Traffic lights and the attitude of the Police

[janno]

More red light cameras are needed lightening the wallet has a behaviour modification componet incorporated. Much better than a sudden intrusion into ones own private space to modify ones behaviour. This is one situation that cameras have a true safety purpose.

Agreed! I was getting pretty cavalier about red lights until I got a fine in the mail some years ago. That modified my behaviour instantly.

Having said that, if I am sitting on a red turn arrow and there is no traffic coming, I sometimes sneak around. Not the best habit, I know.

[Toaster]

They work for the government, they serve the public interest (as defined by the law and the government).
this should not be confused as working for the public.

Still would have thought that a bike cop would know the dangers that red light runners cause for bikes though, maybe he was just having a bad start to the day.

Mac, I completely agree. Having been a cop in the past, I usually chewed up and spat out red light runners... but hey, I am the Toaster.

Poor showing from that cop... one thing I was always mindful of was everything I did or didn't do was observed by the public and I knew I would be judged for that action or inaction.

One of my favorites was to tell off slow drivers for holding up the flow of traffic... always got a few friendly waves and it did the driver good to get a warning instead of a $150 fine.

[Da Bird]

whats the bloody problem with that? its an offence... you don't see them not targeting 111kph... Its that sort of attitude that lets these people get away with it, and the problem gets bigger and bigger.

Pity Bykey Cop has apparently moved from patrol to SCU or something... I used to see him in action at intersections out east. It was fantastic. He would wait for the phase, and as it went orange, down went visor, bike was started, someone ran the red, and he was after them

Somebody misses me... .. aint that nice.

I miss giving those red light running #$%#$ a roasting too to be honest but I needed a bit of a change. Another KB lurker/occasional poster has my old work bike and works the same area so if you see him, be nice.

BC.

[Max Preload]

...he replied that if they ticketed every occurrence of this they'd have to ticket everybody in Auckland

Then that's what they fucking well need to do - their jobs. The fact that red light running has been largely ignored as an offence for so long (along with damn near every other regulation except arbitrary speed limits) is the whole reason it's so bad now. Without a word of a lie, I'm now more surprised when someone DOESN'T run a red. It's really reaching epidemic proportions.

[Max Preload]

Having said that, if I am sitting on a red turn arrow and there is no traffic coming, I sometimes sneak around. Not the best habit, I know.

I do that all the time. The fact the lights don't register my bike for the most part, and the fact I have actually stopped before doing it justifies it for me. I actually had to do it last night turning right into Fanshawe Street from Beaumont Street - no vehicles anywhere.

Once I was heading up Symonds Street over the motorway bridge at about 2am, the only vehicle on the road (my trusty GPz600R). I stopped at the red light at the intersection with the northbound Symonds Street off-ramp and waited. Nothing happened for nearly a minute so I took a good look around and moved off through the red. Who should get off the motorway right at the instant I was halfway through the intersection but a bloody MoT V3000. I thought I was going to get stopped at a minimum, but he just ignored me, much to my relief.

[bull]

Good on you for stopping and telling the cop that he should have ticketed those red light runners. Seems we find useless workers in all areas of life, but like toaster said, the Police have a high profile to keep and that means you are under constant scrutiny.

[swbarnett]

Having said that, if I am sitting on a red turn arrow and there is no traffic coming, I sometimes sneak around. Not the best habit, I know.

I do this all the time myself. If there's no other traffic within site that has any chance of crossing your path I see no problem with taking the opportunity. Those red arrows are yet another way that the government is treating us like brainless twits. Treat people like idiots and that's what you'll get.

This does not, however, affect my view on red-light runners where there IS opposing traffic.

[scumdog]

. Those red arrows are yet another way that the government is treating us like brainless twits. Treat people like idiots and that's what you'll get.

This does not, however, affect my view on red-light runners where there IS opposing traffic.

A bob each way huh?

BTW NZ has more than it's share of idiots and brainless twits - just have a look at driver behaviour in your area.

Would YOU trust them with your life to do the correct thing/drive safely ALL the time, depending on them to do so because they had 'common sense' ......would you???

[Max Preload]

Those red arrows are yet another way that the government is treating us like brainless twits.

Yes - there are circumstances where they can be useful (like intersections at the brow of a hill) but for the most part they're merely compensating for people that are simply too stupid to be operating heavy machinery that can endanger other people, like say a motor vehicle.

[Bass]

A bob each way huh?

BTW NZ has more than it's share of idiots and brainless twits - just have a look at driver behaviour in your area.

Would YOU trust them with your life to do the correct thing/drive safely ALL the time, depending on them to do so because they had 'common sense' ......would you???

And yet having discretion to ignore the turning arrow is legal in several countries eg USA.

I confess to doing it myself when there is NOTHING in sight and it's obvious the lights are on timers rather than sensors - like when they stop traffic for NO-ONE waiting for cross flow.

However, I ALWAYS stop first.

[Max Preload]

And yet having discretion to ignore the turning arrow is legal in several countries eg USA.

Isn't that just the equivalent of our free left turns though? (which are slowly but surely disappearing).

[swbarnett]

A bob each way huh?

Not really, just common sense. I won't go through in any direction if the main light (straight through) is red but a red arrow when the main light is green and there's nothing anywhere in sight on the other side of the road is just the government trying to flex it's muscles and telling me that they think I'm not capable of judging the traffic. Why then am I allowed to turn right on a quite road at all without lights? Traffic lights are about courtesy (letting each line of traffic have their turn where no other law is suitable). Red arrows have nothing to do with courtesy, the give way to straight-through law is more than adequate.

BTW NZ has more than it's share of idiots and brainless twits - just have a look at driver behaviour in your area.

And we'd have a lot less if they were expected to think for themselves.

Would YOU trust them with your life to do the correct thing/drive safely ALL the time, depending on them to do so because they had 'common sense' ......would you???

I do every day and I'm sure you do to. No matter how vigilant you are you're still relying on the behaviour of the other driver every time you cross their path. Otherwise you'd be giving way to every other driver whether you were required to by law or not and regardless of your appraisal of their state of mind.

[swbarnett]

Yes - there are circumstances where they can be useful (like intersections at the brow of a hill) but for the most part they're merely compensating for people that are simply too stupid to be operating heavy machinery that can endanger other people, like say a motor vehicle.

Thanks for pointing out the brow of the hill situation. I'd forgotten that one. Indeed this is one situation where I would not go against a red arrow.

Compensating for stupidity is a downward spiral. The more you compensate, the more stupidity you generate. Far better to accept a certain amount of carnage as a natural part of operating a motor vehicle and force people to think for themselves. It is not possible to compensate for all human failings. If you did manage to do it I for one would rather die than live in such a society.

[swbarnett]

However, I ALWAYS stop first.

Indeed, the compulsory stop laws are more than adequate in most situations that currently have red arrows.

[scumdog]

Not really, just common sense.


I do every day and I'm sure you do to. No matter how vigilant you are you're still relying on the behaviour of the other driver every time you cross their path. Otherwise you'd be giving way to every other driver whether you were required to by law or not and regardless of your appraisal of their state of mind.

Common sense? - THAT it ain't!! - and that's the problem!

And regarding the second paragraph - I trust NOBODY on the road, the last time I DID I got T-boned by a slack-jawed mouthbreathing broken-arsed cretin who ran a red arrow - and I was driving a marked 'work' car!!

Trust other driver? - NEVER! (and even less when I'm on the bike).