Driving Tip #52: Be ready when the light turns green
How many times have you been behind another vehicle at a red light waiting for the light to turn green, and then when it turns green the vehicle ahead of you doesn’t move at all?
You quickly notice that the person ahead of you has their head down, usually looking at their smartphone. They may be sending a text, updating their status on social media, or advancing to the next level on their favorite game. Or they may doing something else that’s distracting them: talking to their passengers, changing the radio station, or eating a sandwich.
After you gently tap your horn to get them to notice the green light, they frantically look up, pause for a moment, then accelerate, and barely make it through the light while it turns yellow, preventing everyone behind them from making it through the light as it turns red.
So here’s a tip: when you’re at a traffic light and the light is red, keep looking at the light. It’s going to turn green pretty soon, and the people behind you will be ready to go through the intersection quickly and safely right behind you. Be ready when the light turns green.
Happy driving everyone!
Special thx to my wife Kim for her idea for this post!
🙂
Yes!!! Excellent point, if only we could make this happen! 🙂
Agreed
Derek, while this may seem appropriate, it is not. As a believer who rides motorcycles I can tell you that this advice has been know to kill others. I’m sorry, but this is true. It is better for the person at the stop light to continually look around their driving conditions. Notice if someone might be trying to speed through a light, look for pedestrians who are late in getting across a street, and please, look for motorcycles. In glancing around you can check the light, even see the other direction’s light to know where it is the in signal cycle. But, please! Look for motorcycles. Even those of us with longer hair are believers who minister to other bikers, some of whom don’t act well when run over. We minister to those who are tattoo’d and scare you. So, please don’t mow us down!
Not talking about zooming through a red light so quickly that you might hit a pedestrian walking or a motorcycle or car coming through the intersection. Totally agree that we should double-check the conditions before heading through an intersection. This post was addressing those who are looking down (nowadays usually looking at their phone) who cause a long back-up while their light turns green. And… Tattoos don’t scare me! 🙂