4 ms·

Thank you for the correction. I'm in NJ and remember my instructor going out of his way to mention that it was illegal to be in the intersection when red. Howev

Thank you for the correction. I'm in NJ and remember my instructor going out of his way to mention that it was illegal to be in the intersection when red. However upon investigation I can't actually find anything to back this up now. It would appear I may have been operating under false information all these years.

Stratoscope 12y ago
I guess that's not an unreasonable thing for a driving instructor to say, since even if it's not quite true, it does no harm to believe it and may well help someone err on the side of safety. I had a similar misunderstanding myself until recently. I'd read the wording in the driver handbook and thought that the bit about "if you can stop safely" was the actual law rather than safety advice. It was much later that I got curious and looked into it a little further.
- k1t 12y ago
  It's not quite as clear as that, the California Driver's Handbook states: "Do not enter the intersection if you cannot get completely across before the light turns red. If you block the intersection, you can be cited." [0] You might think this is only referencing situations where you are stopped in the intersection (i.e. blocking it) but there is no reference to speed here. There's a question on the test: [1] Q: It is against the law to enter an intersection when: A 1: You can't get all the way across before the light turns red A 2: The light is flashing yellow and you didn't stop first A 3: The light is yellow and you can stop safely The correct answer is 1. So, when viewed by a normal person, you may assume that this only applies if you're forced to stop in the intersection (and therefore block it), but neither the driver's handbook, nor the test itself (sorry my link is just an unofficial practice test, but it's on the real thing too) make any reference to speed. Therefore I think it's absolutely reasonable for your "instructor going out of his way to mention that it was illegal to be in the intersection when red" [GP] I haven't looked up the actual law to see if the wording makes it OK to be in an intersection with the light red, providing you entered legally (yellow/green) and have a clear exit path - but I'm guessing it does not. [0] http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traff_lgts_sgns.htm http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traff_lgts_sgns.htm [1] http://www.elitedrivertrainingservices.com/tests/AdultPracticeTest_1.pdf http://www.elitedrivertrainingservices.com/tests/AdultPracti... (Q10)
  - Stratoscope 12y ago
    Fortunately you can't be cited for violating a private company's example test question! :-) If you block an intersection because there isn't room on the far side, you'd be cited under section 22526 of Chapter 9, Stopping, Standing, and Parking: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=22526 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.... - - - 22526 (a): Notwithstanding any official traffic control signal indication to proceed, a driver of a vehicle shall not enter an intersection or marked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or marked crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle driven without obstructing the through passage of vehicles from either side. - - - This section is known as the Anti-Gridlock Act of 1987. The reason this had to be enacted was that it was never illegal to be in an intersection when the light turned red. If that were illegal, then officers would already have a section number to cite you under. They didn't, so this law gave them one. Besides that, the only other relevant sections I could find are the ones I quoted in my previous comment. Here's another link in a newer format: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&division=11.&title=&part=&chapter=2.&article=3 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xh.... The rest of the Vehicle Code can be found through a link on this page: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml

Stratoscope 12y ago

I guess that's not an unreasonable thing for a driving instructor to say, since even if it's not quite true, it does no harm to believe it and may well help someone err on the side of safety. I had a similar misunderstanding myself until recently. I'd read the wording in the driver handbook and thought that the bit about "if you can stop safely" was the actual law rather than safety advice. It was much later that I got curious and looked into it a little further.

k1t 12y ago
It's not quite as clear as that, the California Driver's Handbook states: "Do not enter the intersection if you cannot get completely across before the light turns red. If you block the intersection, you can be cited." [0] You might think this is only referencing situations where you are stopped in the intersection (i.e. blocking it) but there is no reference to speed here. There's a question on the test: [1] Q: It is against the law to enter an intersection when: A 1: You can't get all the way across before the light turns red A 2: The light is flashing yellow and you didn't stop first A 3: The light is yellow and you can stop safely The correct answer is 1. So, when viewed by a normal person, you may assume that this only applies if you're forced to stop in the intersection (and therefore block it), but neither the driver's handbook, nor the test itself (sorry my link is just an unofficial practice test, but it's on the real thing too) make any reference to speed. Therefore I think it's absolutely reasonable for your "instructor going out of his way to mention that it was illegal to be in the intersection when red" [GP] I haven't looked up the actual law to see if the wording makes it OK to be in an intersection with the light red, providing you entered legally (yellow/green) and have a clear exit path - but I'm guessing it does not. [0] http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traff_lgts_sgns.htm http://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traff_lgts_sgns.htm [1] http://www.elitedrivertrainingservices.com/tests/AdultPracticeTest_1.pdf http://www.elitedrivertrainingservices.com/tests/AdultPracti... (Q10)
- Stratoscope 12y ago
  Fortunately you can't be cited for violating a private company's example test question! :-) If you block an intersection because there isn't room on the far side, you'd be cited under section 22526 of Chapter 9, Stopping, Standing, and Parking: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=22526 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.... - - - 22526 (a): Notwithstanding any official traffic control signal indication to proceed, a driver of a vehicle shall not enter an intersection or marked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or marked crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle driven without obstructing the through passage of vehicles from either side. - - - This section is known as the Anti-Gridlock Act of 1987. The reason this had to be enacted was that it was never illegal to be in an intersection when the light turned red. If that were illegal, then officers would already have a section number to cite you under. They didn't, so this law gave them one. Besides that, the only other relevant sections I could find are the ones I quoted in my previous comment. Here's another link in a newer format: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&division=11.&title=&part=&chapter=2.&article=3 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xh.... The rest of the Vehicle Code can be found through a link on this page: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes.xhtml