OT: red light jumping

Peter B

"dkahn400" <dkahn400@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1102934689.474377.4940@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> The police of course were probably much more attracted by the
> "emergency" stop than they would have been by routine red light
> running.

Which reminds me of many years ago when I pulled off smartly to make a right
turn at Weedon (IIRC) across the path of a slow moving lorry some way off.
An ossifer of the law who heard my wheels spin collared me an issued forth
the statement: "I don't know what you did back there but it sounded
dangerous".
With that kind of reasoning ability no wonder they're being replaced by
cameras.

Pete

Badger

Colin Blackburn wrote:

> Provence1971 wrote:
>
>> The police officer did nothing of course
>>
> To be fair he was actually dealing with another incident at the time.

Hummm, I wonder if our porsche driving vice chancellor who regularly
cuts people up, fails to indicate, and launches on the amber (why wait
for the green) would get ignored, or nicked and then have the case
dropped????
The buggers even had his reg c5 koo mis-spaced to read C5K 00 with the 5
almost an S....

David Nutter

Badger <the10ths.50th@ntlworld.com> said:
>
>
> Colin Blackburn wrote:
>
>> Provence1971 wrote:
>>
>>> The police officer did nothing of course
>>>
>> To be fair he was actually dealing with another incident at the time.
>
> Hummm, I wonder if our porsche driving vice chancellor who regularly
> cuts people up, fails to indicate, and launches on the amber (why wait
> for the green) would get ignored, or nicked and then have the case
> dropped????

Ah, so that's Wee Kenny (can't be too many insanely driven Porsches in
Durham). Figures. I snigger everytime I remember the Convocation where that
odious little twerp disavowed portions of a document ostensibly written by
him. Nor can I forget his heroic "escape", with the help of some university
security guards, from a party of ne'er do-wells coming to attack him in
his home. Namely the student LARP society who happened to be walking
past, holding deadly weapons like foam swords...

Despite the crazed Porsche-equipped VCs, the overall standard of driving in
Durham is great compared to Lincs Basic Standard Driving[1]. I miss the
hills too. Lincs is too bloody flat and windy.

Regards,

-david, ex Durham

[1] Brakes? What're they for? *VROOOOOOM*

njf>badger

Badger wrote:
> Hummm, I wonder if our porsche driving vice chancellor who regularly
> cuts people up, fails to indicate, and launches on the amber (why wait
> for the green) would get ignored, or nicked and then have the case
> dropped????
> The buggers even had his reg c5 koo mis-spaced to read C5K 00 with the 5
> almost an S....

Thats interesting, someone replied and I could read it at home, but its
not on the news server here.....

Mike Murphy

I was taught (many years ago) that if your car's front tyres were over
the studs when the lights change then you are OK to continue through
because your are then too close to stop safely. However, I notice that
these studs seem not to be around much nowadays, perhaps they've bneen
abandoned?
- Mike

Tony W

"Mike Murphy" <evmurph@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:v4cjs0lgmbbqlt7m877v6kcnsmpdgppe80@4ax.com...
> I was taught (many years ago) that if your car's front tyres were over
> the studs when the lights change then you are OK to continue through
> because your are then too close to stop safely. However, I notice that
> these studs seem not to be around much nowadays, perhaps they've bneen
> abandoned?

That dates you. I was taught the same. However, weren't the studs
effectively replaced by the various forms of detection system that now adorn
most lights.

T

Just zis Guy, you know?

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 20:49:12 -0000, "Tony W"
<tonyremove@chapmore.co.uk> wrote in message
<32u529F3o88jiU2@individual.net>:

>> I was taught (many years ago) that if your car's front tyres were over
>> the studs when the lights change then you are OK to continue through
>> because your are then too close to stop safely. However, I notice that
>> these studs seem not to be around much nowadays, perhaps they've bneen
>> abandoned?

>That dates you. I was taught the same. However, weren't the studs
>effectively replaced by the various forms of detection system that now adorn
>most lights.

I believe that the white line is the vital mark on the road, and the
purpose of the amber phase is to give you time to stop if you are not
yet over the line.

I am always amused when people come to a screeching halt in the middle
of the junction because the light ahead turns red. You'd almost think
that people didn't read the Highway Code...

Guy
--
"then came ye chavves, theyre cartes girded wyth candels
blue, and theyre beastes wyth straynge horn-lyke thyngs
onn theyre arses that theyre fartes be herde from myles
around." Chaucer, the Sheppey Tales

Tony Raven

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>
> I believe that the white line is the vital mark on the road, and the
> purpose of the amber phase is to give you time to stop if you are not
> yet over the line.
>
> I am always amused when people come to a screeching halt in the middle
> of the junction because the light ahead turns red. You'd almost think
> that people didn't read the Highway Code...
>

.....and you haven't read about the dilemma zone and the Government
statements on the length of the amber phase relative to the stopping
distance.

Tony

Just zis Guy, you know?

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:12:11 +0000, Tony Raven <junk@raven-family.com>
wrote in message <32vngaF3r1i71U1@individual.net>:

>> I am always amused when people come to a screeching halt in the middle
>> of the junction because the light ahead turns red. You'd almost think
>> that people didn't read the Highway Code...

>....and you haven't read about the dilemma zone and the Government
>statements on the length of the amber phase relative to the stopping
>distance.

I have indeed. I modify my behaviour by slowing down and covering the
brake as I approach the lights, as stated above. Even so, once you
have crossed the line you are supposed to clear the junction.

Guy
--
"then came ye chavves, theyre cartes girded wyth candels
blue, and theyre beastes wyth straynge horn-lyke thyngs
onn theyre arses that theyre fartes be herde from myles
around." Chaucer, the Sheppey Tales

Tony Raven

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>
>
> I have indeed. I modify my behaviour by slowing down and covering the
> brake as I approach the lights, as stated above. Even so, once you
> have crossed the line you are supposed to clear the junction.
>

Do you really approach each traffic light pre-choosing a point according
to your speed, traffic, weather etc where you will automatically brake
if you haven't passed it and automatically continue or accelerate if you
have? Covering the brake saves about 200ms only - its the do I/don't I
decision making process that takes the time.

Even if I have crossed the white line there are many cases where it is
safer to stop over the line than proceed through the junction.

Tony

Just zis Guy, you know?

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 12:04:35 +0000, Tony Raven <junk@raven-family.com>
wrote in message <32vqihF3puesiU1@individual.net>:

>> I modify my behaviour by slowing down and covering the
>> brake as I approach the lights, as stated above. Even so, once you
>> have crossed the line you are supposed to clear the junction.

>Do you really approach each traffic light pre-choosing a point according
>to your speed, traffic, weather etc where you will automatically brake
>if you haven't passed it and automatically continue or accelerate if you
>have? Covering the brake saves about 200ms only - its the do I/don't I
>decision making process that takes the time.

Automatically? Who knows. I do look ahead, see the lights, take my
foot off the loud pedal and cover the brake.

>Even if I have crossed the white line there are many cases where it is
>safer to stop over the line than proceed through the junction.

Indeed. That was not the circumstance I was describing. I was
talking about the people who come to a screeching halt in the middle
of the junction when the light ahead turns red.

Guy
--
"then came ye chavves, theyre cartes girded wyth candels
blue, and theyre beastes wyth straynge horn-lyke thyngs
onn theyre arses that theyre fartes be herde from myles
around." Chaucer, the Sheppey Tales

Tony Raven

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>
> Automatically? Who knows. I do look ahead, see the lights, take my
> foot off the loud pedal and cover the brake.
>

That's insufficient for speeds above 35mph as the Government has
admitted but they have decided instead to lengthen the double red phase
to let the cars that cannot stop go through the red light hopefully safely.

Tony

Velvet

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 11:12:11 +0000, Tony Raven <junk@raven-family.com>
> wrote in message <32vngaF3r1i71U1@individual.net>:
>
>
>>>I am always amused when people come to a screeching halt in the middle
>>>of the junction because the light ahead turns red. You'd almost think
>>>that people didn't read the Highway Code...
>
>
>>....and you haven't read about the dilemma zone and the Government
>>statements on the length of the amber phase relative to the stopping
>>distance.
>
>
> I have indeed. I modify my behaviour by slowing down and covering the
> brake as I approach the lights, as stated above. Even so, once you
> have crossed the line you are supposed to clear the junction.
>

Wish someone'd told the guy in front of the guy in front of me
yesterday, as I drove down Brixton Hill. We enter the junction with the
lights on green. The side roads are staggered so it's a slightly longer
junction than normal. Just as I pass, the lights go amber - I'm too
close to be able to stop without poking way out into the junction. What
does this guy do? puts on the anchors, cos the lights at the far side of
the junction are amber-going-red. Three cars now sat in middle of
junction...

I couldn't believe my eyes.

We waited till the pedestrians had finished crossing, he was still
sitting there, lights were green for the other way, I gave up and let
rip with the horn, we moved off to clear the junction shortly thereafter.

The car was a UK plate, but I suppose that's no indication that the
driver was from the UK - but even so...


--


Velvet

Roos Eisma

Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> writes:

>The car was a UK plate, but I suppose that's no indication that the
>driver was from the UK - but even so...

When I first drove in Scotland I was not familiar with the habit of
repeating traffic lights at the other side of a junction. I haven't gone
as far as stopping in the middle of a junction, but there were a number of
locations where it was less obvious and I have stopped because the second
set og lights turned amber just when I was getting there.

Roos