Been out of town and didn't see the below until this insomniac
morning. ;^)
David Breneman wrote:
>
>
>
> > Consider the complaint that the authorities have shortened the
> > duration of the yellow light where there's a camera installed. If this
> > be true, the obvious and best response is: don't go through the light on
> > yellow! Huh? Wuzzat? Are you kidding? Hoo boy.........
>
> But with all due respect (and I really mean that) this
> argument is so reactionary it's just silly. Are you
> really meaning to say that if you're approaching an
> intersection at the marked speed of 35 MPH and the light
> turns yellow when you're 50 feet away, you're going to
> stand on your brakes rather than go through *before*
> the light turns red? After all, the reason the yellow
> light is there is to allow an interval of driver discretion.
>
> David Breneman
There's a defensive driving technique taught for approaching "stale
green" traffic lights. It involves slowing down as as one approaches
the light in anticipation of its changing to yellow. IOW, if the posted
speed limit is 35 mph, you approach the intersection at a somewhat lower
speed, so as to avoid having to make a panic stop. Furthermore, you can
discourage tailgaters by tapping your brakes to slow down. I know the
idea of even considering the use of this technique horrifies some
readers for various reasons. If you're one of the horrified, you're one
of the drivers I'm defending my life from.
Someone made a remark about us "driving from habit." IOW, not paying
attention for various reasons; cell phone, boss or spouse ticked you
off, etc. This is exactly the thing we need to avoid. I, too, sometimes
get preoccupied and I'm disgusted with myself when I realize it, but I
usually try to look ahead of the immediate traffic and be aware of not
only the situation at hand but also what may develop in the next few
ticks of time. This also involves looking ahead to the next traffic
light, and the next, as far as I can see. We've all been exposed to
this in the Defensive Driving Course. We should all take it seriously.
The idea that we can pass the buck for lack of good driving habits to
our lawmakers and greedy government entities is just another way of
avoiding the taking of personal responsibility for our actions. We have
too much of that already in our society. Why extend it for blaming the
other guy for our getting a ticket?
Cheers,
CR
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|