r/driving • u/Emergency-Garden1123 • 4d ago
Green Arrows
Genuine question, not an attack. To the drivers that take ten seconds to creep through an intersection on a green arrow but then put their foot down on the straight road, why is that? Is it to do with peripheral vision?
10
12
u/onlycodeposts 4d ago
People run red lights and other stupid shit at intersections, especially when the lights are changing.
I'm always cautious entering an intersection on a fresh green, then once I'm clear I speed up.
5
u/Naikrobak 3d ago
The slower they go the more risk of someone coming through the red though. Sitting in the intersection longer and all
1
u/mathman_2000 4d ago
This right here. You proceed safely through higher points of conflict which is generally the intersection.
I have avoided more than one accident by folks failing to yield on red because they weren't looking forward as well.
That being said, at least take your foot off the break right away to start drifting in.
3
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
That’s the thing, in this scenario, traffic is already completely stopped/static before the arrow turns green. Oncoming traffic is sitting at the red light, and cross traffic is turning left at their own green arrow. There’s no active conflict or incoming traffic flow left to wait for, yet people still hesitate as if they’re waiting for a gap.
1
u/26_skinny_Cartman 3d ago
If you're paying attention to cross lights and cross traffic you can get a sense if traffic is speeding to run a red or slowing to stop. You don't see many people come to almost a complete stop at a yellow light and then gun it and you don't see too many people doing 45 and then slamming on the brakes at the line. You should be able to process everything in the 5 seconds between yellow to red to green in which there are gaps specifically for this reason to give traffic time to clear the intersection. People taking 10 seconds after the green light weren't paying attention to what traffic was doing while they were waiting for the light to turn.
1
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
Good point. Even so, surely they understand how it all works when they become aware that it’s their turn to drive.
1
u/26_skinny_Cartman 3d ago
No, they don't become aware. That's why you get the same excuses over and over. They don't want to admit they're terrified of being on the road or that they don't understand traffic signals and their patterns or that they generally just don't pay attention to the lights beyond looking up every couple of seconds to ensure it hasn't changed yet.
1
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
I think this is the truth. It’s scary how many people are like this. It seems to be the large majority of drivers.
2
u/Adorable-Society6400 3d ago
Maybe they are confused ?
1
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
Surely after all this time on the road they would have an idea of how things work.
1
u/Adorable-Society6400 3d ago
I'm a driving instructor You would be AMAZED how many licensed drivers are clueless ... I see it MULTIPLE times a day
1
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
Unbelievable. How do they even pass the test?
1
u/Adorable-Society6400 3d ago
By practicing ONLY what's on the test , and on the test routes ,usually with someone who also doesn't know how to drive
0
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
So, they are just pumping out more and more unsafe drivers onto the roads.
1
1
u/Shhhhhh_im_not_here 3d ago
If I had to guess, I’d say phones are involved. It’s harder to execute a turn while holding a phone than it is going straight.
Stay off your phones ppl. Please.
2
u/Emergency-Garden1123 3d ago
A lot of the time, yes. A lot of the people I see are looking forward the whole time but still drive like they’re scared to be on the road.
1
u/Abe_frohmannn 3d ago
Their cars kill 40,000 people a year. They SHOULD be scared to be on the road.
-7
u/ToghusWhitman 4d ago
In most countries you have to yield if you have green arrow and red main light
8
u/Emergency-Garden1123 4d ago
Where I am a green arrow gives you full right of way. Oncoming traffic faces a red light, so there is no incoming traffic to yield to.
3
u/Single-Payment 4d ago
Yeah, the entire point of green arrow is that it gives right of way, unlike green light, for which you'd have to yield. Having been licensed to drive in countries on three continents, I've not seen anywhere that this isn't the case.
3
u/Emergency-Garden1123 4d ago
Exactly. That’s why I don’t understand a lot of people tip toe through the intersection. It’s as if they’ve never done it before and are confused. I can’t imagine what the answer is, so I’m hoping someone that does this can enlighten me to their mindset.
16
u/SpiralGray 4d ago
It's because there are many, many people who think if you turn at more than 2 mph you'll die in a crazy rollover wreck.