Maine's red light rules
Having visited Maine a lot before I could drive myself there, I don't recall their red light rules being any different than those on Massachusetts. When the light's red, you stop, and stay stopped until it turns green. I think that's the rule in most states, or all of them, if you prefer. And it's the same in the foreign countries that use red lights.One Maine driver though either didn't get the message, or Maine really is the way life should be, as its tourism slogan suggests, because up there you apparently don't have to wait for green. I was stopped recently at Truman Highway (or Parkway) and Dana Avenue next to a guy in a white car talking on his cell phone. The light was red. We were waiting. Then, without hesitation, the guy next to me started to go. I looked at the light. Still red. It was red on the other side, too judging by the fact that the oncoming traffic wasn't moving. So, unless this guy, driving a car with Maine plates, misunderstood the point of a red light, I don't know what to say.
I have seen my fair share of red light runners in my day. I can say that I've sped through a couple of yellows on occasion (I may rant about other drivers' bad maneuvers, but I am still human). There were even a few reds that I rolled through at 2 a.m. on country roads. But this was a morning, at an intersection that has a light for the very reason that a lot of bad accidents occur(red) there. This Maine driver's transgression was low on the scale of red light running instances I have seen, but I thought it was unique enough to post. |
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