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If pedestrians always have right of way by law why is it so difficult to prove that a driver is at fault?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendy

Amber is never ambiguous. It means the lights are about to change to red. The sequence of traffic lights is red, red and amber, green, amber, red. Therefore, if the light is amber, you should know that any second now it will be red.

But you yourself have just proved it is ambiguous. It neither means stop nor go, it means you should stop but then again its still legal to go through.So which is it? Stop or go? Who decides that it wouldn't be safe to stop? it comes down to one persons opinion gainst another.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendy

How many people know that you should never approach a traffic light in fourth gear? - and how many people practise that? If in doubt, come off the gas, give yourself a few seconds more to think. It saves lives, and one of them could be your own.

Why shouldn't you approach in 4th? If you are expecting to stop then there is a train of thought that you shouldn't use gears to slow down as you are putting extra wear on the engine which is expensive to repair whereas brake pads are cheap and easy to repair. My car has enough torque to pull away happily from 25 in 4th as has my bike. The best advice I can give is as you approach the lights set a 'point of no return', quite often there are arrows or markings on the road just before the lights, these are ideal. If you hit them before amber go through, if the lights change before you get to the PONR then you should stop.

When I used to attend court with a driver prosecuted for failing to conform to a red light, most of them pleaded not guilty claiming the lights were on amber. The magistrates instantly found the case proved as amber also means stop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

If pedestrians always have right of way by law why is it so difficult to prove that a driver is at fault?

I have a question for you Willow.

I have 2 witnesses who have stated that I had no chance of stopping or avoiding the woman who ran out in front of me.

However the insurance company decided that the accident was my fault, and doubled my insurance premium, as well as taking away my ncb.

So I am paying for something that is not my fault.

Pedestrians do not have the right to run out in front of motorists without warning and expect them to be able to stop.

[QUOTE=vorlon24]

However the insurance company decided that the accident was my fault, and doubled my insurance premium, as well as taking away my ncb.

QUOTE]

i thought this was verry harsh punishment until i re read it and saw that they took away your N.C.B and not your ncb which at a first glance looks like nob pmsl

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That would have bee severe.pmsl

Quote:

Originally Posted by pendy

How many people know that you should never approach a traffic light in fourth gear? - and how many people practise that?

Have you never seen traffic lights on a dual carraigeway? Do you expect everyone to stick it in third at 70mph as they approach the traffic lights. The length of time the amber light is on depends on the speed limit on the road. On a 70mph road amber is on alot longer compared to a 30mph road. This is because you need more warning that the light is going to change to red. You don't need to slow down, the traffic light designer allows enough time on amber for you to either stop or keep going if it is not safe to stop. Traffic lights would cause more congestion if everybody slowed down as they approached them and then accelerated once past.

As far as amber meaning stop - that magistrate was obviosly a fool Fireman. How can amber mean stop? You could be 10 feet in front of the lights when they change.
According to that magistrate should we all perform an emergency stop everytime the amber light comes on?

well said neil amber means you can keep going if its safe to do so \\\\\\\\ or not safe to stop

try it go to court and claim the lights were on amber then prepare for 3 pionts.

Which proves my point as at this point its your opinion against the magistrates, one who was there against someone who wasn't.

Leave that one with me I have a friend who is a retired traffic cop and now owns a driving school I will ask him for chapter and verse on amber lights to see if attitudes these days are different , after all then you were never reported for speeding unless you were doing 42mph and up.

Right......
RED MEANS......STOP
RED AND AMBER MEANS...........STOP . YOU MAY ONLY CROSS ON GREEN.
AMBER MEANS .......STOP AT THE STOPLINE.yOU MAY ONLY PASS THROUGH IF YOU
HAVE ALREADY PASSED THE STOP LINE OR TO PULL UP SHARP WOULD BE LIKELY TO
CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
gREEN MEANS GO....BUT ONLY IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO.

iT IS GENERALLY RECOMMENDED TO SLOW DOWN, CHANGE DOWN AND PREPARE TO
STOP AT ANY LIGHT CONTROLLED JUNCTION. AMBER MEANS STOP AND YOUR DRIVING MANNER SHOULD ACCOMODATE THAT FACT ON THE APPROACH TO TRAFFIC LIGHT CONTROLLED JUNCTIONS.

ANY MORE DOUBTS HIIGHWAY CODE IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AND SO IS AN EXPLAINATION OF THE RULES AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS.