When did traffic laws become traffic "suggestions"?

[sbell111]

Ohhh...it's the..."but other people do it defense".

Not really a good argument so the fact that Feralpeg didn't answer your questions as you liked is moot.

Why YOU choose to disregard the law should not be influenced by what others do.

My actions aren't influenced by what others do. However, my willingness to be outraged over other's actions is influenced by what I do. The simple fact that I was trying to make is that just about every one of us picks and chooses which laws that we follow and routinely 'works around' the rest.

Even you admit that you routinely broke the traffic code, yet you are shocked and dismayed when others do. I can't understand the thought process that would allow this.

 

[sbell111]

Sounds like you should go right ahead and follow the rules you like and disregard the ones you don't as long as YOU have verified that the rule is stupid and the action can be done "safely".

I'm glad that we were able to come to an agreement.

 

[Darsa]

Personally I won't question WHY rules are posted, or whether or not *I* think they're stupid. I follow them; they're there, I follow them. There must be a reason; I'm sure state workers don't scuttle around towns giggling and posting signs just to annoy people and have something to post on YouTube: "Hey look at these people stopping just cause there's a sign there, hehehe!"

It's foolish to think you're smarter than the people who put up the signs, and follow your own set of rules. Though maybe you should write 'em up and hand 'em over to the cops next time you're pulled over for one of "those other rules"? Who knows, might help!

It sickens me that people think they're ABOVE rules. One thing I see more than anything else on my way to/from work are people who almost rear-end me because I *DO* stop at a red light and look for oncoming traffic before I take a right. TWO TIMES on the way home I do that! Oh, the horror.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Did it drive you insane when you were the one doing it?

The whole situation with that turn drove me insane, but I deserved the ticket I got and don't purpose to break the law just b/c everyoen else is doing it.

I see that we do disagree on that and I do find that irritating that there are many drivers out there who feel the same way as you do.

 

[sbell111]

The whole situation with that turn drove me insane, but I deserved the ticket I got and don't purpose to break the law just b/c everyoen else is doing it.

I see that we do disagree on that and I do find that irritating that there are many drivers out there who feel the same way as you do.

What part of the bolded sentence are you claiming that we disagree on.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My actions aren't influenced by what others do. However, my willingness to be outraged over other's actions is influenced by what I do. The simple fact that I was trying to make is that just about every one of us picks and chooses which laws that we follow and routinely 'works around' the rest.

Even you admit that you routinely broke the traffic code, yet you are shocked and dismayed when others do. I can't understand the thought process that would allow this.

I did this in 1992 and I'm not "allowed" to have learned my lesson from that one ticket.

I also did not routinely take this route home nor did I routinely take the turn illegally. I was supposed to take the ferry.

But I suppose that means I should refrain my disdain when my kids disobey me since I disobeyed my own parents.

 

[sbell111]

I did this in 1992 and I'm not "allowed" to have learned my lesson from that one ticket.

I also did not routinely take this route home nor did I routinely take the turn illegally. I was supposed to take the ferry.

But I suppose that means I should refrain my disdain when my kids disobey me since I disobeyed my own parents.

Perhaps they are still in their '1992', when it was OK to break the law simply because they don't typically drive that route.

 

[NikitaZee]

I just found out that I've been doing something illegal for years - and only because my mom just got issued a warning for doing it. When I took driver's ed, we were instructed to pull to the middle of the intersection while waiting to turn left. That's what I've always done - sitting under the green light waiting for my turn to go. I've even gotten annoyed at other drivers who didn't pull into the intersection while waiting to turn left. Now I've found out that it's not legal, and I'm not supposed to enter the intersection at all unless I can complete my turn without stopping. Now I know better - but I didn't know that I was disobeying traffic rules all these years!

 

[sbell111]

In this thread, we have seen people gave the following reasons why it was OK for them to break the law:

"I didn't know"
"My parents told me to"
"I was distracted"
"I usually don't go this way"

Why are these better excuses than this one:

"I checked first to make sure it was safe"

It seems to me that the only one that took safety into account is better than all those other excuses.

 

[sbell111]

I just found out that I've been doing something illegal for years - and only because my mom just got issued a warning for doing it. When I took driver's ed, we were instructed to pull to the middle of the intersection while waiting to turn left. That's what I've always done - sitting under the green light waiting for my turn to go. I've even gotten annoyed at other drivers who didn't pull into the intersection while waiting to turn left. Now I've found out that it's not legal, and I'm not supposed to enter the intersection at all unless I can complete my turn without stopping. Now I know better - but I didn't know that I was disobeying traffic rules all these years!

People often don't completely understand traffic regulations even when they are spelled out for them.

Check out the bolded bit on page 90 of the MA driver's manual.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

My actions aren't influenced by what others do. However, my willingness to be outraged over other's actions is influenced by what I do. The simple fact that I was trying to make is that just about every one of us picks and chooses which laws that we follow and routinely 'works around' the rest.

Even you admit that you routinely broke the traffic code, yet you are shocked and dismayed when others do. I can't understand the thought process that would allow this.

Good post!

As long as we are making every effort to drive safely...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

In this thread, we have seen people gave the following reasons why it was OK for them to break the law:

"I didn't know"
"My parents told me to"
"I was distracted"
"I usually don't go this way"

Why are these better excuses than this one:

"I checked first to make sure it was safe"

It seems to me that the only one that took safety into account is better than all those other excuses.

How do you know the others didn't check first to make sure it was safe.

But again--you know better than the written law.

 

[NikitaZee]

People often don't completely understand traffic regulations even when they are spelled out for them.

Check out the bolded bit on page 90 of the MA driver's manual.

This brings up another point - traffic laws are not always the same from state to state. I was born and raised in New York - that's where I got my driver's license. So I looked up the NY State driver's manual, and it states in Chapter 5 that it's acceptable to pull into the intersection while waiting to make a left. So, what's legal in one state may not be in another.

 

[Belle Ella]

The only "No Right on Red" intersection that I know of where I live can be tricky about what you can see. Sure you can see the traffic coming from the right and from the left, but what is completely obstructed form view (and the reason for the sign) are a freeway exit and entrance that a lot of drivers don't know is there unless they know the area. I didn't know myself until I had used the exit and saw just how dangerous the intersection can be when someone turning right at that ared light (where the "no right on red" sign is posted) and came very, very close to smashing into the passenger side of my car.

Is it really so hard for people to sit there and wait patiently for their turn?

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I can see where people would accidentally turn there if they weren't familiar with the area. Those signs are very uncommon around here so you get into the habit of stopping, verifying that the way is clear, and then going. If the put it up too high where I'm not apt to look, there's a chance I will miss it.

The thing that always drove me crazy in Kirksville was the downtown streets! You would have three or four red flashing lights in a row and then you would come to a true traffic signal. Everybody I know has run that signal at least a couple of times because you get into that stop and go pattern.

I do get irritated with people who drive in an unsafe manner. My favorite was the day I was sitting at an intersection in the right lane. There was no right turn lane. Three or four cars pulled beside me to turn right at the red light (I was going straight). There was no turn lane there and not even a true shoulder. They were basically next to me in my lane. I and could have reached out touched their car no problem. It made me nervous because there was not enough room and I'm pretty sure that that was illegal. Why is it so hard to wait a few extra seconds for the light to turn green?

 

[Sleepy]

If I became upset and bothered by the "illegal" things people do around here, I would be better off never getting in a car. Everything is simply a suggestion to these people. The police don't care.

 

[cristit14]

I noticed that you glossed over some of my questions, but that's OK. Very few people ever signal before turning into their driveway. Most don't signal when leaving a streetside parking spot. People frequently jaywalk.

BTW, you should always know the speed limit, even if it's not posted. Speeding because you are not aware of the limit will not be an acceptable defense to the ticket. Also, driving distracted is, in itself, a violation of traffic regulations.

Personally, I never drive distracted. I believe that to be a MUCH larger safety issue than merely making a 'rolling stop' at a stop sign after checking the intersection or turning right on red after verifying that it is safe to do so.

Do you never have the radio on or talk to anyone in your car? Those are both distractions.

 

[sbell111]

This brings up another point - traffic laws are not always the same from state to state. I was born and raised in New York - that's where I got my driver's license. So I looked up the NY State driver's manual, and it states in Chapter 5 that it's acceptable to pull into the intersection while waiting to make a left. So, what's legal in one state may not be in another.

Actually, chapter 5 of NY's driver manual says this:

You may not enter an intersection if traffic is backed up on the other side and you cannot get all the way through the intersection. Wait until traffic ahead clears, so you do not block the intersection.

 

[sbell111]

How do you know the others didn't check first to make sure it was safe.

But again--you know better than the written law.

How in the world could someone verify that it was safe if they weren't aware of the law?

How could they do it if they were distracted?

If they didn't normally go that way, wouldn't they be more likely to not be aware if hidden dangers exist and therefore not know that whether their actions were safe?

 

[sbell111]

The only "No Right on Red" intersection that I know of where I live can be tricky about what you can see. Sure you can see the traffic coming from the right and from the left, but what is completely obstructed form view (and the reason for the sign) are a freeway exit and entrance that a lot of drivers don't know is there unless they know the area. I didn't know myself until I had used the exit and saw just how dangerous the intersection can be when someone turning right at that ared light (where the "no right on red" sign is posted) and came very, very close to smashing into the passenger side of my car.

Is it really so hard for people to sit there and wait patiently for their turn?

The only one that I am aware of locally exists because the oncoming lane does a funny merge right before the intersection. All traffic leading to the intersection can still be viewed prior to entering the intersection.

This conversation reminds me of intersections with a red 'ball' precluding a left turn, even though the 'straight' lanes have green. The reason for this traffic signal is obvious. The road is often busy and not having this signal would result in cars being backed up in the intersection (because, as shown in this thread, people are unaware that you are not supposed to enter an intersection unless you can exit it).

However, sometimes these roads are not busy. Sometimes, they are very unbusy. At those times, it can be easily verified that one could safely turn left. These left turns are illegal, but totally safe.