Green Light

It’s time to turn left. The light is green.

There’s a car coming the opposite direction, but I always overestimate how far they are, so I’ll be brave and go.

I’m doing it.

The car isn’t stopping, but it’s not uncommon for the breaking to start shortly before the stop line.

They aren’t stopping.

“STOP!”

“Did they just run a red light?”

“No, they had the right of way.”

“But I had a green light…”

“But that was a green circle.”

“What’s the difference?”

“A green circle is the same as a blinking yellow arrow. Did you not learn that in driver’s ed?”

“Nope.”

This type of incident actually used to be much more common. After talking with some traffic engineers from my city, I learned that green circles were originally the only alternative to a left turn arrow, but after too many accidents resulting from unintuitive signals, the engineers I met with helped pioneer the implementation of the blinking yellow arrow; this drastically improved road safety. However, not all intersections have been upgraded, so full implementation of the safest traffic regulation mechanics is one imperative step towards achieving greater safety. The other major aspect of responsible driving is the abilities of every driver. Staying safe is a universal goal, so the problem is not convincing people to be safe but rather educating everyone on the best methods of being more safe. Common examples include driving sober, undistracted, and using turning signals, but some other methods include starting to break a considerable distance from the stopline, using cruise control, and getting into the correct lane well before it’s time to turn.

While these tips are simple to remember, when we are actively driving, our brains tend to function at much lower capacities. Because of this, in addition to widely educating the driving public, we should encourage and support each other in practicing these strategies so that safe driving becomes much more intuitive.

As for educating ourselves, the internet is definitely a great resource, but a driver’s education course is arguably the most reliable source of driving information; this course becomes even more crucial when considering the large number of teenagers who take it. Information like how to treat a green light for a left turn is not taught to everyone due to the widespread implementation of better technology; since these types of intersections still exist, it is important to continue to teach this  to our youth. Had my dad not been next to me and seen the oncoming car, there would definitely have been a crash since I was unaware of the fact that the oncoming car had a green light. While we would’ve both slammed on our breaks, there would’ve been a possibility for serious injury or even death, and this is even more of a reason to continue teaching all types of traffic regulations in the classroom to understand our guidelines and what other drivers will do.

“It’s okay, we’re safe. But this was a good learning experience.”