4 ms·

As a driver, I love right-on-red. As a pedestrian, I hate it -- it generally results in drivers stopping past the stop line, or not stopping at all as they roll

As a driver, I love right-on-red. As a pedestrian, I hate it -- it generally results in drivers stopping past the stop line, or not stopping at all as they roll into their right turn, and many times they aren't even looking to the right for pedestrians, they are only looking to the left for traffic. As much as I love the right-on-red as a driver, I think it should be ended because drivers aren't responsible enough to use it safely. Perhaps when (if?) self-driving cars are ubiquitous it can be revisited.

cozzyd 3y ago
Even worse than being a pedestrian is being a cyclist. Right on red makes it dangerous to get in front of the light queue by passing on the right
- fiddlerwoaroof 3y ago
  Or, we could just ban this unsafe practice of cutting in the light queue and make bicycles follow the rules of the road like other vehicles.
  - xigoi 3y ago
    Then car drivers will complain that the slow bicycles are blocking them.
- cykros 3y ago
  When I was a cyclist, at least when there were multiple lanes, I'd hop to the left of cars turning right. When there is one lane, you do sort of have to pay attention to blinkers. Well designed bike lanes, where they exist, typically already follow this pattern. If you're going straight it's pretty silly to be to the right of traffic that is turning right.
- nunez 3y ago
  As another cyclist, agreeed, but to be fair, cyclists run reds and traffic controls all of the damn time. Shits maddening.
  - 303uru 3y ago
    Check your local laws to make sure YOU actually know the law. I get yelled at in Colorado for obeying the law on my bike to a T. Stop signs operate as yields, red lights as stop signs. Why? Because as a cyclist the most dangerous time is when I’m stopped. I can see around far better than you can in a car and can safely get through stop signs and red lights in ways you cannot. Get hit a couple times by people turning right on red right into you and you might start to get it. The relative danger is also laughable, would you equate the danger of me on my bike running a red to a Ram 3500 running a red light?
Ferret7446 3y ago
There are drivers that don't check for pedestrians. Then there are pedestrians who jaywalk blithely like Mary Poppins, sometimes in the dark, sometimes in black wear. In both cases, the driver is generally at fault. IMO, pedestrians are obligated to have some sense of self-preservation, even though in theory drivers should fully accommodate all pedestrian antics. Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing?
- CalRobert 3y ago
  And if the pedestrian is a child?
  - cykros 3y ago
    If a child is old enough to be crossing the street without an adult present (holding their hand), then they're old enough to be looking both ways before crossing. That was a kindergarten lesson, and in my experience, those kids tend to be better about it than most people are when they're older. If they're not going to do that, what is stopping them from just wandering into a road nowhere near a traffic light anyway?
    - CalRobert 3y ago
      My own child is a runner and until she was six or so it was honestly terrifying to go outside with her. I want to live somewhere letting go of a four year old's hand isn't a death sentence. Incidentally this is what Anne hidalgo says she wants for Paris and it seems like a useful heuristic.
      - Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
        I don't know if that place exists like near any road they should cross safely, otherwise you just need to live where there is no car
- Johnny555 3y ago
  >Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing? Yes, is that even a real question? A pedestrian with a walk signal should be able to cross without looking for traffic. They shouldn't need to anticipate that the car approaching a red light is going to just roll into the crosswalk without stopping.
nunez 3y ago
This. Thinking about the number of times a driver rolled through a stop sign or red light while looking at incoming traffic (or their phone) DURING THE TURN infuriates me.

cozzyd 3y ago

Even worse than being a pedestrian is being a cyclist. Right on red makes it dangerous to get in front of the light queue by passing on the right

fiddlerwoaroof 3y ago
Or, we could just ban this unsafe practice of cutting in the light queue and make bicycles follow the rules of the road like other vehicles.
- xigoi 3y ago
  Then car drivers will complain that the slow bicycles are blocking them.
cykros 3y ago
When I was a cyclist, at least when there were multiple lanes, I'd hop to the left of cars turning right. When there is one lane, you do sort of have to pay attention to blinkers. Well designed bike lanes, where they exist, typically already follow this pattern. If you're going straight it's pretty silly to be to the right of traffic that is turning right.
nunez 3y ago
As another cyclist, agreeed, but to be fair, cyclists run reds and traffic controls all of the damn time. Shits maddening.
- 303uru 3y ago
  Check your local laws to make sure YOU actually know the law. I get yelled at in Colorado for obeying the law on my bike to a T. Stop signs operate as yields, red lights as stop signs. Why? Because as a cyclist the most dangerous time is when I’m stopped. I can see around far better than you can in a car and can safely get through stop signs and red lights in ways you cannot. Get hit a couple times by people turning right on red right into you and you might start to get it. The relative danger is also laughable, would you equate the danger of me on my bike running a red to a Ram 3500 running a red light?

Ferret7446 3y ago

There are drivers that don't check for pedestrians. Then there are pedestrians who jaywalk blithely like Mary Poppins, sometimes in the dark, sometimes in black wear. In both cases, the driver is generally at fault. IMO, pedestrians are obligated to have some sense of self-preservation, even though in theory drivers should fully accommodate all pedestrian antics. Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing?

CalRobert 3y ago
And if the pedestrian is a child?
- cykros 3y ago
  If a child is old enough to be crossing the street without an adult present (holding their hand), then they're old enough to be looking both ways before crossing. That was a kindergarten lesson, and in my experience, those kids tend to be better about it than most people are when they're older. If they're not going to do that, what is stopping them from just wandering into a road nowhere near a traffic light anyway?
  - CalRobert 3y ago
    My own child is a runner and until she was six or so it was honestly terrifying to go outside with her. I want to live somewhere letting go of a four year old's hand isn't a death sentence. Incidentally this is what Anne hidalgo says she wants for Paris and it seems like a useful heuristic.
    - Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
      I don't know if that place exists like near any road they should cross safely, otherwise you just need to live where there is no car
Johnny555 3y ago
>Is it really too much to ask for pedestrians to look left before crossing? Yes, is that even a real question? A pedestrian with a walk signal should be able to cross without looking for traffic. They shouldn't need to anticipate that the car approaching a red light is going to just roll into the crosswalk without stopping.

nunez 3y ago

This. Thinking about the number of times a driver rolled through a stop sign or red light while looking at incoming traffic (or their phone) DURING THE TURN infuriates me.