Rolling thru Red Lights

In the first week after I moved to the Bay Area in 1981 someone used the term "California stop sign".  It's sort of a slow-mo, look around, save some gas, maybe-not-have-to-downshift-to-first-gear sort of driving maneuver.  Our very own state Senator Jerry Hill has somehow determined that protecting the California red light pseudo-stop is a priority.  Per the SacBee, this is sort of controversial

By the way, a full legal stop is a somewhat particular thing. Your tires have to completely stop turning, momentarily, before your front bumper crosses the first white line you come to. If you stop with your nose, say, a foot over that line (thus in the crosswalk) you can be hit with the $500 ticket.

A few drivers said they don’t think they should have to obey the law if there are no other cars, pedestrians or cyclists around. In those cases, slowing down seems good enough. Two mentioned they have seen police fail to fully stop before making a right on red. They had some choice words about that.

But then the Law of Unintended Consequences might kick in

We got a few emails from drivers who acknowledged they don’t always come to a full legal stop. I suspect there are more of us in this group than any other. Most did not sound dismissive of the law. A few said they felt pressured at times by impatient drivers behind them.

Or even more likely, if people start driving like a Google-assisted car drives, they will start getting rear-ended like a Google-assisted car does.  And as we head towards legalized recreational marijuana (see the 2016 ballot), my guess is that we will have a lot more drivers pondering their navels at stop signs and red lights than rolling through them. 

Comments

[hollyroller@hotwire.com]

My very first ticket was just after I turned 16.
I had my DL about 2-3 months.
I made a right turn, after coming to a complete and legal stop at Adeline and El Camino Real.
All was clear.
I did not see the "No Right turn on Red."

[local motion]

The real safety threat is people making left adn right turns while pedestrians are in the crosswalk. On any night in town at any intersection with a lot pedestrians the police could write at least 5 tickets at rush hour. Night after night. There would probably be another 5 for talking on the phone and half of them would be to the same drivers.

[BMW]

A lot of people think a complete stop should be fully stepping on the brakes, setting the handle brake, opening the door and putting one foot down on the asphalt. Then close the door, unset the brake and proceed. That would be a full stop. If you ride a bike this should be familiar to you, because that's what you're expected to do. Everytime. I'm sure most drivers are willing to do these themselves because it's reasonable.

Also I think most drivers are ok getting a ticket for driving 27 mph on a street posted with a 25 MPH Speed Limit because Speed Limit. Nobody really wants or needs the 5 mph wink-wink grace allowance.

[Doug Radtke]

Jerry Hill is really just addressing cash grabs like the Millbrae red light camera off the 101/Millbrae Ave exit. There are really not pedestrians and if you examine the intersection, it is not much of a safety issue. Rollins Road has a little more credibility due to the BART crosswalk, but the light isn't catching runners - it's catching people making a right turn because they're headed to In-N-Out Burger or people turning into BART on the other side. The fear of getting zapped with a ticket IS a source of congestion as some people wait for the green to even turn right. How's that for the law of unintended consequences?

I even presented to city council comparative accident data (before camera and after). There was no statistical difference - none. Zero.