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ThePremiumOrange t1_ivb4m7k wrote

Reply to comment by bananasorcerer in Cambridge City Council to consider citywide ban on ‘turning on red’ by superfakesuperfake

I feel like you don’t really know the meaning of right on red. It’s not, ignore the red light… it’s, if there’s no pedestrian on the right and you have a clear opportunity to make that right turn without interfering with another vehicle’s right of way, you may do so. Safety is built into the meaning. People run reds all the time, people jaywalk all the time, bikers don’t stop at reds. Nothing is safe for anyone

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bananasorcerer t1_ivbi8b0 wrote

Right on red (in my experience) is treated as a right of the driver to make that turn by many. I have more often been killed by a driver in a crosswalk trying to make a right on red then any other traffic maneuver. It often involves drivers whipping around corners, barely stopping in my observation. Not to mention the incessant beeping that drivers farther down the queue make to bully drivers at the front into doing the right in red.

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ThePremiumOrange t1_ivbk9xy wrote

That’s doesn’t change with a no turn on red sign. People do it anyways and often lights are not timed to account for this. We trust drivers to drive 65/70 mph next to each other stacked 4 across on a highway, we’ve been turning right on red here for decades and the rate of accidents isn’t very high from specifically this I would imagine. I pretty much never see right on red drivers not stop or roll down to an incredibly slow roll while checking.

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bananasorcerer t1_ivbmate wrote

That’s fine, but doesn’t change the fact that right on red doesn’t make me feel safe and just because we’ve always done it doesn’t mean we should always do it.

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IntelligentCicada363 t1_ivbxu3q wrote

“I would imagine”

The city provided statistics in their presentation demonstrating reductions in accidents following posting no turn on red signs, and an increase in compliance (not turning into pedestrians) following the signs being posted.

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