Someone ran a red light in front of me today, probably a good second after the light changed. I was in no great hurry to get anywhere and waited, otherwise I would’ve been sideswiped. You never know when you’ll get a second lease on life.
David Marsden happens every day here. If you don’t follow a runner it’s not unusual for someone behind to honk or go past you and take a chance. Complete madness!
Mark Stosberg @manton I once made the mistake of starting the intersection on my bike when my light turned green. I had failed to see the car approaching from the side at about 70 mph and not slowing down.
I stopped, but was directly in their path and they didn't have enough time to brake. The driver swerved and spared my life. That sent them into the median with such force that the car launched on to two wheels. I though it might tip over. But two wheels crashed back down and they sped away.
Mark Stosberg @manton I heard that taxi drivers are trained to not be the first into an intersection to avoid being hit by cars running red lights. This should become common wisdom for those who #bike as well. We have even more to loose.
For vulnerable road users, green unfortunately does not mean "go", it means "double check that no one is running the red light before proceeding cautiously."
Rene van Belzen Not having stoplights, but roundabouts instead, would’ve prevented all this.
Tyler K. Nothing My two most memorable near-death experiences due to idiots running red lights. First, back in the early 90’s sitting at a light on Huntington Dr. in Arcadia, a van blew through a red and hit the back of a VW Bug and it span around 2-3 times about five feet in front of me. Second, back in the mid-late 2010’s sitting at a light behind a Camry with big rigs in the left turn lane to our left, the light turns green and the Camry pulls out, then stops, about a second later a Chevy Spark flies through the intersection from our left and slams into the first car in the lane to our right that didn’t pause. The Spark was doing at least 40 MPH, spun hard, and rolled over on its roof, sliding into the light pole on the opposite corner. Nobody moved after that, doors flew open, and people rushed over.
Fun stuff.
