You said — There are very bad accidents at lights. They are the dreaded T-bones which are usually caused by distracted or impaired drivers blowing through red lights they did not see, not someone sneaking through a stale amber light or someone lawfully completing a left turn when traffic clears after the light has changed. I don’t see how the red light cameras can fix stupid.
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It’s so easy to be distracted while driving. I know that’s true as I’ve been distracted. I don’t even like the radio on, I don’t talk on the phone while driving; I’ll pull over. I cut short any conversations with people in the car and try to ignore someone trying to talk to me. I do want to keep good concentration on the road and traffic, as I know how easy it is to become distracted for a few seconds and those few seconds is enough to get you in a wreck.
However, I hate to say it, but even without any external distractions, one’s own mind can wander and/or be occupied with some thing that you’re thinking about and you can blow right through a red light. I’ve done it before, just on the basis of some thoughts in my head. And that’s scary. So, I try to keep up my thoughts to the road only, when I’m driving.
It’s not just stupid people, but simply being distracted for a variety of reasons for just a couple of seconds that can do it.
And you’re right about how easy it is for people to get nailed at red/green lights and someone running the red. I usually make it a practice to not go through the intersection when it turns green, until I look both ways, and if it is already green, I’m looking both ways, too, as far ahead as I can see each way. I know that people can come running through and I’ve avoided being smacked on several occasions by simply waiting when I saw someone coming and they ran a red light by over two seconds or more after turning red.
So, if the iPhone warns people about an intersection that is dangerous, I think that’s a good safety measure...
I'm not against iPhones but the red light cameras and the Revenue Enhancement Technicians who think that they are a good idea.
It does occur to me that iPhones could themselves be a distraction, but I would be more inclined to blame the cameras than anyone who used them to avoid paying excess taxes for the accidents they might cause.