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Old 08-27-2023, 04:55 PM   #43
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Ditto.

If you are already driving defensively by driving a bit under the speed limit, watching the light, preplanning a go/no go point, for a reasonably normal stop, there isn't much else you can do.

As for dealing with the yahoos that will cut you off, a dash cam will not only document what the idiot did, but it will also document your prudence by showing your speed and so on. There is a reason why so many truckers have dash cams nowadays - to document that they were not at fault.



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Highly suggest a dash cam if you don't already have one.
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:23 PM   #44
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As someone who drives for a living, for over 40 years now... Stale green makes me very nervous. More nervous on highway speed intersections. I always read the intersection up ahead and see see if there are any cars waiting at a the red in cross traffic. If there are none I may push it a little bit, but if there is a lot of traffic I slow to a point where i know I can stop.

Many highway speed intersections in Minnesota have warning lights that flash about 1/4 mile from the intersection that say "Prepare to stop". Those should be the law everywhere on high speed roads.

I also liked the "mexico" video... novel idea that could be programmed into existing lights without any expense if the controls are new enough. I suppose re-educating drivers is the issue there?
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:29 PM   #45
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In Asia and I believe Parts of Europe there is a countdown 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 with the thru traffic light which gives you plenty of time to make the right decision. Have no idea why the US has not adopted this very simple solution, along with quite a few other things we have not adopted that actually work.
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:31 PM   #46
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Highly suggest a dash cam if you don't already have one.
Absolutely!
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:31 PM   #47
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Highly suggest a dash cam if you don't already have one.
I was going to suggest that too! We have a Rove dash cam in our Tiffin and our automobile and I have so many videos of people driving like idiots. Fortunately, none of them have collided with me, but there have been close calls in intersections and big rigs passing over double yellow lines forcing me to slow down and move to the shoulder.
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:34 PM   #48
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I pull an 8000 pound trailer with an F350 diesel SRW. Every time I approach green lights on the highway going about 50-55, I instinctively pucker up because I just know a yellow light will pop up at the do or die moment of indecision.
Was going this morning about 50mph in a 55mph zone when suddenly the light turned yellow at the moment where I would have to hit my brakes hard to stop in time. So....I decided to drive through knowing it would probably turn red right when my truck was crossing the intersection but with plenty of time to clear before he other traffic started but probably technically violating the law.
All of a sudden, and after I committed, the car in the other lane cut right in front of me and hit his brakes hard for the caution light. Because I had already committed, I had to lock them up in order to stop in time.
My question is, how many seconds are your caution lights and do you feel they give you enough time to stop without coming down very strong? Do you feel they should be a little longer or not? How do you safely handle lights on highways?
Thanks
I happen to have the same truck F350 SRW and I pull a 12,000 trailer. If you maintain your trailer brakes adjusted properly a quick stop shouldn’t be a problem. These F350’s have large brakes. With that said there is a recall on Ford brake controllers on these trucks. I usually take my foot off the gas and as I approach the intersection get back on the gas if the light is still green at that point I’m committed.to go through.
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:55 PM   #49
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When approaching a traffic light, I myself or my copilot is watching for the walk/don’t walk signal usually with a countdown to the yellow light. It can give you a good heads up to the traffic lights imminent intent.
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Old 08-27-2023, 05:57 PM   #50
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When I was in Mexico I saw intersections where the green would start to flash just before it switched to yellow. see video at about 20 sec in

If that would be adopted here, it would just be a signal to hit the gas quickly.

I think the lights in our area have a 3 second delay before turning from yellow red and and another 3 seconds before the opposing light turns green. Just watch the number of people who are aware of this and accelerate as the light turns red.
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Old 08-27-2023, 06:10 PM   #51
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30 years ago, I learned a lot during an intensive 2 week class A and trailering class.
1- They tested your reaction speed with a drivers seat setup and dashboard with video. With "right foot" driving, the reaction times to brake were 1 1/4 seconds (guessing now, but close). At 60 mph that's about 100 feet! Although it was discouraged, I use 2 feet gas and brake. Reaction time was far less, something like 1/3 second. That's with "covering" the brake with the left foot as I always do today, when in iffy conditions. It is far safer when combined with no tailgating. Tailgating causes accidents, anxiety and pockmarked windshields.

2- Yellow lights are timed to allow you to come to a stop while the light has already turned red. In order to stop within the yellow light time, it would be a rubber burning stop. You can see what I mean the next time you stop at a light. It will already be red for a few seconds.
3- While slowing or stopping, I take a second to evaluate the traffic ahead, then immediately look in the rear view mirror to see what might happen there.


Just some suggestions from couple of years of experience.
It's getting harder, but try to stay safe.
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Old 08-27-2023, 06:13 PM   #52
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I pull an 8000 pound trailer with an F350 diesel SRW. Every time I approach green lights on the highway going about 50-55, I instinctively pucker up because I just know a yellow light will pop up at the do or die moment of indecision.
Was going this morning about 50mph in a 55mph zone when suddenly the light turned yellow at the moment where I would have to hit my brakes hard to stop in time. So....I decided to drive through knowing it would probably turn red right when my truck was crossing the intersection but with plenty of time to clear before he other traffic started but probably technically violating the law.
All of a sudden, and after I committed, the car in the other lane cut right in front of me and hit his brakes hard for the caution light. Because I had already committed, I had to lock them up in order to stop in time.
My question is, how many seconds are your caution lights and do you feel they give you enough time to stop without coming down very strong? Do you feel they should be a little longer or not? How do you safely handle lights on highways?
Thanks
As long as you have entered the intersection (even just a few inches) while the light is yellow, you are not breaking the law. But you should have sped up to the speed limit, for 2 reasons: 1) there is less chance you won't have entered the intersection after the light turns red, and 2) you would have made it clearer to the guy in the other lane that you weren't stopping at the light.
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Old 08-27-2023, 06:22 PM   #53
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The US should do like Canada, the green light flashes when the caution cycle is near. This helps tremendously for heavy vehicles to reduce speed and safety stop!!! . I drove a semi over the road now I drive a MH towing .
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Old 08-27-2023, 08:53 PM   #54
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My question is, how many seconds are your caution lights and do you feel they give you enough time to stop without coming down very strong? Do you feel they should be a little longer or not? How do you safely handle lights on highways?
Thanks
Here in South Georgia and Florida, we have a countdown timer on the side of the road. When it turns from 1 to 0, the light moves from green to orange.
The timer varies between 10 seconds to 30 seconds.
In addition, in much of florida, there are cameras attached to the signal lights that will catch you is you run the light even by a second.

Be safe

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Old 08-27-2023, 09:48 PM   #55
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You have to be especially aware of your speed if you're going down hill and lower your speed even more. I've seen intersections at the bottom of hills where the black skid marks seem to stretch for 1/8 of mile.
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Old 08-27-2023, 09:48 PM   #56
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In December of last year I sold my Prius. Yes, I'm an old guy who drove a Prius for 11 years. But I got 55mpg! The Prius taught me to drive slower. Also, got a lot of angry middle fingers from other motorists because I was doing the speed limit and that upset them. Unlike when I started driving at 16 in my grandpas 1976 8 cyln. Chevy Malibu. When I was going to college, I was practically on a first name basis with a local motor cop who sat near CSUF and earned his living on kids like me!

So when I started towing a trailer I had learned that slow and steady wins the race. And now that I have 10,000lbs behind me I'm even more cautious. Plus, if I'm going too fast there is a screeching sound that comes out of the passenger seat. Actually, pretty much anything I do causes the passenger seat to screech.

In another career learned defensive driving at the academy and am very cognizant of road conditions several car lengths ahead of me. I'm very wary of stale-green lights. You can often tell upon the approach to an intersection how stale the green is often by the amount of traffic waiting at the red light on the cross street.

On that subject, every jurisdiction can treat red light violations for RV's differently. In most states the officer will have the discretion to stop/ticket, or not. Generally from my experience, we did not ticket large vehicles with trailers (be they RV or commercial trucks), or motor coaches, for red light violations where the offending vehicle was operating at or below the safe speed limit for their length, weight, and road conditions.

Now, if you get pulled over do NOT quote me. My advice is to always drive at a speed that is safe given your length, weight and road conditions. Know what your stopping distance is in all conditions. ALWAYS slow down on the approach of any intersection even if the light is green. I can tell you that the times that I have gone through a red (after college) I wasn't following these rules.
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