to operate a stopwatch...
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This makes you sound like a jealous, snivelling, little baby.
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This seems to be a recurring behavior with EEs
You want to see real bad behaviour, just look at how much a typical Slashdotter generalises.
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Re:Details.. (Score:5, Insightful)
He included his (genuine) credentials to indicate that he had the relevant education on the subject (which he actually had). He made no claims about any memberships. If there is an ambiguity it is from the various organizations that try to use ambiguous terminology to imply that any non-member is uneducated and un-qualified. He never made any claims about being licensed to practice anywhere.
But let's be honest, all you really need to understand the problem with short yellow is the ability to reason. If you want to do the math, high school level physics is quite sufficient (it may have even been a test question a zillion years ago when I was taking physics in high school).
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Sorry, I'm not buying it. He has an engineering degree, and was employed in engineering. Thus, he is an engineer. Do you expect a pilot to detail every specific plane he is rated to fly, how many hours he has logged per type, his current employer and any union memberships each and every time he might utter the words "I'm a pilot'? Should he also mention the book of the month club and that he's a subscriber to Aviation Weekly or are you willing to cut him some slack on that one?
I note that you have never to
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If some public service is in need of additional funds, then it should be funded through traditional mea