Beating The Yellow Light

[meledson]

What do you do if the light is still green and the traffic IS flowing in an intersection? Of course you will cross the intersection or else you will be slapped with a traffic infraction - obstruction. Unfortunately while at the center of the intersection the traffic stopped suddenly. You cannot move forward nor back. The light turns yellow then red. What do you think we should do then?

And to make matters worst an MMDA traffic enforcer approches you.

[deedee]

the fact that the TS already said there are cars waiting in the middle lane should alarm him not to go in the middle of the intersection.its a drivers resposibility not to obstruct traffic.if you see that the lane your turning is slowing down,stop before the solid white line and only cross that line when you have a free lane/space to go thru and cross the intersection.
if you get caught by the yellow light and you are sitting behind the white solid line..then there wouldnt be any law braking and you wouldnt get caught in the middle of the intersection crossing on a yellow light.
people in america do that even when crossing an intersection that has no traffic lights.if the person knows that hell get caught in the middle of the cross road..hell stop as a courtesy to other drivers so he wouldnt block the cross road.

[mbeige]

*Deedee, I think we have yet to determine if the threadstarter was going at a moderately safe speed to cross the intersection safely, if the cars up ahead have stopped or have slowed down, or if the threadstarter already knew there were cars stopped ahead and yet he still pushed through and got stuck with a yellow to red light in the middle of the intersection. However I agree with your ideal principles, because I reside here in the US and know the proper ways. Somehow, when I used those same principles each time I flew back in Manila to visit my wife, they often never work in that maiinis ka lang because people can get their way by breaking the law. Be that as it may I still do my best to follow what's right based on what I've learned here, and just adapt to the adverse conditions we all face back in Manila. Nakakainis lang talaga pero I've found a way to just be flexible and just go with the flow instead.

Secondly, I don't think it's their prerogative to confiscate licenses. Alam ko hindi dapat kunin ang lisensiya, and that's the proper procedure already.

Thirdly, personal opinion ko lang I think they're unfair when dealing with private motorists kasi there are a lot of reckless drivers whose license deserves to be burned and yet these MMDA don't do a thing about them because they can't. I've had my fair share of encounters with these wherein jeeps, buses and trikes were not apprehended at all for doing the same thing. They even tried to confiscate my plate pero sorry sila I have Torx screws holding them in

Finally there's no such thing as beating the yellow light. Obviously it's their way of extorting quick money from you, if you didn't know any better.

JMHO.

[meledson]

2. marami kaming sasakyan na nasa gitna nung nag-yellow. at kaya naman kami inabutan ng yellow kasi nga mabagal ang andar namin

there is no such thing as beating the yellow light and kaya kami inabutan ng yellow light sa gitna ng intersection kasi mabagal mga sasakyan pagtawid.

The light turned yellow while they were at the intersection.

from what I undertood from the TS:
+ traffic light was was green when they entered the intersection.
+ all vehicles are slow moving in crossing the intersection
+ while inside the intersection the light turned yellow

The traffic enforcer asked him why he crossed while the light was yellow. His counter-argument was it was still green when he crossed and it turned yellow while he was still at the intersection.

To make matter worst is that from "beating the yellow light", the citation ticket will contain "beating the red light".

If I remember correctly, if you are caught inside an intersection when the light turns red, your violation is obstruction, not beating the red light.

[deedee]

*mbeige..
you have an advantage since ive never driven in manila before(i was only once when i was 13 yrs old for vacation) so i dont know how the law works there(just know that theres alot of corruption there..lol) but regardless wether the TS had the green light or even the green turning light..he should stay behind the white solid line if the coast isnt clear.thats just asking for a traffic jam.

*meledson....
ill put it in a different scenario but same concept..
there are 5 cars infront of you on a stop light and theres a railroad just before the car infront of you.
light turns green and the cars infront of you starts to move slowly.will you move with the cars knowing that it might stop(since its moving slowly) and you might get caught dead stop in the middle of the railroad track or would you wait for the cars to move until theres enough room for you to go so that even when the traffic suddenly stop..you know youve cleared the railroad track?

[redorange]

The light turned yellow while they were at the intersection.

from what I undertood from the TS:
+ traffic light was was green when they entered the intersection.
+ all vehicles are slow moving in crossing the intersection
+ while inside the intersection the light turned yellow

The traffic enforcer asked him why he crossed while the light was yellow. His counter-argument was it was still green when he crossed and it turned yellow while he was still at the intersection.

To make matter worst is that from "beating the yellow light", the citation ticket will contain "beating the red light".

If I remember correctly, if you are caught inside an intersection when the light turns red, your violation is obstruction, not beating the red light.

If there are still vehicles in the intersection that haven't completely crossed it you should consider stopping and not entering the intersection. Even if the light was green, stop at the intersection and wait for the cars to clear. I think this is what deedee is trying to say. If drivers in the Philippines would follow this instead of trying to get ahead of the other cars on the street then traffic would flow better. But I would agree that there is no such thing as beating the yellow light. Another thing that is only in the Philippines is arguing with the cop regarding your ticket, here they would tell you that you can argue it in court and signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt.

Green=go, Yellow= slow down, Red=stop.

[meledson]

*meledson....
ill put it in a different scenario but same concept..
there are 5 cars infront of you on a stop light and theres a railroad just before the car infront of you.
light turns green and the cars infront of you starts to move slowly.will you move with the cars knowing that it might stop(since its moving slowly) and you might get caught dead stop in the middle of the railroad track or would you wait for the cars to move until theres enough room for you to go so that even when the traffic suddenly stop..you know youve cleared the railroad track?

I have seen people panic while their vehicle is on the track and a train is coming. some people are just too _______. Why are they in that predicament? the traffic moves inch by inch. for some, an inch in traffic is something to fight for.

There hade been a lot of instances that vehicles got hit by trains before. Now I do not think there has been another instance or trains vs road vehicles. The trains have stopped operating. But I think we still have some freight trains operating late at night.

While I was in the US, there is this intersection that there will be some people who will try to "beat the yellow light". There are 2 consective intersections before you reach the start of the hi-way. unless you "try to beat your record in the quarter mile" from the first intersection, by the time you reach the 2nd intersection the light is already turning yellow. I have seen cars start to cross the intersection even though it is yellow because they are travelling at a high rate of speed. The intersection is not even. So if you cross it at a high rate of speed, you can damage your suspension. (psst, i am driving a rental) What I do is to drive relatively slowly so that when I reach that intersection, the light is turning green.

There is an intersection in alabang where in the green light will be lit for about 3 seconds, yellow for a second or less. If you are not on gear when it turns green, the light will be yellow while you are still at the intersection. And you are the first on the line and there is no traffic. The third car will be beating the red light if the first car is slow to move.

[mbeige]

*mbeige..
you have an advantage since ive never driven in manila before(i was only once when i was 13 yrs old for vacation) so i dont know how the law works there(just know that theres alot of corruption there..lol) but regardless wether the TS had the green light or even the green turning light..he should stay behind the white solid line if the coast isnt clear.thats just asking for a traffic jam.

You're right, he should have, in retrospect. Unfortunately, most drivers in Manila aren't trained that way, actually I doubt if majority of those who got a license have proper training. So from there you'll have to understand why people drive like that. I had to undergo the same thinking process - WHY? I guess the answer is there's no basis for reference for anything at all.

For example, that MMDA officer didn't even know there's no such thing as beating the yellow light. Heck, in another thread there was a ticket that stated, "Betting the read light" or something to that effect. Lack of education talaga karamihan ng problem, and many people don't know any better because "everybody else does it"...sucks huh?

By the way, those who flag you down aren't cops/police. I don't know the proper term that governs them but they're definitely not the police.

If you ever think about driving there, I think it's safe to assume you'll just get into an accident, not because you're not good enough, but because people don't follow the "norm". Back there, the norm doesn't exist so you have to always adapt your driving habits to situations that present themselves that's why driving becomes so stressful. If you're armed with that information, then you can fight your way around the city streets, but if you don't or are a new driver, you're in for an adventure...

Regarding that rail crossing scenario you posted, believe me, drivers in Manila would go ahead and just wait on the tracks. Then again if they see that the traffic up ahead started moving I guess that's fine but if it's still a complete stop I think you know what's bound to happen next.