Red Lights mean stop??

[zenmandan]

I wrote this rant a couple of years ago, so please bear with the few dated references. Also, the Fort Wayne police have actually started to do one of the suggestions stated in here, but have only done it a few times, not enough to make any real impact.


I never really realized apparently how many legally blind people there are in Fort Wayne. Having lived here only a little over a year, it has taken me quite by surprise. What is even more perplexing though, is the amount of those people that apparently have drivers licenses. It is common to see these blind drivers just after a turn arrow has changed from yellow to red. It's amazing that many people in a row, all racing to get through the same light, can't tell that it has become red. I admit, I have done my fair share of "yellow accelerating" to make a light, but when three, four, five cars go through after the light has turned blatantly red, that is getting ridiculous, and dangerous.

I should not have used the "blind person" analogy. Maybe these people are just plain dumb. That couldn't be the case though. I'm pretty sure there is still a test you need to take before getting a drivers license. Perhaps they just feel that where they have to go is a metter of life or death, and that extra minute and a half they save by running the light will make their life that much better. Heck, if I had gotten to the Quik-E-Mart a minute and a half sooner, I would have won that $200 million lottery. If I had been home a minute and a half sooner, I could have watched Ken Jennings answer three extra questions on Jeopardy. What else could be so important to make so many people run so many stop lights.

Now one may think there would be a fairly simple solution to help alleviate this problem. Of course we could never completely get rid of the red light runners, unless we went to that automated camera thing-run a light, a camera takes your plate number, you get a ticket in the mail. Heck, that may get too costly though. We wouldn't want to do that. Perhaps a few well placed men in blue could do as they do for the seat belt checks. One guy watches for someone to run a light and radios ahead to the other officer who pulls him over. But hey, we can only check for seat belt law abusers once or twice a year, so shy would we want to waste any funds to ticket red light runners? Couldn't the city generate a sizable income from issuing tickets to the abusers? Even if it wasn't about the money, I'm sure there is some sort of record somewhere that states how many accidents in this town are caused by these very people. Couldn't the safety of the people of Fort Wayne be enough of a reason for the cops to care and to put out some extra patrols? I would think so. I'm not too sure of that either. Too many times have I seen a car with some red and blue lights on top, sitting with me at a stop light when others are running the light right in front of us, and nothing is done. I'm sure something more important was going on somewhere that they needed to get to. After all, it was about time for Desperate Housewives to start. Sort of reminds me of the old saying, "the blind leading the blind". I guess I should just close my eyes as well.

[sharkmansix]

I hate to say it but this brought a smile to my face.

I'm eager to read the one about mopeds.