Russ Smith

This started a mini argument this morning when my girlfriend and I carpooled. As we come out the security gate in our parking lot we make a left, there's a light right there for us. So we come out the gate and just sit there, for a good 90 seconds. She decides to back up thinking maybe she's too far forward, another 60 seconds go by. There's at least 2 long periods of no cross traffic. Now she pulls forward, still nothing. We're over 3 minutes now sitting there when I say it's clearly not working, either make the illegal left turn, or turn right and go up to the next intersection so we can at least be moving.

"I am not running the light what if there's a cop around and we get a ticket?"
Eventually a car approaches the intersection from the other side to make a right, and right as my girlfriend is aobut to give up and make the right turn, the light goes green, obviously triggered by the other car.

I have to admit, I'd have run the light probably at about the 90 second mark when it was clear to me it wasn't working. She insisted she would not have ever run the light she would have just taken the right.

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dreamcastrocks

A broken traffic light should be treated as a 4 way stop sign.

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PortlandCardFan

If the traffic was clear I would have gone after 90 seconds as well. If a cop pulls you over tell him the light wasn't working and you checked for on coming traffic.

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I'm sorry Thomas!!!

Bada0Bing

When I was in college I rode a motorcycle to school everyday and this used to happen all the time. My bike was too light for some of the sensors. I'd usually wait about a minute.

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Pariah

Sometimes I don't even wait for a light that isn't broken if there are no other cars around.

One of my pet peeves is a red arrow when there is no appearent need for it. I run those a lot.

D-Dogg

I hate the red arrow. Empty streets, and I'm supposed to wait for an arbitrary red arrow to turn green? No thank you.

Pariah

It's my understanding that the only reason a planner might install a red arrow is because of an obstructed view of oncoming traffic (structure, hill, curve, landscape). I completely understand and respect that. But if I can see the road ahead is empty, I'm going.

Card Trader

This is my exact feeling. Red lights when no one is around are basically stop signs to me.

D-Dogg

Maybe that's the foundation of it, but I know of some red arrows where there is flat, clear, straight road ahead. In some places, I think they are using it as a congestion-reducer.

I'm with you...if there are clear roads ahead no red arrow is going to hold me back.

Russ Smith

That's a flashing red like a power outtage. In this situation the cross traffic had a green light, it just never went red to make our light go green. Clearly the sensor on our side wasn't working.

The light can be slow there, 90 seconds is not out of question, but beyond that I start to assume it's not going to change. And it wouldn't have if the other car hadn't triggered it from the other side.

Given we were leaving 10 minutes late and I was going to have people waiting for me at work I was a bit annoyed that my girlfriend was content to just sit there.

__________________
“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo

KingofCards

If I was late for work, I would have went through it after awhile. If I wasn't I would try and find some other way around it. I always get busted doing stuff like this.

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dreamcastrocks

I understand, but if the light is broken, and will not change, then the 4 way stop should be in play. The problem with that, is the the other side of the traffic (with the green light) have no idea that it may be broken. You may have to treat it like a 2 way stop sign instead.

__________________
'Just to reiterate, Derek Anderson isn't hurt.... he has just been benched.'
-Sam Rosen

Russ Smith

In Cupertino there's a couple of intersections that have flashing red arrows that you are allowed when clear to turn left on. It gets dicey because you never know when it's going to change to a solid red light, but it does allow you to make a left turn when it's clear instead of having to wait forever.

__________________
“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo

Russ Smith

Right that was my point, it was only broken to us, the people going through the other way have no idea how long we've been sitting there they just got there, they have a green light, so they have no reason to make it a 4 way.

2 way is right. If I'd been driving I would have ran it.

The argument was pretty moot, about 10 minutes later we took the ramp from 237 to 880 North and immediately came upon an accident scene. one car spun around off the road slammed into a chainlink fence, another headfirst in a ditch having apparently gone through the same fence. So
we sort of stopped arguing about the broken light sensor and were just glad that it wasn't us involved in the accident.

Still trying to find out what happened I think one car tried to pass on the right where the right lane goes away and they collided. We see cars doing that on the right there every morning so thats my guess. Pretty sobering.

__________________
“Your expectations always exceed outside expectations. I feel like you just can’t stop working, can’t stop getting better, because I’ll be a failure in my eyes before I’m a failure in someone else’s eyes.” -- Arron Afflalo

Pariah

doesn't that blinking red light mean the same thing as no arrow at all then? Seems weird.