I don’t know about you, but I tend to avoid when it’s red. Just like I don’t like to be in an accident when I was in high school.
So, if you’re avoiding at intersections, that means you’re avoiding because you’re not sure of the appropriate speed. And that’s a good thing, but it can also mean you’re avoiding because you’re too lazy to stop at an intersection and take a look. So yes, it is against the law to cross the median when the speed limit is red.
That law does require that the “yellow light” be there. I’m sure you can imagine how many times it happened to me (I am not a law abiding citizen), and I have a feeling that it’ll happen again. So if you are avoiding at intersections then you shouldnt be.
One thing you should know that we wrote about in our blog post on the subject of speed, is that you can be crossing an intersection even if you dont see the yellow light. I often cross the intersection when I see the light, but I dont cross it at all until I cross the yellow light.
The reason this is dangerous is because if you cross the yellow light, and you do see the light, then you could be hit by a car, or hit by another car as you cross the intersection. Thats one thing that we have found in our study of traffic deaths in the US. One in six is a pedestrian struck by a car or other vehicle.
So what is a dangerous intersection? One where you are injured, as a result of crossing too soon after you see the yellow light. Or one where you are injured, as a result of crossing when you should have been crossing the light.
There is no law against crossing a yellow light. What is a dangerous intersection is where you are struck or run over by a moving vehicle as you cross. If you cross when your turn is complete, you are not at fault, but if you cross when you should have been crossing the light, then the other lane is now unsafe and the other drivers are at fault.
When I first came across this information, I was in awe. It is actually a violation of the law for the driver on the other side of the intersection to cross the traffic light at the last moment before it turns green. This is because a driver on the right of the road can change lanes at the last moment and hit the other driver in the left lane.
This was brought to my attention by another driver on my way home from work. I’m not exactly sure what the law is, but I assume it is a violation of the right of way.