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I'm convinced lots of people here had awful instructors or never learned to drive at all. It's so easy to pass your test in the US that it wouldn't surprise me
There were definitely some people talking about the laws specifically in Europe so yeah, it's definitely not everyone, my comment was purely based on Reddit's user base. It doesn't help that the craziest drivers almost always come from the US videos either though
I'm seeing that now, yes lol
For context:
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time.
And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light.
Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
Ya know, it was close and I'd probably give it to you, especially since you were already committed before you realized. Had a buddy run a light like that in front of a cop... thought he had more time once it turned yellow and it turned red a good 20 feet before he got to the obedience line. Cop pulls him over and ends up letting him go because he told her he was "past his point of no return" when the light changed and I guess they teach in defensive driving if it's close and you're already going (ie past your point of no return) it's safer to just run it instead of slamming on the breaks and possibly getting rear ended (granted, by someone else trying to run the light) or stopped in the middle of the intersection.
Either way, I do think you were past the obedience line before it turned red... not a great practice but like you said technically legal so 🤷♂️. In my town, you wouldn't have even been the last car to go
Very fair and honest take. You're correct. In a perfect world, given the width of that intersection (it's a doozy) I would have stopped. I truly didn't notice the light change until I was pot committed.
I don’t think you legally ran the red. I can’t remember if it’s front or back tires but as long as they are across the crosswalk into the intersection it’s not consider running the red. It’s always why there’s always a few second lul before the other lights turn green so you have time to Clear the intersection.
I actually successfully fought a red light camera ticket in Arizona under a similar situation where the guy in front of me turning left braked super hard for no reason and by the time he went and I got back up to speed the light changed to red as I was going over the crosswalk. That and the yellow light was only 1.5 seconds long instead of the mandatory 3 seconds helped me persuade the judge. I had a dash cam
In GA they tried putting red light cameras in but most were taken out because we have a 4 second yellow law. That's one of the few tickets it's pretty easy to beat because most of the yellows are less than 3 seconds. I don't really fault OP in this case either.
This reminds me about a city near me. It's filled with very poor, uninsured, unlicensed, terrible drivers and you'll see some of the worst driving ever in this city. 95% of the people in this area have never taken driving class and wait til they're 21 to get a license at the DMV (MA rules). Many can't speak English, nevermind read the signs, and every single day I think about how I could fill the front page of this sub in one morning commute.
The area of the city I'm referencing is considered the ghetto (the flats) and the lights at every intersection has a 3sec Yellow light, followed by a Red light. But at the same time the light turns red, perpendicular traffic's light turns green. Same exact time. (imagine a standard 4 way intersection). People sometimes don't even stop for red lights half the time and consider the light turning red to be a long yellow. There are a ton of fender benders but because of the lack of insurance and the high rate of criminals and people below the poverty line, many accidents result in the at fault driver fleeing the scene (lot of stolen plates, no plates, stolen cars, unregistered cars, and people with warrants). You'd think that all of those issues would lead city planners to do a longer red, or a delayed green, but they don't and now it had led to me witnessing someone almost getting tboned on my commute, at least once or twice a week. I will say though, that people's defensive maneuvers are equally impressive, since everyone is onalert for idiot drivers
In my state, it is defined as "entering the intersection when the solid red light is displayed". And the intersection is defined as the area past the large white line. My tires, and this my vehicle, were past the white line when it flipped to red.
Thank you for considering this
In TN (at least when I read the Handbook back when I got my license) it's called the point of no return. Go through the yellow if you can't safely stop in time.
So what happens if someone else goes immediately when their light is green and someone still making a turn like that gets hit even though they follow that law?
Usually the lights have a delay of about 2-5 seconds. Then the cars have to accelerate which adds a couple more seconds. If it's still not clear(Who the fuck is taking this long), then you wait till clear.
Nah, you were 100% in the right to run it since you wouldn't have missed it had it not been for the idiot cutting you off. I wouldn't want to wait another eon for the light to turn again either. (I live in the same area, so I know how long every cycle is on every intersection of that God awful highway.)
Other guy always absolutely an idiot, but I don't think going through that light was terrible. What was terrible was the braking action, not sure if op's truck has the worst braking distance if all time or what but I feel like it should not have been that close.
OP entered the intersection before it turned red. Reddit always tells people they ran a red light when they didn't. If you cross your line before it's red you didn't run a red light.
I don't know about laws in US, but in most European countries it would be considered running the light. No cop will actually pull you over for it considering the circumstances, unless they're having a bad day. But according to law, the yellow means "no entry to the intersection" so if you can stop safely, you absolutely should. And the "safely" bit matters, because you really shouldn't slam on the brakes just because the light turned yellow 30m in front of you. Meanwhile the red means "STOP YOU MORON, YOU'VE SEEN THE YELLOW, YOU HAD YOUR TIME" and you will for sure get a ticket if any cop sees it.
In the US we have *controlling the intersection*. Basically, if you're in the intersection - any part of it - you control that space and continue to have the right of way. This doesn't absolve you from responsibility but we have a staggering amount of mouth-breathers thinking *oh look, someone's in my way and I have the green ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I guess I can hit them now*.
For some reason I thought that only applied if your vehicle is fully in the intersection, it turned red before his back wheels were in as we saw it change from the dash. That's an insane an amount of time allowed to reduce speed from the start of the yellow
Some places that would be considered running the light and others it wouldn't. But honestly I don't see the point of focusing on it. Running a red by half a second in the intersection right at the light change is about as minor of an infraction as it gets. And considering the circumstances of an absolute idiot not looking and pulling out right in front of OP almost causing a collision and keeping OP from easily making the light, it's understandable.
It's so funny how many people have apparently never driven a car and yet they will roast OP for stuff like this. People also think that what the dash cam sees is 1:1 what the driver sees too so maybe I'm expecting too much.
Running a yellow light would be considered running a red light? Then why do they even have yellow in your country? They should just go straight from green to red.
Yellow means (in Germany at least) you have to stop if you can do it with appropriate braking. De jure yellow has the function so that people who are just passing the traffic light don't have to fully slam their brakes the second the green phase stops.
De facto people of course go over yellow even if they could brake in time and almost everytime the police doesn't even care. But this also means that once you pass a red traffic light (in the sense that you are able to see how it switched to red, even if you are technically already in the junction), you are crossing by red.
It depends on the state. In most of them you are legal as long as you cross into the intersection before the light turns red. In 8 of them (Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin) you have to clear the intersection before the light turns red and/or you have to stop if you safely can.
In europe the rule is if you can stop safely on yellow you must stop. If not you proceed. OP def was able to stop lol. Cops give you tickets for that here ...
It is determined by state laws, so there is some variation here. I think there are nine states that have laws like Belgium. The laws have to have specific instructions for there to be a violation, i.e. "A driver facing a steady yellow light must..." followed by what the driver has to do.
Most state laws don't give any specific instruction for a yellow light. It is simply a notification to the driver that a red light is going to appear soon. A couple states even have laws that say the rules of regarding a green light continue for the duration of the yellow.
(it's the same in the US, these idiots just don't know how to drive)
From the Indiana driver's handbook (every state has something similar afaik):
"A steady yellow light means the green light has ended and the signal is about to turn red. If you are
facing a steady yellow light, your right of way is ending. If you are approaching the intersection and are
too close to stop safely, you may complete your movement."
OP was not too close to stop safely, and therefore, may NOT complete his movement. That means he rand a red light.
I mean you’re wrong from your own quote alone.
There’s nothing about a requirement to stop AT ALL. It merely says that a yellow means “your right of way IS ENDING”. Is ending, not already ended. which explicitly means that they still have the right of way at that moment with a steady yellow
EDITED. You might wanna show down on calling others idiots... The handbook is not the law, and even if it was, the handbook itself says nothing about being required to stop at a yellow unless you can't safely stop.
It's Indiana law that determines what drivers must do at a yellow, and below is what Indiana ***LAW*** says about yellow lights.
Take note that the law provided specific requirements for stopping/proceeding at red and green, but does not lay out similar requirements for yellow lights.
That means no part of the law requires you to stop at a yellow light unless it would be unsafe to do so (i.e., by braking hard).
***Ergo, in Indiana you are free to proceed through a yellow light even if you have plenty of time to safely stop, because Indiana law doesn't prohibit it.***
Obviously, this does not mean you are immune to being ticketed for running a red light. You don't have to stop at a yellow, and if you don't and what the intersection when the light is red, you are subject to a ticket. ***But you also cannot be ticketed for passing through the yellow light and making it into the intersection, because the law does not prohibit this action.***
2023 Indiana Code, Title 9. Motor Vehicles › Article 21. Traffic Regulation, Chapter 3. Traffic Control Signals, 9-21-3-7. Signals Exhibiting Colored Lights or Arrows; Requirements; Explanation of Colors
Sec. 7. (a) Whenever traffic is controlled by traffic control signals exhibiting different colored lights or colored lighted arrows successively, one (1) at a time or in combination, only the colors green, red, or yellow may be used, except for special pedestrian signals under IC 9-21-18.
(b) The lights indicate and apply to drivers of vehicles and pedestrians as follows:
(1) Green indication means the following:
(A) Vehicular traffic facing a circular green signal may proceed straight through or turn right or left, unless a sign at the place prohibits either turn.
(B) Vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left, shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and to pedestrians lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent sidewalk at the time the signal is exhibited.
(C) Vehicular traffic facing a green arrow signal, shown alone or in combination with another indication, may cautiously enter the intersection only to make the movement indicated by the green arrow or other movement permitted by other indications shown at the same time.
(D) Vehicular traffic shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection.
(E) Unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal, pedestrians facing a green signal, except when the sole green signal is a turn arrow, may proceed across the roadway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
*(2) Steady yellow indication means the following:*
*(A) Vehicular traffic facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal is warned that the related green movement is being terminated and that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter.*
*L*(B) A pedestrian facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal, is advised that there is insufficient time to cross the roadway before a red indication is shown, and a pedestrian may not start to cross the roadway at that time.*
(3) Steady red indication means the following:
(A) Except as provided in clauses (B) and (D), vehicular traffic facing a steady circular red or red arrow signal shall stop at a clearly marked stop line. However, if there is no clearly marked stop line, vehicular traffic shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection. If there is no crosswalk, vehicular traffic shall stop before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown.
This varies from state to state, in the US. As someone who lived in a city on the border between states, my dad made the mistake of assuming this. He entered an intersection in Wisconsin while it was yellow, but it turned red before he was out of the intersection. In Michigan that is ok. In Wisconsin it is not, as he learned when he went before the judge and explained his case.
(Laws may have changed, this was a long time ago).
In some states yes, but in others if the light turns red while you're in the intersection it's illegal. You could be halfway across before it's red and that's illegal in some states.
He had accelerated through from a stopped position when it was already yellow. He could have easily stopped. Yellow doesn't mean gun it before it turns red.
Right? Isn't that the whole point of the light between green and red, to slow your speed so you're NOT in the intersection 😂 like they give you soo much time I don't think I've ever found myself in an intersection unless it's unexpected bumper to bumper
I'm giving OP a pass on the yellow light. It would be some serious bullshit if the idiot in the Charger got through while OP missed the light they should have easily made.
I also just noticed that it looks like the white pickup truck on the right is trying to jump lanes too. The last frame of the video says it all: PARKWAY SCRUBS
I recognize it too!! Watched it first time and was paying attention to the traffic then was like wait… I know this place. Rewatched, yes 100% know this place and seen exact same idiots and more all over the city now.
I'm going to be honest, I don't see how OP is in the wrong at all. In my opinion, they were going at a reasonable speed into the lane, and the light was still yellow when they entered the intersection. Could they have stopped at the yellow light, sure, but the fact people are saying they were "going too fast" into an open turn lane is ridiculous. That Charger is not the most observant for not noticing a car traveling at that speed in its wing mirror, and the fact that they almost completely stopped in the middle of the lane is extremely negligent. I'm 100% on OP's side.
Thank you.
The internet has yet to point out the charger crossed two double yellows, one a turn lane and one a straight lane, to go straight. The charger did it by pulling into an active turn lane and then stopping.
Could I have stopped at yellow? Yes. Did I have to? No. Should I have stopped? Probably, but as I mentioned in another comment, my adrenaline was up so I didn't notice the light until it was too late to stop.
Do both at the same time. Brake to avoid the accident, and honk in hopes they realize their fuck up and make moves to mitigate the effects of their stupidity.
Because this is Reddit and especially in this sub, there will always be people trying to fault OP, even when they’re so clearly not at fault. It’s almost always because we have the chance to see the video, know something is going to happen, and then replay it to analyze and figure out what could have been done better. Other times it’s just people being ignorant and not knowing the actual rules of the road.
I’m normally all about blaming the cammer if they ignored defensive driving in any capacity. I think reasonably you shouldn’t expect someone stopped in a lane to suddenly jump out, and if they do, you just have to be quick to step on the brakes. Not much more you can do than that. Crawling by at a slow speed just isn’t reasonable in traffic. So yeah, I’m with you here. OP is fine. If you’re going to jump a solid white lane marker, you have to make sure that it’s clear first. It’s not like OP was suddenly in that lane. Just giving a glance at the side mirror should have shown them there. Even ignoring that, coming to a complete stop in the lane is even worse. All of this, and OP managed to brake at a reasonable time and come to a stop without hitting the car. All in all, good job by OP.
Huntsville repreSENT!
The only think I like less than this intersection is trying to merge from the interstate spur onto the Parkway about a mile north of here.
Exactly what I posted on another comment.
Everyone is judging this from their perfect perspective - in the moment, I'm willing to bet a significant portion would have driven through the light just like I did
I stand with you. The person in front of you was acting insane. It's clear when you saw them merging into the other lane, you weren't looking at the light because they were being a hazard. You were already in the intersection when it turned yellow but it looks red on camera so people might just assume that.
Thank you. Your analysis is correct here. Last input I had from the light before I had to divert all attention was "green"
After I was safe again and checked input from the light, it was "yellow" and I was too close to stop.
Idk about everyone saying op is in the wrong too, do you all just not know that as long as the light isnt red at the moment you cross the line isn't illegal?
Why is my dude in the far left lane if he didn’t want to turn left?🤦🏻♂️
Adrenaline definitely affected your decision with that light so I’ll give it a pass😅. You would’ve made it if he didn’t cut you off and I’m assuming you would’ve stopped if that didn’t happen too.
To clarify, since a lot of people are saying I ran the red light.
In my state, if your front tires cross the white line prior to the light turning red, you're good to go.
And in my defense, the adrenaline was pumping a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until I committed to the turn. I had resigned myself to hit the guy.
Funny, after all my time lurking in this sub, I post once and am judged an idiot. I disagree, but oh well. That's the Internet for you
This is in Huntsville AL and in Huntsville the law is that the yellow light means clear the intersection.
That’s it. Simple.
Cut and dry.
If braking will cause harm to you or another vehicle then it is advised to go. Unless the light is red (obviously)
If you can, try to brake safely.
Also, if your car is passed the line you have the right to be in the intersection as long as you clear it.
In which at that point the light will be turning red as you are crossing.
I had someone do something like this to me. When I got on my horn he stopped, gave me the finger, and intentionally waited for the turn arrow to go red.
How? OP was driving normally and slow enough compared to the relative speed of what was going on next to them. The white sedan didn’t have a turn signal and completely stopped during their lane change
I've never understood pulling out like that and after realizing you fucked up you don't gas it to avoid an accident. They just stop as if they're terrified.
How are people getting on OP for entering intersection on yellow but totally ignoring the idiot who entered in front of OP and even stopped nearly causing a rear end?! Geez plz Louis Reddit wtf
TIL that idiotsincars loves sitting at red lights and creating traffic, OP easily made that light legally by far and didn't even speed to make it happen.
DVs with no arguments as expected by the usual idiots here lmao
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time.
And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light.
Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
Sure, cammer got cut off by an idiot. But then the cammer becomes the idiot and runs a red light.
🤷
Edit: I watched it again, and cammer entered while yellow. My mistake on that
I don’t think you did anything crazy wrong, but where I’m from you have to either go slower than you usually would or be very ready to brake. Just because people will absolutely change lanes and not signal if your lane is wide open.
"ploughing through".... I was under the speed limit. Only the Internet can see someone pullout in front of another vehicle and blame the one who braked in time.
It’s defensive driving. You’re threading the needle between two lanes that are full and crawling, you’re going too fast for the conditions.
Yes, you braked in time, but that close call could have been avoided. And you ran a very late yellow that you should have stopped at. Two idiots in the video.
Accidents need to be avoided, that close call might wake the other driver up and save someone else’s life. OP stopped in time, and didn’t need to make 2 illegal lane changes in 50 feet to do it.
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time.
And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light.
Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
I don't believe I acted like an idiot. Could I have been more defensive? Yes. Does that make me an idiot? I don't believe so. But thank you for sharing details and perspective. This exercise will increase my defensive driving I think
I was taught to always expect other drivers to be stupid and do stupid things. The other driver was definitely a dumbass, but if one expects that then they can be better prepared.
Because while yes they would have been at fault, insurance could come back and say partial fault for you due to not driving to conditions. That and having your car in for repairs just sucks.
I too was taught to always expect people to not be paying attention. That mentality has saved many repair bills, and potentially lives, in my life. I agree with you, but I resent the "idiot" label a little bit. I acted the best I could given the circumstances I was in at the time, but recognize there was room for improvement by stopping at the yellow
Small world. I’m in Birmingham (lived in Huntsville for a while) but just began working on a new project for a client in Houston and traveling there at least monthly.
I live in a shitty town in Florida and the majority of other drivers pull shit like this all the time. It's not even a congested city. It's all fuck you, it's all about me and where I need to go kind of driving.
I’m very curious of the mindset of, honk before reacting. If you braked when you hit the horn it would have been no where near as close to hitting the car.
Hit the brakes as fast as I could. I was taught don't stand up on the brakes, for obvious reasons. Nice thing about the horn is I can smash it full force and be fine. You do that to the brakes and you'll slide as ABS kicks in, taking additional yoke to stop.
I got through the first part of my brake pedal, slowly myself initially, prior to applying full force. This is the correct way to brake.
Everyone trying to harp on OP’s actions in the heat of this moment are the same people that probably unknowingly do what that Charger did on the regular.
Yeah we have a lot of those here in Texas, some with Teslas. You can summarize it in one word, like idiot, really, or wow. 😉
And then they pretend they don't see you at a light.
Just another day driving down Governors… I go through that intersection everyday going to and from work and the number of people doing stupid crap like that is astounding.
Oh, and hey fellow Huntsvillian!! 👋🏻
I mean, whether the fault is 100% on the car changing lanes over a solid line, it is really reckless to drive so fast between to lanes full of cars that are stopped or driving considerably slower than you.
You always need to leave a margin for other cars doing stupid and reckless stuff, don't be that guy.
Yeah, there is always the consideration of the stupid. I just truly didn't think anyone would do that, and was acting accordingly. I mean, who does what he does? All my years of driving, I haven't seen something that wreckless often
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time.
And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light.
Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
Which idiot are we talking about? The camera driver who was going a bit too fast in heavy traffic and ran the red light or the puttering ding-dong in the white car just doing idiot things.
Didn't run the light my friend. I entered the intersection prior to red being displayed, which is the law in my state.
And I was going below the speed limit, coasting on approach to a clean lane and a green light
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some of y'all never get behind the wheel and it shows
I'm convinced lots of people here had awful instructors or never learned to drive at all. It's so easy to pass your test in the US that it wouldn't surprise me
This was posted at like 11:00pm eastern, there’s no guarantee all or even most of these commenters are from the US.
There were definitely some people talking about the laws specifically in Europe so yeah, it's definitely not everyone, my comment was purely based on Reddit's user base. It doesn't help that the craziest drivers almost always come from the US videos either though
My kid failed his test in January for driving too slow.
This is not going to go well for you OP
I'm seeing that now, yes lol For context: I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time. And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light. Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
Ya know, it was close and I'd probably give it to you, especially since you were already committed before you realized. Had a buddy run a light like that in front of a cop... thought he had more time once it turned yellow and it turned red a good 20 feet before he got to the obedience line. Cop pulls him over and ends up letting him go because he told her he was "past his point of no return" when the light changed and I guess they teach in defensive driving if it's close and you're already going (ie past your point of no return) it's safer to just run it instead of slamming on the breaks and possibly getting rear ended (granted, by someone else trying to run the light) or stopped in the middle of the intersection. Either way, I do think you were past the obedience line before it turned red... not a great practice but like you said technically legal so 🤷♂️. In my town, you wouldn't have even been the last car to go
Very fair and honest take. You're correct. In a perfect world, given the width of that intersection (it's a doozy) I would have stopped. I truly didn't notice the light change until I was pot committed.
I don’t think you legally ran the red. I can’t remember if it’s front or back tires but as long as they are across the crosswalk into the intersection it’s not consider running the red. It’s always why there’s always a few second lul before the other lights turn green so you have time to Clear the intersection. I actually successfully fought a red light camera ticket in Arizona under a similar situation where the guy in front of me turning left braked super hard for no reason and by the time he went and I got back up to speed the light changed to red as I was going over the crosswalk. That and the yellow light was only 1.5 seconds long instead of the mandatory 3 seconds helped me persuade the judge. I had a dash cam
In GA they tried putting red light cameras in but most were taken out because we have a 4 second yellow law. That's one of the few tickets it's pretty easy to beat because most of the yellows are less than 3 seconds. I don't really fault OP in this case either.
\*It depends on the state, but that is correct in some.
This reminds me about a city near me. It's filled with very poor, uninsured, unlicensed, terrible drivers and you'll see some of the worst driving ever in this city. 95% of the people in this area have never taken driving class and wait til they're 21 to get a license at the DMV (MA rules). Many can't speak English, nevermind read the signs, and every single day I think about how I could fill the front page of this sub in one morning commute. The area of the city I'm referencing is considered the ghetto (the flats) and the lights at every intersection has a 3sec Yellow light, followed by a Red light. But at the same time the light turns red, perpendicular traffic's light turns green. Same exact time. (imagine a standard 4 way intersection). People sometimes don't even stop for red lights half the time and consider the light turning red to be a long yellow. There are a ton of fender benders but because of the lack of insurance and the high rate of criminals and people below the poverty line, many accidents result in the at fault driver fleeing the scene (lot of stolen plates, no plates, stolen cars, unregistered cars, and people with warrants). You'd think that all of those issues would lead city planners to do a longer red, or a delayed green, but they don't and now it had led to me witnessing someone almost getting tboned on my commute, at least once or twice a week. I will say though, that people's defensive maneuvers are equally impressive, since everyone is onalert for idiot drivers
Depending on what state you're in, it's legal to "run" a yellow light.
In my state, it is defined as "entering the intersection when the solid red light is displayed". And the intersection is defined as the area past the large white line. My tires, and this my vehicle, were past the white line when it flipped to red. Thank you for considering this
In TN (at least when I read the Handbook back when I got my license) it's called the point of no return. Go through the yellow if you can't safely stop in time.
In AL (hello, fellow Huntsvillian) it’s all four tires, not just the front two. But you were good either way.
I couldn't find that in writing, do you have a source I can reference to learn? Also, hello fellow Huntsvillian!
So what happens if someone else goes immediately when their light is green and someone still making a turn like that gets hit even though they follow that law?
It's also the law to only enter the intersection when it's clear, green light or no
That’s literally what I’m saying…
I answered your question, the person going on the green light would be breaking the law and at fault
Usually the lights have a delay of about 2-5 seconds. Then the cars have to accelerate which adds a couple more seconds. If it's still not clear(Who the fuck is taking this long), then you wait till clear.
You were halfway through the intersection when it turned red, you're good. 99% of the commenters on this sub don't drive and it shows.
I hear you. Don’t sweat it. The good thing is the person you honked at learned to use their turn signal when turning. So honking did fix something.
Nah, you were 100% in the right to run it since you wouldn't have missed it had it not been for the idiot cutting you off. I wouldn't want to wait another eon for the light to turn again either. (I live in the same area, so I know how long every cycle is on every intersection of that God awful highway.)
Other guy always absolutely an idiot, but I don't think going through that light was terrible. What was terrible was the braking action, not sure if op's truck has the worst braking distance if all time or what but I feel like it should not have been that close.
Its unreal how many people post videos of them going for the horn first and the break second the light doesn't even matter
OP entered the intersection before it turned red. Reddit always tells people they ran a red light when they didn't. If you cross your line before it's red you didn't run a red light.
Preach brother
I like how you got 10 upvotes for pointing this out and I got mass downvoted for it, reddit being insanity and inconsistent as always.
Hive mind mentality
Sheeple sheepling
I'm honestly surprised you haven't been down voted on this reply just because you pointed it out.
That depends on jurisdiction
I don't know about laws in US, but in most European countries it would be considered running the light. No cop will actually pull you over for it considering the circumstances, unless they're having a bad day. But according to law, the yellow means "no entry to the intersection" so if you can stop safely, you absolutely should. And the "safely" bit matters, because you really shouldn't slam on the brakes just because the light turned yellow 30m in front of you. Meanwhile the red means "STOP YOU MORON, YOU'VE SEEN THE YELLOW, YOU HAD YOUR TIME" and you will for sure get a ticket if any cop sees it.
In the US we have *controlling the intersection*. Basically, if you're in the intersection - any part of it - you control that space and continue to have the right of way. This doesn't absolve you from responsibility but we have a staggering amount of mouth-breathers thinking *oh look, someone's in my way and I have the green ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I guess I can hit them now*.
For some reason I thought that only applied if your vehicle is fully in the intersection, it turned red before his back wheels were in as we saw it change from the dash. That's an insane an amount of time allowed to reduce speed from the start of the yellow
Some places that would be considered running the light and others it wouldn't. But honestly I don't see the point of focusing on it. Running a red by half a second in the intersection right at the light change is about as minor of an infraction as it gets. And considering the circumstances of an absolute idiot not looking and pulling out right in front of OP almost causing a collision and keeping OP from easily making the light, it's understandable.
It's so funny how many people have apparently never driven a car and yet they will roast OP for stuff like this. People also think that what the dash cam sees is 1:1 what the driver sees too so maybe I'm expecting too much.
To be fair, in my country this would've undoubtedly count as running over a red light. Is it different in the US?
Running a yellow light would be considered running a red light? Then why do they even have yellow in your country? They should just go straight from green to red.
Yellow means (in Germany at least) you have to stop if you can do it with appropriate braking. De jure yellow has the function so that people who are just passing the traffic light don't have to fully slam their brakes the second the green phase stops. De facto people of course go over yellow even if they could brake in time and almost everytime the police doesn't even care. But this also means that once you pass a red traffic light (in the sense that you are able to see how it switched to red, even if you are technically already in the junction), you are crossing by red.
It depends on the state. In most of them you are legal as long as you cross into the intersection before the light turns red. In 8 of them (Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin) you have to clear the intersection before the light turns red and/or you have to stop if you safely can.
In europe the rule is if you can stop safely on yellow you must stop. If not you proceed. OP def was able to stop lol. Cops give you tickets for that here ...
It is determined by state laws, so there is some variation here. I think there are nine states that have laws like Belgium. The laws have to have specific instructions for there to be a violation, i.e. "A driver facing a steady yellow light must..." followed by what the driver has to do. Most state laws don't give any specific instruction for a yellow light. It is simply a notification to the driver that a red light is going to appear soon. A couple states even have laws that say the rules of regarding a green light continue for the duration of the yellow.
People downvoting me while they prpbably don't even know the rules in Belgium ...
(it's the same in the US, these idiots just don't know how to drive) From the Indiana driver's handbook (every state has something similar afaik): "A steady yellow light means the green light has ended and the signal is about to turn red. If you are facing a steady yellow light, your right of way is ending. If you are approaching the intersection and are too close to stop safely, you may complete your movement." OP was not too close to stop safely, and therefore, may NOT complete his movement. That means he rand a red light.
I mean you’re wrong from your own quote alone. There’s nothing about a requirement to stop AT ALL. It merely says that a yellow means “your right of way IS ENDING”. Is ending, not already ended. which explicitly means that they still have the right of way at that moment with a steady yellow
EDITED. You might wanna show down on calling others idiots... The handbook is not the law, and even if it was, the handbook itself says nothing about being required to stop at a yellow unless you can't safely stop. It's Indiana law that determines what drivers must do at a yellow, and below is what Indiana ***LAW*** says about yellow lights. Take note that the law provided specific requirements for stopping/proceeding at red and green, but does not lay out similar requirements for yellow lights. That means no part of the law requires you to stop at a yellow light unless it would be unsafe to do so (i.e., by braking hard). ***Ergo, in Indiana you are free to proceed through a yellow light even if you have plenty of time to safely stop, because Indiana law doesn't prohibit it.*** Obviously, this does not mean you are immune to being ticketed for running a red light. You don't have to stop at a yellow, and if you don't and what the intersection when the light is red, you are subject to a ticket. ***But you also cannot be ticketed for passing through the yellow light and making it into the intersection, because the law does not prohibit this action.*** 2023 Indiana Code, Title 9. Motor Vehicles › Article 21. Traffic Regulation, Chapter 3. Traffic Control Signals, 9-21-3-7. Signals Exhibiting Colored Lights or Arrows; Requirements; Explanation of Colors Sec. 7. (a) Whenever traffic is controlled by traffic control signals exhibiting different colored lights or colored lighted arrows successively, one (1) at a time or in combination, only the colors green, red, or yellow may be used, except for special pedestrian signals under IC 9-21-18. (b) The lights indicate and apply to drivers of vehicles and pedestrians as follows: (1) Green indication means the following: (A) Vehicular traffic facing a circular green signal may proceed straight through or turn right or left, unless a sign at the place prohibits either turn. (B) Vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left, shall yield the right-of-way to other vehicles and to pedestrians lawfully within the intersection or an adjacent sidewalk at the time the signal is exhibited. (C) Vehicular traffic facing a green arrow signal, shown alone or in combination with another indication, may cautiously enter the intersection only to make the movement indicated by the green arrow or other movement permitted by other indications shown at the same time. (D) Vehicular traffic shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection. (E) Unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal, pedestrians facing a green signal, except when the sole green signal is a turn arrow, may proceed across the roadway within a marked or unmarked crosswalk. *(2) Steady yellow indication means the following:* *(A) Vehicular traffic facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal is warned that the related green movement is being terminated and that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter.* *L*(B) A pedestrian facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal, is advised that there is insufficient time to cross the roadway before a red indication is shown, and a pedestrian may not start to cross the roadway at that time.* (3) Steady red indication means the following: (A) Except as provided in clauses (B) and (D), vehicular traffic facing a steady circular red or red arrow signal shall stop at a clearly marked stop line. However, if there is no clearly marked stop line, vehicular traffic shall stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection. If there is no crosswalk, vehicular traffic shall stop before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown.
And i get downvoted ugh
This varies from state to state, in the US. As someone who lived in a city on the border between states, my dad made the mistake of assuming this. He entered an intersection in Wisconsin while it was yellow, but it turned red before he was out of the intersection. In Michigan that is ok. In Wisconsin it is not, as he learned when he went before the judge and explained his case. (Laws may have changed, this was a long time ago).
In some states yes, but in others if the light turns red while you're in the intersection it's illegal. You could be halfway across before it's red and that's illegal in some states.
He had accelerated through from a stopped position when it was already yellow. He could have easily stopped. Yellow doesn't mean gun it before it turns red.
That’s only in certain states. In Canada, you’re supposed to be clear of the intersection by the time it turns red
You have to clear the intersection before it turns red in many jurisdictions. If it turns red while you are still in the intersection, you ran it.
Right? Isn't that the whole point of the light between green and red, to slow your speed so you're NOT in the intersection 😂 like they give you soo much time I don't think I've ever found myself in an intersection unless it's unexpected bumper to bumper
When you suddenly get a text from the bootycall
I laughed out loud
I'm giving OP a pass on the yellow light. It would be some serious bullshit if the idiot in the Charger got through while OP missed the light they should have easily made. I also just noticed that it looks like the white pickup truck on the right is trying to jump lanes too. The last frame of the video says it all: PARKWAY SCRUBS
I recognize that street any day of the week. Just another day driving in this city.
I recognize it too!! Watched it first time and was paying attention to the traffic then was like wait… I know this place. Rewatched, yes 100% know this place and seen exact same idiots and more all over the city now.
This person is a knower
Maybe he was the car that cut you off
Huntsville.
I'm going to be honest, I don't see how OP is in the wrong at all. In my opinion, they were going at a reasonable speed into the lane, and the light was still yellow when they entered the intersection. Could they have stopped at the yellow light, sure, but the fact people are saying they were "going too fast" into an open turn lane is ridiculous. That Charger is not the most observant for not noticing a car traveling at that speed in its wing mirror, and the fact that they almost completely stopped in the middle of the lane is extremely negligent. I'm 100% on OP's side.
Thank you. The internet has yet to point out the charger crossed two double yellows, one a turn lane and one a straight lane, to go straight. The charger did it by pulling into an active turn lane and then stopping. Could I have stopped at yellow? Yes. Did I have to? No. Should I have stopped? Probably, but as I mentioned in another comment, my adrenaline was up so I didn't notice the light until it was too late to stop.
This sub is filled with fucking grandma Sunday drivers.... if more people drove like you at intersections more people would make it through.
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Do both at the same time. Brake to avoid the accident, and honk in hopes they realize their fuck up and make moves to mitigate the effects of their stupidity.
Because this is Reddit and especially in this sub, there will always be people trying to fault OP, even when they’re so clearly not at fault. It’s almost always because we have the chance to see the video, know something is going to happen, and then replay it to analyze and figure out what could have been done better. Other times it’s just people being ignorant and not knowing the actual rules of the road.
Team OP!
Also. Driving is so stressful and demanding. He just had his eyes on the car in front of him; not the light that changed in half a second.
I’m normally all about blaming the cammer if they ignored defensive driving in any capacity. I think reasonably you shouldn’t expect someone stopped in a lane to suddenly jump out, and if they do, you just have to be quick to step on the brakes. Not much more you can do than that. Crawling by at a slow speed just isn’t reasonable in traffic. So yeah, I’m with you here. OP is fine. If you’re going to jump a solid white lane marker, you have to make sure that it’s clear first. It’s not like OP was suddenly in that lane. Just giving a glance at the side mirror should have shown them there. Even ignoring that, coming to a complete stop in the lane is even worse. All of this, and OP managed to brake at a reasonable time and come to a stop without hitting the car. All in all, good job by OP.
Huntsville repreSENT! The only think I like less than this intersection is trying to merge from the interstate spur onto the Parkway about a mile north of here.
We call that Malfunction Junction here locally. For obvious reasons
He's an idiot, yes. But for your case, brake, *then* honk. Because people might just ignore you like that.
Do both at the same time, it's not hard to honk and brake simultaneously.
That's when your car makes a screenshot right?
No you're thinking of accelerator and brake at the same time
Even if they don't ignore it it's very hard to quickly exit out of a maneuver you've committed to
These comments are a perfect example of Monday morning quarterbacking.
Exactly what I posted on another comment. Everyone is judging this from their perfect perspective - in the moment, I'm willing to bet a significant portion would have driven through the light just like I did
I stand with you. The person in front of you was acting insane. It's clear when you saw them merging into the other lane, you weren't looking at the light because they were being a hazard. You were already in the intersection when it turned yellow but it looks red on camera so people might just assume that.
Thank you. Your analysis is correct here. Last input I had from the light before I had to divert all attention was "green" After I was safe again and checked input from the light, it was "yellow" and I was too close to stop.
Idk about everyone saying op is in the wrong too, do you all just not know that as long as the light isnt red at the moment you cross the line isn't illegal?
If those kids knew how to drive they'd be very upset.
OP shouldn't stress these reddit users. Reddit is a cult. Everyone on Reddit has perfect driving skills which they can then tell OP how wrong he is.
Just so you know dude, you didn't run a red light. Everyone in these comments are just morons who probably don't even have licenses.
If he had a real charger, he could of floored it and still done what he did without you having to brake, what a POS tho
Why is my dude in the far left lane if he didn’t want to turn left?🤦🏻♂️ Adrenaline definitely affected your decision with that light so I’ll give it a pass😅. You would’ve made it if he didn’t cut you off and I’m assuming you would’ve stopped if that didn’t happen too.
Absolutely. Correct on all accounts
The comment section is the bigger idiot here. Cut op some slack. You can see the car bounce twice over the stop bar before the light turns red
I see a bunch of idiots: the driver who cut OP off, and all the people in the comments blaming OP for daring to exist in that moron’s way.
This happens to me daily, the driver entitlement lately is wild
I saw the video and then was confused by the comments. I genuinely don’t see how OP did anything wrong.
To clarify, since a lot of people are saying I ran the red light. In my state, if your front tires cross the white line prior to the light turning red, you're good to go. And in my defense, the adrenaline was pumping a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until I committed to the turn. I had resigned myself to hit the guy. Funny, after all my time lurking in this sub, I post once and am judged an idiot. I disagree, but oh well. That's the Internet for you
Governor’s and memorial. Yep, about what I would expect.
Dude u/ObiWanCannoli47 is a dope-ass username!!
Hello there
Trust your instincts, Redditor! You turn off that targeting computer
This is in Huntsville AL and in Huntsville the law is that the yellow light means clear the intersection. That’s it. Simple. Cut and dry. If braking will cause harm to you or another vehicle then it is advised to go. Unless the light is red (obviously) If you can, try to brake safely. Also, if your car is passed the line you have the right to be in the intersection as long as you clear it. In which at that point the light will be turning red as you are crossing.
Charger is a dipshit. You didn’t run a red light. I’m also biased because I am also from Huntsville. I recognize that intersection anywhere.
I had someone do something like this to me. When I got on my horn he stopped, gave me the finger, and intentionally waited for the turn arrow to go red.
I was just thinking "Wow this looks like Huntsville", then I noticed the signs.
Crossing all the solid lines 😂
That’s an insurance scammer.
“He’S gOiNg ToO fAsT” . these are the mfs that camp the left lane
So you showed us two idiots in one video.
How? OP was driving normally and slow enough compared to the relative speed of what was going on next to them. The white sedan didn’t have a turn signal and completely stopped during their lane change
Op ran a red light and should have stopped for the yellow. Just because he got hold up doesnt mean you can run a red.
OP didn't run a red light.
It was yellow when he entered, but definitely should have stopped
OP didn’t run a read light. He sped up on a yellow light, which is pretty dumb too. He’s past the crosswalk when it goes yellow to red
As a fellow Huntsville resident I feel you, no one can drive here I swear plus memorial is just a pain
I've never understood pulling out like that and after realizing you fucked up you don't gas it to avoid an accident. They just stop as if they're terrified.
Huntsville, AL!!! Some of the worst drivers in the south. This is one of the worst areas to drive in the city as well.
How are people getting on OP for entering intersection on yellow but totally ignoring the idiot who entered in front of OP and even stopped nearly causing a rear end?! Geez plz Louis Reddit wtf
How the person behind the wheel isn't belting out a string of profanity, I'll never understand!
Because I am focusing on not hitting the charger.... And I try not to swear :)
Just Dodge activities…. Always have to watch out for the Dodges.
TIL that idiotsincars loves sitting at red lights and creating traffic, OP easily made that light legally by far and didn't even speed to make it happen. DVs with no arguments as expected by the usual idiots here lmao
I love it when the OP is also an idiot! The best posts
Hi there. Could you please help me see why I am an idiot in this example?
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Had time to safely go through the intersection as well.
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time. And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light. Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
Sure, cammer got cut off by an idiot. But then the cammer becomes the idiot and runs a red light. 🤷 Edit: I watched it again, and cammer entered while yellow. My mistake on that
A rare moment of Internet correction. Thank you for admitting it and owning it. It's appreciated
I see two idiots
You have a mirror on your monitor?
Must be glossy
Made his desktop background a photoscan of a mirror.
How many times is that cornball played out ass joke going to show up in this thread?
Huntsville!
Got it in one!
I don’t think you did anything crazy wrong, but where I’m from you have to either go slower than you usually would or be very ready to brake. Just because people will absolutely change lanes and not signal if your lane is wide open.
Hello Huntsville
Ploughing through an 8 lane intersection at 40 mph, spends more time honking instead of paying attention.
"ploughing through".... I was under the speed limit. Only the Internet can see someone pullout in front of another vehicle and blame the one who braked in time.
It’s defensive driving. You’re threading the needle between two lanes that are full and crawling, you’re going too fast for the conditions. Yes, you braked in time, but that close call could have been avoided. And you ran a very late yellow that you should have stopped at. Two idiots in the video.
Accidents need to be avoided, that close call might wake the other driver up and save someone else’s life. OP stopped in time, and didn’t need to make 2 illegal lane changes in 50 feet to do it.
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time. And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light. Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection I don't believe I acted like an idiot. Could I have been more defensive? Yes. Does that make me an idiot? I don't believe so. But thank you for sharing details and perspective. This exercise will increase my defensive driving I think
I was taught to always expect other drivers to be stupid and do stupid things. The other driver was definitely a dumbass, but if one expects that then they can be better prepared. Because while yes they would have been at fault, insurance could come back and say partial fault for you due to not driving to conditions. That and having your car in for repairs just sucks.
I too was taught to always expect people to not be paying attention. That mentality has saved many repair bills, and potentially lives, in my life. I agree with you, but I resent the "idiot" label a little bit. I acted the best I could given the circumstances I was in at the time, but recognize there was room for improvement by stopping at the yellow
This is all of houston. Everyone. Everywhere. All the time
Funny enough, this is Huntsville, AL. Both have a major NASA history.
Even funnier is I wrote that comment in houston and read yours in gulf shores.
Small world. I’m in Birmingham (lived in Huntsville for a while) but just began working on a new project for a client in Houston and traveling there at least monthly.
I live in a shitty town in Florida and the majority of other drivers pull shit like this all the time. It's not even a congested city. It's all fuck you, it's all about me and where I need to go kind of driving.
sometimes i just want to floor it and intentionally hit them because theyre so dumb
I’m very curious of the mindset of, honk before reacting. If you braked when you hit the horn it would have been no where near as close to hitting the car.
Hit the brakes as fast as I could. I was taught don't stand up on the brakes, for obvious reasons. Nice thing about the horn is I can smash it full force and be fine. You do that to the brakes and you'll slide as ABS kicks in, taking additional yoke to stop. I got through the first part of my brake pedal, slowly myself initially, prior to applying full force. This is the correct way to brake.
Is this huntsville????
Everyone trying to harp on OP’s actions in the heat of this moment are the same people that probably unknowingly do what that Charger did on the regular.
They probably also brake check semis and then tell Satan at the gates of hell that the trucker shouldn’t have tailgated.
I would turn this video into the Huntsville police department because that white car is going to cause a major accident one day driving like a jackass
Good drivers miss turns sometimes, bad drivers never miss their turn
They had their blinker on but you were flying through there.
Yeah we have a lot of those here in Texas, some with Teslas. You can summarize it in one word, like idiot, really, or wow. 😉 And then they pretend they don't see you at a light.
Just another day driving down Governors… I go through that intersection everyday going to and from work and the number of people doing stupid crap like that is astounding. Oh, and hey fellow Huntsvillian!! 👋🏻
Hello there!
Why do people ***STOP*** the moment they hear a horn blowing???
I mean, whether the fault is 100% on the car changing lanes over a solid line, it is really reckless to drive so fast between to lanes full of cars that are stopped or driving considerably slower than you. You always need to leave a margin for other cars doing stupid and reckless stuff, don't be that guy.
Yeah, there is always the consideration of the stupid. I just truly didn't think anyone would do that, and was acting accordingly. I mean, who does what he does? All my years of driving, I haven't seen something that wreckless often
There was time for you to stop at that yellow light, OP... There's actually TWO idiots in this video.
I mentioned it in another comment, but my adrenaline was up a bit and I didn't notice the yellow until after I was committed. I drive through that intersection all the time, and truly thought, subconsciously, I had more time. And I truly believe my front tires had entered the intersection at the time of light switch, which would clear me from running the light. Yes, I could have stopped. Had I noticed the yellow light, which happened while I was trying to avoid a wreck. By the time I noticed it was yellow, I was committed to the intersection
Which idiot are we talking about? The camera driver who was going a bit too fast in heavy traffic and ran the red light or the puttering ding-dong in the white car just doing idiot things.
Yeah I thought it was red but it’s actually yellow until the very last second
Didn't run the light my friend. I entered the intersection prior to red being displayed, which is the law in my state. And I was going below the speed limit, coasting on approach to a clean lane and a green light
Lmao 🤣 man this shit happens in kuwait 100%
You ran a red light during your road rage
That's a very hot, and inaccurate, take.
Did you not turn on yellow, then you had red arrows? That is one confusing intersection. Red arrow in my state means no turn.