Late night driviing and red lights / stop signs

[NynJa]

Another stupid discussion thread...

Recently it came up that I mortified this girl because whlie driving her home (100% sober might I add) I burned a couple stop signs and red lights in a suburban area at like 2am when the roads there are practically empty. By burn reds I slowed to about 10 km/h, made a quick check, and then proceeded through, same with stop signs. Apparently this is beyond violently dangerous and is stupid because its illegal. I never do this on major streets or if I see cars around me on the odd chance it winds up being a cop car and I dont notice. I personally feel that waiting at a 60 second red light when the streets are empty is a HUGE waste of time, especially if its at night and you're tired, where the monotony of sitting at a red will only speed up fatigue.

I retored to the illegal comment by finding out she had been drinking since she was 17, and that was also illegal, which was met by "different, I'm not hurting anyone" which I refuted by saying if she had gotten sick and paramedics were called, the owner of the bar she was drinking in would probably lose their bar/club and possible jail time, which was of course "well it didnt happen", and I said "well I've never gotten in any accident nor have I been ticketed for my actions in 10 years of driving"...which she bailed out of the discussion feeling though she's right and I'm wrong (dont you love that?).

Should also be noted that where I live, turning right on a red is not permitted. I've driven with some of her other friends and they all feel I am a safe driver, even after driving with me after I've had a couple drinks. I've been in 1 accident, wasnt at fault (french bastard hit me in a parking lot), and I've recieved 1 speeding ticket when I was late for work, and one stop sign ticket which I'm contesting cause the cop was a waste of air (car next to me reached the line after me and pulled away first, yet I get pulled over...yeah, bitch asked me 3 times if the car was mine to top it off).

What do you think? Are my actions a threat?

[Mellema]

Tell her stop signs with White borders are optional.

I live in Texas, so there are plenty of useless stop signs/lights in the middle of no where that I ignore. At night I'll often turn off my head lights when approaching a intersection to be better able to see if any other cars are coming, and if I don't see any just fly on through. Granted, I only do these in places I know well and where you never see other traffic. In town I would never do this just b/c you know a cop would be hiding somewhere.

[NynJa]

Yeah, I guess I forgot that important fact as well...I dont do this in areas I dont know either, for the same reason, knowing where the cops like to hide.

[jmc]

2 AM, I stop at all red lights/stop signs..... and I work law enforcement. Its not because i'm following the laws, its because 2am is last call and i'm always worried about some drunk driver slamming into me if I don't notice him or her.

around 4 am, different story.

*edit*

By different story.... I will roll through stop signs, just like OP said. I will not run red lights though

[archibaldcrane]

By different story.... I will roll through stop signs, just like OP said. I will not run red lights though

This.

[Qalbert]

[Seanr]

thats like what... 5mph? thats not too ridiculous

[Pooky]

No Cop, No Stop.

[Amelya]

A couple of years ago I hit someone who blew through a yield sign because they didn't think there would be any traffic at 6:45am on a quiet residential street. Killed the passenger. So yes, I stop at stop lights and red lights. Even if you think you're being a safe driver you have no idea what the other driver is thinking or doing.

[Grey Jorildyn]

I don't see a problem with any of that. Intelligent driving saves time. If it's 2am, just use judgement.

Obeying traffic laws at odd hours "just because" is a statement of the weak-minded.

[*Shinzon*]

You can roll through a stop sign but you should always stop/slow. Because you're assuming that there's nobody coming and if you drive that way eventually someone is going to Tbone you. Added to that is the fact that most stop lights have pressure sensing plates under the road that people don't know about, and when there is no pressure on one plate at an intersection and pressure at one end the time the light is red is adjusted so you actually don't wait as long. That's at most major intersections.

Imo it's just stupid to ignore stop signs especially more so than lights at intersections, mostly because where stop signs are placed are usually blind corners where visibility and traffic is limited. Hell even if I'm coming down a street where there isn't a stop sign but I know there's a stop sign on the parallel intersection I'll slow down because you should never trust another driver.

[Lucavi]

I've been burned (once) in the past for doing a rolling stop through a stop sign and got a warning. That was enough for me to not do it again. I figure everyone gets a free pass for a minor offense, but yeah, once the first warning happens, I'm done doing whatever I did, at least in that area. I've been pretty lucky, though, when it comes to that kind of thing, but I'd get out of the habit of doing it if I were you, or else you may wind up asking yourself why you even did it in the first place when you get slammed for it.

Some people pull shit like that and never get caught. Others get slammed the first time they mistakenly try something. Its all up to chance, so roll the dice if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it, at least where I live. The cops aren't assholes, but they're always around.

[orson]

Traffic laws are put into place to reduce your chance of an accident. While I doubt your actions are any more dangerous then speeding 5-10 km over the speed limit you are training yourself to use bad driving. In all likelihood you'd be the one hit by a speeder. If you were in the intersection during a red light, if they have cameras you're most likely fucked.

The other thing is like people say, cops are usually good at hiding. Rolling through a stop sign isn't a big deal but running a red in most places can be a big fine I'm pretty sure.

As for comparing underage drinking to rolling stop signs and running red lights I've got to side with the chick. Drinking underage will only impact others negatively if drink too much and you do stupid/dangerous things. On top of that in most countries it's not the minor's fault that they drank nor is it usually against the law for minor to drink. It's the responsibility of the adult to not allow the minor to get alcohol. If a business is dumb enough to sell to a minor then it's their own damn fault. Also in most provinces if you allow your patrons to drink too much and they get hurt or hurt someone else the establishment can be held partially at fault.

[Bregor]

Obeying traffic laws at odd hours "just because" is a statement of the weak-minded.

lol

[NynJa]

As for comparing underage drinking to rolling stop signs and running red lights I've got to side with the chick. Drinking underage will only impact others negatively if drink too much and you do stupid/dangerous things.

and yet the punishments levied for both illegal activities is harsher towards underage drinking...

if its "ok" for a minor to drink, then why do officers stop minors from drinking? How come I hear this ridiculously stupid minute long ad on the radio about how "parents hosting underage drinking parties lose the most", with threats of loss of job, house, car, and jail time?

[Chips]

Been driving for 5 years (almost every day) now and I've never once run a red light/stop sign. I'll only advance through yellows if I know I can't stop in time. I'm just ultra paranoid about tickets (I've already gotten 3 - no points, 15 over, 10 over, 5 over, all reduced).

[Byrthnoth]

I don't think it matters two shits whether your actions were logical and reasonable, because bitches be crazy and stupid. Shouldn't argue with them.

[BaneTheBrawler]

I roll through stop signs if I know the area well and there's no one around, but I always stop and wait for lights. It just feels weird going through lights when they're red, even if they're set to flashing (which means treat them as a stop sign). Only exception is right turns, but that's legal. I know I could go through a red light at 4 AM and cause no one harm and probably even get away with it, but like I said, it just feels weird.

[FNH]

I like the cities where the traffic lights blink yellow after 1am

[Mytiwar]

It's a grey area for me. I stop at stops and red lights no matter the time but I wouldnt argue with someone if he has the courtesy to drive me somewhere I need to be.

Mostly posting for that little gem here

Obeying traffic laws at odd hours "just because" is a statement of the weak-minded.

which is pretty much all kinds of retarded. Obeying traffic laws at any time of the day isn't only being cautious, it's also being reasonable. Takes only 2 ''strong minded'' people at 2 am on the same corner to create all sorts of problems.

Bottom line; for me it just isn't worth it. bbl cowering in fear of the dark due to my weak mind