conuly | A word to the wise:

THERE IS NO RIGHT ON RED IN NYC.

If you want to make that right turn, save it until you have the light.

Also, the crosswalk is for people to walk. It is not for you to try to gain a few feet so you can move past the light faster. Jerk.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sgatazmy

I had no idea there were places you can't take right on red. This is why I am scared to drive outside my state!

From:

bibliofile

Me neither. For decades, right on red has been allowed in all fifty states (due to federal something, IIRC). The original Mayor Daley in Chicago tried to counteract that and was shut down. I wonder what's changed?

From:

conuly

Well, it's been the law here in NYC for at least as long as I've been alive.

From:

orcofnewyork

Seriously, it's been a law at least since my Dad was a kid in the 50s in Queens. Other municipalities have it too, it's not unique to NYC though it's not as widely used as it is in NYC.

It's a good rule that prevents a lot of accidents.

From:

archersangel

where i'm from you can turn on red, unless there's a sign telling you not to.
and there is often some jerk honking for you to make the turn anyway, but THEY wouldn't be the ones getting the ticket.

From:

conuly

Jerks are gonna be jerks.

From:

wendelah1

Man, I would never drive in New York City. Jay-walking is an art form there. Someone tries that crap in LA, they'll get a ticket so fast. People can be ticketed here, even if the light is green and they're in a crosswalk, if they enter the intersection after the counter starts. $250 a pop, last I heard. On the other hand, a driver is not allowed to begin a turn as long any pedestrian is in the crosswalk. Pedestrians always have the right of way.

From:

conuly

Roads are supposed to belong to people, not to cars.

From:

wendelah1

Cars are (still) being driven by people. Sidewalks belong to pedestrians. Roads have to be shared by: people driving cars, trucks, and buses; people riding bikes and motorbikes; and pedestrians. Because of the traffic hazards of cities, pedestrians must be given the right of way--and drivers must be held accountable for failing to drive safely.

From:

conuly

American roads are not, by and large, built to be shared. This is wrong.

From:

wendelah1

Yes. Absolutely. They're trying some different things to improve pedestrian safety here and in other cities, too. One approach is for all four directions of traffic to stop at once--with no turns whatsoever--which allows pedestrians to cross in all directions, including diagonally. They're putting in pedestrian crossings in the middle of long blocks that are activated by the walker. There are flashers to remind cars to slow for pedestrians. We have designated bike lanes, too, though I rarely see bikers in them.

The goal is to make walking and biking a safe experience, to reduce the number of accidents to zero. It's a start.

From:

conuly

Sorry, I have so many conversations that wind down to "two legs good, four wheels BETTER" that my willingness to engage at all is down to zilch. I am just a little trigger happy on this subject, which is why I was so terse with you. Undeservedly, it seems :)

From:

archersangel

On the other hand, a driver is not allowed to begin a turn as long any pedestrian is in the crosswalk.

i went to LA with my brother once & some woman started making her turn when we were about 1/3 of the way through the crosswalk. either she didn't get the memo on that, or she was an out-of-towner too.

From:

wendelah1

And if an LA cop had witnessed that misdeed, the driver could have been ticketed. Been there, been stopped, and paid the resulting fine.

There are people who break the laws everywhere. Sometimes they're careless. Sometimes they're distracted. People are people. (I'm kind of looking forward to self-driving cars. We will all be safer.) But mass jaywalking is endemic to NYC and it is never ticketed. It's normal pedestrian behavior. I was shocked the first time I witnessed it. That's why I would not try to drive in NYC. You can't legally turn on a red light and since there are always pedestrians in the crosswalks (and the middle of the street!), whether they have the light in their favor or not, making a turn is a challenge. I stick to the buses and subways when I visit.

From:

peristaltor

It's hit-and-miss out here. In Seattle, big signs with pedestrian images warn drivers to YIELD.

Cross Lake Washington, about a mile away, though, and the cops treat peds like a plague unto "real" traffic. Same big images, but with the warning, CROSSWALK LAWS STRICTLY ENFORCED. So, stay out of traffic, you dumb Jays.

And this link round-up is the best yet! ONLY ONE, the one about insects. The rest is a blank page. :-)

Getting interesting, what ad blocking is doing.

From:

conuly

LOL! Maybe you can "view source", see the URLs that way?

From:

conuly

Though I'm not certain AdBlock *is* the issue. I just opened "blockable items" in my own AdBlock - which is not disabled on this page - and the Bitly links aren't showing up as blockable. Do you have a different one you're using for the same effect?

From:

monanotlisa

Oh, man, that Beluga story! I hope the dolphins like the beluga...

From:

conuly

Yes!

From:

kengr

The "Cool Roofs" link goes to the "cat behavior explained" page

From:

conuly

Fixing, thanks: http://bit.ly/2yEUbQZ

From:

kengr

Interesting. Tie this in with a recent story about the effects of using YInMn blue to paint roofs (it reflects a *lot* of IR) and things are looking good.

From:

wendelah1

I loved the cat behavior explained page.

From:

shadowkat

THERE IS NO RIGHT ON RED IN NYC.

If you want to make that right turn, save it until you have the light.

Also, the crosswalk is for people to walk. It is not for you to try to gain a few feet so you can move past the light faster. Jerk.

Thank you! Exactly.

Also please, people, do not ride bikes on the sidewalk.

My favorite was a 85 year old woman, five feet tall with a walker, making her way across the cross-walk, and a truck trying to turn right into her. She stops, glares at him and pops him the finger. I seriously wish I got the picture of that.

From:

conuly

Also please, people, do not ride bikes on the sidewalk.

Unless you're, like, six. Then you're not people, you're children.

From:

shadowkat

Yep, I'm thinking of people over the age of thirteen. ;-) There's this one kid whose at least fifteen, who feels the need to ride his bike on the sidewalk every morning at 6:45 am, when I'm trying to walk down the sidewalk to work.

Haven't seen any little kids on the sidewalks with bikes lately.

From:

kengr

Oh, the cross walk thing? Many years back I saw some jerk how'd stopped at the far line for the crosswalk (thus blocking it).

A bunch of teenagers didn't let that stop them. They hopped up and walked across his hood!

He was shouting at them at them but they just gave him the finger.

As for right turns, this one wasn't on red but...
When I was taking a driving class (in my 40s) the instructor and I were absolutely dumbfounded. We were in the curb lane, and some guy in the next lane over *turned in front of us* when the light changed. Note that this was a turn onto a 2 lane street so it wasn't at all legal.

The instructor and I just stared, and I was glad I'd hesitated a bit before starting *my* turn or he'd have turned into me!

From:

conuly

A bunch of teenagers didn't let that stop them. They hopped up and walked across his hood!

Good for them. It'd be better if the last one had rolled across, all badass like in the movies.