Not stopping at a red light

[RobinJ]

I am not talking about running a red light in traffic.  More of where drivers slow down enough where they don't have to come to a complete stop before the light turns green.

A co-worker was telling me that she is behind people almost every day that do this.  On her drive home, she has to make a left-turn from the highway, at a stop light, to a smaller road.  This light has a sensor for the smaller road as well as for the turn lanes off the highway to the smaller road.  So, the highway's light will remain green unless a car is in the turn lane or on the smaller road to trigger the light.  What normally happens is that most people that travel the highway regularly know that this light is relatively short so they just slow down when they see the light is red ahead.  It is visible about 1.5 miles out.  But this means my co-worker has to slow down if she is behind one of these drivers then misses the chance to get in the turn land to trigger the sensor.  So she will have to wait through another round til she gets a green arrow.

She thinks it is extremely rude to slow down so that you don't have to stop while the light is red as it means someone behind them may miss the light if they are going to be turning.

I had never really thought about it before.  Thoughts?

[EMuir]

If I see that the light ahead is red, I save my brakes by not zooming up to it at full speed.  I never thought of it inconveniencing other drivers, and I never thought of it as trying not to stop altogether.  Interesting.

[etiquetteE]

I slow down when I see the light is turning red, mostly because I don't want to get rear ended and slowing early means folks behind me also slow down.

[jmarvellous]

If I see that the light ahead is red, I save my brakes by not zooming up to it at full speed.  I never thought of it inconveniencing other drivers, and I never thought of it as trying not to stop altogether.  Interesting.

 Ditto. She can think the other drivers are doing any number of things, but that doesn't mean that they have her predicted reasoning behind their actions, or that thet are rude. They could be practicing a modified version of hypermiling, which I do think can become obnoxious or inconsiderate but isn't here.

[CakeBeret]

If I see that the light ahead is red, I save my brakes by not zooming up to it at full speed.  I never thought of it inconveniencing other drivers, and I never thought of it as trying not to stop altogether.  Interesting.

Agree. I do the same. I turn off the cruise control and allow the car to slow down gradually without using the brakes. Drives my husband nuts--he's one who will continue going 70mph until the precise point at which he needs to stop.

Wouldn't your friend have to wait for a green light anyway? I'm a little confused as to how the other drivers' slowness affects her ability to get a green light.

[siamesecat2965]

I also start to slow down when I see the light is changing, but for me, its a depth perception isssue.  Same reason why I leave more space than most people like between me and the car in front of me. I cna't always judge when they'll stop,a nd i don't wnat to run into their back.

[Hmmmmm]

I understand why it is frustrating to her but I do not think its rude of them.  My state allows right on red.  I would appreciate if the person planning to go straight and not turn would have moved to the left lane so that I could turn right on red instead of sitting through the red light.  But it is not rude of them not to.

[sparksals]

I find it annoying when people stop at a red light in the right lane and the left lane is empty, preventing those behind from turning right on the red.  I see that as similar to the OP.  Neither are wrong, just annoyances that come with the territory of sharing the road with others.

[CakeBeret]

I find it annoying when people stop at a red light in the right lane and the left lane is empty, preventing those behind from turning right on the red.  I see that as similar to the OP.  Neither are wrong, just annoyances that come with the territory of sharing the road with others.

I've found myself being that person before, sitting in the right lane while the person behind me would like to make a turn. In my case, it's often because I need to make a right turn immediately after the light, and it would be unwise/unsafe to stay in the left lane and try to cut over just past the intersection.

[sparksals]

Oh yes.  There are valid reasons most of the time.  It is just a peeve of mine. 

[jpcher]

I'm a "take my foot off the gas pedal as soon as I see a red light" person so that I can coast to the stop. In fact, that's the way I taught my daughters to drive.

It amuses me to see people flying past me so they have to stop at the light. "Hurry up to stop!" While I just coast and sometimes it works out that I don't have to stop at all.

I never thought of this as rude.

However, now that you mention it, LOL! there are times that I'm behind a coaster when I want to make a left turn and miss the green turn arrow, because I can't get to the left turn lane. I honestly do think to myself "You know . . . if you hurried up to stop I would have made that light!"

But in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't ruin my day.

Nor do I think it's rude.

She thinks it is extremely rude to slow down so that you don't have to stop while the light is red as it means someone behind them may miss the light if they are going to be turning.

The people in front of her can't read her mind.


Maybe she can put on her turn signal early and hopefully the person in front of her might get the hint?

I tend to look in my rear-view mirror when I'm in the right hand lane and not turning right. If the person behind me has a signal on, I'll try to move to the left lane if possible.

[SleepyKitty]

She thinks it is extremely rude to slow down so that you don't have to stop while the light is red as it means someone behind them may miss the light if they are going to be turning.

I had never really thought about it before.  Thoughts?

I don't think it's rude at all. As other PPs have noted, there's no way for the person in front to know if the person behind them may miss the light if they are turning. (I'm assuming she isn't putting her signal on 1.5 miles out.) The light is red, the natural response is to slow down or start braking. And honestly, it's not the person in front's responsibility to worry about whether or not the person behind them wants to make the light or not, it's their responsibility to drive safely. It doesn't sound like the first driver is doing anything unsafe; on the contrary, slowing down when you know there is a red light ahead is probably erring on the side of safety, even if their motivation is to trigger the green light.

[Raintree]

I take my foot off the gas if I see a red light ahead. It's easier on the brakes, it's easier on gas, it's easier on the car in general, and it's easier on my nerves. And as a PP pointed out, it's safer in terms of avoiding a rear-ender. It would never occur to me to worry about trying to guess what the person behind me wants to do.

[cheyne]

I put the car in neutral (I have a manual transmission) and coast to a stop sign or red light.  Saves fuel and my brakes.  Other drivers are not rude because they don't speed race to a red light.  How are they supposed to know that your friend is turning left?  Maybe your friend could find another route home if this bothers her so much.

[Slartibartfast]

It's faster to slow down early, especially if there are no cars ahead of you at the intersection.  Slowing down means you still have a good deal of momentum when the light turns green, so you don't have to get your car going from a dead stop - faster for you, better on the car, and better gas mileage.  It's unfortunate it if slows someone else down, but them's the breaks (or brakes, in this case!).