IF YOU HAVE YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS PEDAL WHEN THE LIGHT IS OLD GREEN YOU DOUBLE YOUR CHANCE OF AN ACCIDENT, if and when the light changes. Taking your foot OFF of the gas pedal when the light is green reduces your chance of a crash at the lights by 50% by reducing your stopping distance by 50%!

50%

See this illustration? This is an accident waiting to happen:

The driver on the opposite side is waiting to turn. That is the most common accident at intersections.

When the light changes, and it will, the turning driver on the opposite side may think that they must turn NOW, because the light is yellow. They are not very smart. But they have a license. However, they think they must go, so that's what they do. What they don't realize, is that you won't be able to stop in time because you have your foot on the gas and have not yet made the decision to push the brake. Time is ticking, and your wheels are turning. You are getting closer and closer, and your foot is on the gas. By the time your realize that you should brake, it's too late, because now you must quickly release the gas pedal and push the brake pedal, but you don't have enough time. CRASH.

It's the other driver's fault, but now you've got blood coming from your nose. Having a bad day? Get your foot off the gas when the light is green.

Scenario #2. Being impatient and in a hurry, the other driver on the right can't wait for the light to change to green, and, seeing that the lights are changing, begins to proceed ahead of time. You can't stop, and must go through the yellow. CRASH.

It's the other driver's fault, but now you have two black eyes and a headache from the air-bag, and you have to get your car fixed. Having fun yet? Get your foot off the gas when the light is green, fool.

The green light does not mean go. It means you have the right of way if it's safe. You can be legally responsible for not driving carefully, even if it's the other driver's fault.

You may legally go through the yellow light, but you may not legally push the gas pedal when the light is yellow. If you must push the gas to go through the yellow, you are breaking the law. If you try to push the brake but it's too late and you must go through yellow, go through the light carefully, not quickly. Nobody cares if you go through carefully.

It goes against instinct, but you must get out of a dangerous situation slowly, not quickly. Trying to get out of a dangerous situation quickly makes it worse.

Scenario #3. Many drivers are aware of the fact that the lights are red in all directions for three seconds while they change. This is a safety feature in case someone makes a mistake. Taking advantage of this safety feature is not only a very expensive ticket, it is highly dangerous.

And, of course, it only gets worse when it snows or rains.

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The light changes, the other drivers go. From the bottom of the diagram to point 'A' Is the distance required to make the decision and move your foot to the brake pedal, and 'B' is the distance to stop the car when you push the brake pedal. If you make the decision and commitment to brake, and you move your foot to 'cover' the brake while the light is still green, (before the other cars procede,) you thus eliminate distance 'A', which is the distance you travel while making the decision and moving your foot, which is approximately 50% of the distance at average speed.

When you realize that you must brake, your brain starts to work. It tells you that you must move your foot to the brake pedal. So, you make the decision to brake, and you lift your foot from the gas pedal and move it to the brake pedal, and then you push the brake, and while your are making the decision to brake and moving your foot, your car is moving closer and closer to the crash point. By the time you push the brake pedal (and this only takes a second or so,) you will have traveled 50% further in that second than if you had your foot off of the gas in the first place.

Half of the stopping time is making a decision and moving your foot. Half.

(*Half at average speed. The distance is more than half in a playground or school zone. It's less than half on a freeway, but there are no lights on a freeway anyway.)

HERE ARE SOME RED-LIGHT VIDEOS:

The driver in this first video wasn't paying attention, and didn't notice that the light was red. Either that, or the driver was suicidal and wanted to die in traffic by running the red light, and unfortunately did not succeed. Usually, in cases like these, it's just a matter of the driver not "noticing" the red light, not paying attention, and in this case the driver gets the prize for most luckiest stupid driver.

YOUTUBE EXERCISE: SEARCH YOUTUBE FOR "RED LIGHT ACCIDENT"

In this next video, a late-night driver had planned to run the light, but when he saw the vehicle that had the green light, he tried to stop..

The driver in this next video was killed, but he ran the light because he was running from the police!"

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