Yellow Traffic Light Rule (Do's and Don'ts)

[@drivingtestaustralia]

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[@nailobsession4920]

This was extremely helpful as my husband continues to break in an intrusive way which startles me as I’ve only recently started trusting his driving to take my own eyes off the road at times. Then says I’m wrong which had caused many arguments as my husband is too proud for weird reasons to educate our family correctly when I’m upset about the abrupt breaking and the fact he is not more understanding of the way he drives and how it bothers me and my nerves at times.

[@jamesfarley3120]

Very good advice overall. The problem in many cities is that the yellow light duration is not properly engineered for the intersection. It is too short, trapping safe drivers into the red. The driver does not have the distance to stop safely while at the same time there is not enough yellow to let them get into the intersection before the light turns red. They are caught in what is called a "dilemma zone". This especially applies to left turns (in the US, in Australia - right turns) where the driver must slow down to negotiate the turn. While this is not a major safety issue, it is a big issue when a red light camera is put on the intersection and drivers are caught only tenths of a second into the red through no fault of their own.

[@aussie8114]

I timed a few near me and on 80k highways they were 5 seconds. A 60k road was 4 seconds. There is also a 2 second delay time between lights going red and the other roads lights going green. Intersections with arrows gets more complicated but there still seems to be the 2 second delay.

[@notundermywatch3163]

The day I took my driver's license test I had multiple instances of exactly that situation. It was a very rainy with bad visibility and impatient and nervous drivers. I managed to brake in time but I didn't like throwing my examiner around and I was almost certain this abrupt braking had cost me my license but at the end of the test the examiner said that I had no choice and that the situation was basically a fluke. He passed me.

[@aussie8114]

You lose about 1 second of time to react to a stop, this is why the yellow light needs to be a decent duration. I think they should increase the duration by at least 1 second at all intersections. Of course they won’t because that would mean less red light camera cash for the government.

[@citydandad3753]

I also think that all traffic lights in Australia need a timer or indication to make drivers more aware that the traffic light will be yellow soon. Here are some of my ideas: 1: There is a timer that has a 10 second countdown to allow drivers to to see when will the light change to yellow. The light will change to yellow once when the countdown hits 0. Vehicles are allowed to stop before the light changes to yellow. 2: The green light blinks when the light will be yellow soon. Drivers will be able to see the blinking to be more aware to stop. I think that these ideas will improve safety to reduce the chances for anyone that runs through red lights and to avoid getting a fine too. Right now, I often try to drive slower when approaching a green traffic light to reduce the chances for me to go through a red light. I often get scared when approaching green lights. It's even scarier if the traffic light intersection has a red light camera.

[@aussie8114]

@@citydandad3753 I think the light blinking already happens in some countries. It’s a valid idea. There are a few things that could be done to improve safety but the “experts” won’t listen to us. There are however a percentage of drivers that will still take liberties and go through on a red, either arrogant, selfish, drunk, drugged up, hoons. No amount of light sequence improvements will change that. Authorities need to start taking licences away from more people.

[@citydandad3753]

​​@@aussie8114Well, I am wanting countries to be a safe as possible with driving. I always want the community to minimise the amount of offences or harms that affect the environment too. It's just not worth it if you get a fine in life as you may face financial issues. Also due to the method that I try to slow down when approaching green lights, a lot of people don't like this idea. Most motorists just try to travel near the speed limit sign they're already in when approaching traffic lights. My dad doesn't like me to drive slower as he thinks that driving slower when approaching green lights isn't necessary while driving. However, some people that heard about my method finds it okay. According to the QLD website explaining about traffic lights, there is a message that says "You should drive at a speed that gives you time to react if the traffic lights change." The higher the speed limit, the scarier that the traffic lights are when you approach them.

[@caralhoguy]

I’m still tryna figure out how close I have to be to the line to keep accelerating for it to turn yellow

[@fearnothing3798]

It's so subjective it's not funny. You can be sure if you had 10 different examiners you'd get 10 different answers. It's a grey area that needs to be looked at possibly getting through lights before lights go red. If your to close to stop but go through before lights go red it should be a pass. I failed my first driving test like this. I felt I was way to close to stop safely and the instructor said I broke the red light.

[@error21239]

Very good explanation honestly. I just got my car rear ended this morning after slamming on my brakes at a yellow light. Now, I know what to do next time.

[@siyonamishra8725]

Omg me too it was my first time driving alone with my license too. So traumatic

[@PTMG]

If it's yellow- just go for it. NEVER stop for a yellow. It is nearly impossible to cause an accident by speeding through a yellow- EVEN if it were to turn red right before you went through. However it is very common to cause an accident by slamming on your breaks at a yellow. EVERY traffic signal has an "all red" period. This means that just because your signal is red, doesn't mean the other signal is green. And cars don't just teleport. Unless someone going the opposite direction is already committed to running a stale red light, no one is going to teleport to the middle of the intersection while you are running a yellow light, EVEN if it turns red, and hit you. It's just not gonna happen. EVEN IF the light turned green after yours turned red, people still need 1 second to mentally react to the light turning green, AND THEN they have to accelerate their car. You have at least a second of all red once your light turns red, and at least a second of brain function to deal with, and then another second of acceleration before someone could hit you, and that's assuming someone would do so essentially on purpose, because they would have to do it on purpose to be able to hit someone who is ALREADY in the intersection, when they are starting from a stop. Unless the light is just flat out red, you should commit to running every single yellow light you see. If you happen to baaaarely run a red, worst case scenario is you MIGHT get a camera ticket in the mail depending on the intersection, that you technically legally don't have to do anything about. Your can pretty much ignore any camera tickets for any reason, whether it's speeding or running lights. Cameras are not officers, and can not appear in court. They don't have the jurisdiction to write a ticket, and they don't have the physical capability to testify on the stand. This, and you can usually just say "wasn't me driving" and they will drop it. So long story short: JUST RUN THE YELLOW LIGHT. You will be perfectly fine, and it is basically guaranteed to be more dangerous to slam on your brakes.

[@PTMG]

The other reason is other people. EVERY driver on the road is making this judgement simultaneously, particularly cars behind you. You being in front gives you the first line of command for any potential conflict. Any conflict between you, and the car behind you, is going to start with YOUR decision here. And incongruence between your car and the car behind you could lead to an accident. I.E. if you make the judgement that you WON'T make the yellow light, but the person behind you come to the opposite judgement, that not only YOU but THEY too will make the yellow light, and so he decides to maintain speed, or even worse accelerate to facilitate getting through the light on time- well, he's gonna rear end you if you stop. Just run the yellow light, unless you are like half a mile away from it still and it's OBVIOUSLY too far away to make. If there is even 1% of doubt in your mind, just run it.

[@citydandad3753]

Traffic lights is one of my biggest fears when I drive anywhere in QLD. By the way, I have one question. Here it is: Is it okay to drive below the speed limit when approaching traffic lights when the light ahead is green because you assume the light will change to yellow soon? Example: You're driving in a 60 km/h road and the intersection has a red light camera, and is in good conditions. You drive near 45 km/h when approaching the lights and then return to near the speed limit of the area again after passing the lights. Unfortunately, I hear some people think it's not normal to drive slower than the speed limit in good conditions when approaching traffic lights (although most motorists in QLD just travel near the speed limit of the area when approaching traffic lights). However, I've heard of a couple of people say is okay when they drive slightly slower than the speed limit in good conditions when approaching the traffic lights. I personally think it's okay because I think this method would reduce the chances for me to get a traffic light fine.

[@drivingtestaustralia]

You need to drive with a speed to be able to avoid any potential accidents on roads. At some traffic lights, because the road is narrow and also due to the presence of the buildings, it's hard to see the sides of the intersections. It's definitely good to slow down. So it really depends on the situation.

[@nicksharma7859]

Good practical explanation

[@cci973]

Thank you for the such a helpful content. I got a better idea and more sense now, but I am still so scary and my whole body get froze and very much in tension mode everytime when I am approaching to the trrafic light😢

[@drivingtestaustralia]

You're welcome. You need to do more of whatever you are scared of, so you can get used to it 🙂

[@alamkhanpathan1751]

Magnificent video 👍👌

[@drivingtestaustralia]

Ah thanks AlamKhan 🙂

[@dianne6046]

This is still one of my FEARS 👉😮 !! ▪︎I've been driving for a long time. ▪︎More traffic and 😮👉speed now. ▪︎Should you cover your brake if the green has been on for some time.. or still doesn't matter.

[@drivingtestaustralia]

Not really. You just need to drive cautiously through the traffic lights even if it's green.

[@johnathanlopez8040]

I thought we could cross on red

[@TyrantBrendorf]

thank you :D

[@drivingtestaustralia]

You're welcome 🙂