Opinion : Motorists are supposed to stop at a RED traffic light!

Once again Friday is here and the weekend has arrived. After a punishing week at work I could not wait to get home for a well deserved rest.

Driving home on Friday evening it seems that others were also keen to get home quickly this weekend.

Your humble servant was crawling along the road in a dreadful traffic jam when the traffic lights in front turned red.

I could not believe my eyes when the car in front jumped a red light and the driver carried on regardless.

By George! I exclaimed upon seeing the driver blatantly pass through a light that had well and truly turned to danger.

This isn’t the first time that my good self has seen such a thing happen indeed at some junctions, such as the Green Street crossroads, this sort of thing happens quite frequently.

Sadly it seems that nothing is likely to happen to anyone who drives through a red light in Wycombe as this sort of thing is simply not enforced.

In some towns they have traffic light cameras at busy junctions to specifically catch those who pass a red light however such technology has not made it’s way to High Wycombe yet.

We’ve got speed cameras so why cant we have some traffic light cameras too?

I would suggest that they are installed at the Green Street crossroads with Oakridge Road, at the junction of Queen Victoria Road and the High Street as well as at the set of lights at the junction of Totteridge Road and Bowerdean Road.

Jumping red lights can be very dangerous, especially if the driver goes through at speed and several seconds after the lights have gone red.

We hear so much about not drinking and driving also driving while talking on a portable telephone, however very little is mentioned about jumping red traffic lights which is especially dangerous.

Drivers who pass through a light several seconds after they have changed to red should, in my opinion, be banned from driving for life.

Then of course there are those who pull away and pass lights when they turn from red to red/amber. The Highway Code clearly states that red and amber means stop and motorists should not pass the lights until green is showing.

If only more resources were put into road safety by installing some traffic lights cameras in the High Wycombe area. Sadly I fear it’s unlikely to happen.

Oh well, I shall continue to stop when the lights turn to red even if others continue on their way and risk the safety of others.

What do you think?

*My blogs are published every Tuesday and Friday evening around 8.00pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.

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