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Norma Link of Lakewood writes:

Mr. Carter pulls out the physics excuse for not stopping at a yellow/red light. Here is a lesson in physics for him. My drivers manual states that you should have a 2 second interval between you and the vehicle in front of you. Using physics calculations: 30 MPH X 5,280 ft. (1 mile)=158,400 ft, divide by 60=2,640 ft./per minute, divide by 60 again =44 ft./per second. 2 seconds =88 ft. of space between you and the vehicle in front of you! Now could you not stop if you were not following too closely. It seems you could by his calculations, as he says he could stop in 75 ft. The Driver’s manual clearly states that on a steady yellow light you should stop unless you are in the intersection. When you approach a traffic light you should anticipate that it might change and be prepared. It should not take that much reaction time.

This letter has not been edited.

READER COMMENTS

wait a darn minute Norma. ...

Uh. Never mind. Apparently people in this area are too busy to wait any minutes. As a former Denver cab driver (and OTR trucker), I warn you that even those capable of follwing your simple math find basic driving courtesy quite difficult.

Ms. Link.

Great observation. I thought for sure you were incorrect, but I checked the facts, and you are 100% correct. You learn something new every day. Thank you for your letter. I was always under the impression that a steady yellow light meant "the light is changing from green to red. Do not enter the intersection, unless safety risk is increased by braking."

There are traffic lights in some intersections that are green when you start to enter the intersection and by the time you're in the middle of same turn yellow. This takes about .5 seconds, given that the middle of the intersection is twenty odd feet from where you started from and, this due to the incompetency of those who regulate them. There are others that stay yellow for as much as five seconds in which you could travel 264 feet. These lights make psysics immaterial to safety by rules as stated in the general information in driving manuals.

But isn`t driving a contest?

"The Driver’s manual clearly states that on a steady yellow light you should stop unless you are in the intersection. "

Pretty clear. What's the problem? Oh yeah, the other car's need to get somewhere is more important than public safety.

If you are a few feet away from the intersection when the caution light comes on, you won't have time to stop as the driver's manual tells you to do. Norma Link seems to contemplate a situation in which you are following another car. You are not always following another car.

Truth- granted. Yet that's not the majority of yellow light runners. Most are people who think "I have time to get through before it turns red" vs whether or not they can safely stop.

fiesty--granted. What you say happens regularly and I would expect is the cause of many an "accident".

But the thesis of the opening letter is that the car a few feet away breaks the law if it continues through the light. That is what I was addressing.

We need a fourth color to let drivers know that it will soon be time to drive again and to hang up the cell phone.

Despite the wording of the driver's manual, the law itself does not provide that a driver must not enter an intersection after the light turns to yellow. Therefore, a driver entering the intersection after the light turns to yellow is not violating the law.

Some excerpts from CRS 42-4-603:

(b) Steady yellow indication:

(I) Vehicular traffic facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal is thereby warned that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter.

(II) Pedestrians facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian-control signal as provided in section 42-4-802, are thereby advised that there is insufficient time to cross the roadway before a red indication is shown, and no pedestrian shall then start to cross the roadway.

(I) Vehicular traffic facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a clearly marked stop line but, if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown

All the math calculations & quotes aside, the fact is that when the light turns yellow & the first car blows thru, the 2 0r 3 cars behind it also blow thru, when the light has already turned to red. When I stop on a yellow light, I always look in the rearview mirror to see if the car behind is going to hit me because he expects that I will go thru and he can too. Most people with common sense know when they should stop, but the majority of drivers ignore that & just blast on thru. Add to that the guy on the red side who is watching for the light to turn yellow for the others & tries to jump the light because he is in such a hurry that he can't wait for full green & you have accidents. I think there should be cameras at all major intersections & movable ones circulating thru other intersections. That would catch these scofflaws & prevent lots of accidents. The cameras should record speed also.

All the math calculations & quotes aside, the fact is that when the light turns yellow & the first car blows thru, the 2 0r 3 cars behind it also blow thru, when the light has already turned to red. When I stop on a yellow light, I always look in the rearview mirror to see if the car behind is going to hit me because he expects that I will go thru and he can too. Most people with common sense know when they should stop, but the majority of drivers ignore that & just blast on thru. Add to that the guy on the red side who is watching for the light to turn yellow for the others & tries to jump the light because he is in such a hurry that he can't wait for full green & you have accidents. I think there should be cameras at all major intersections & movable ones circulating thru other intersections. That would catch these scofflaws & prevent lots of accidents. The cameras should record speed also.

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