Have you ever intentionally run a red light, and why?

I have twice, but it would have been far worse if I had stopped.
Very icy road and the light was changing I tried stopping just to notice one trailer going one way and the other headed for the opposite direction, very little traffic and had time before traffic was going to enter the intersection so just hit the throttle to straighten it out and kept going.

Good call SQUEEKY! Yes, you gotta do what you gotta do, and hope everyone is paying attention.

I’ve run red lights a couple of times. One, I was rushing my daughter in to Wichita. She was in labor. I could have done the speed limit and gotten there just fine, and in plenty of time, but I knew I had a free pass to speed and run lights! It usually takes 45 minutes to get to the hospital we were going to, I made it in 25. It was the middle of the night.

At one point my daughter said, “That cop is turning around.”
I said, “What cop?”
She said, “The one you blew past in Derby!” The speed limit is 30. I slowed down to 60 to go through town.
So he pulled me over. It became obvious why I was speeding, and Jen put on a great performance.
I said, “But I did slow down at all the red lights before I ran them.”
He said, ‘Do you want me to call an ambulance?”
I said, “No! This is fun!”
He just waved us on.
He actually got to the hospital before we did, because he was waiting behind a pillar when we got there. He stepped out, I saw him and threw him a grin and he grinned back.
However, he cheated, I’m sure. Lights and sirens and all I had was a pregnant woman.

I forgot something sitting outside of my storage unit and I didn’t want it to get stolen so I ran a red light on my way back, after I made sure there weren’t any cars coming, of course.

Both times when my wife’s water broke. Because of her heart condition both pregnancies were high risk and I was not going to waste a second getting her to the hospital.

Yes. It stayed red for what felt like ages. The line behind me was all the way around the corner. It seemed like it would never change. I thought it was broken. I ran it. About 30 seconds later it turned green. I hate stoplights.

I have on occasion when there was no other traffic on the street and I had great visibility (for cops).

I remember someone (European I think) making fun of Americans stopping at red lights when there was no other traffic. It was here or Askville. I wasn’t sure if they were ‘funnin’ us or not.

Any other countries or regions here that care to chime in? (I think everyone represented so far is North American?)

If so, @ibstubro, then a person in my country would make fun of Europeans stopping at red light when there was no cop, if they could ever access Askville. There was even a time when I was waiting near the red light when a person behind me told me to move. I thought he needed sone more space so I did. Just after I moved he rode onto the pavement and passed the traffic light. Clever!

I am guilty of running the red light a couple of time, but mainly because I was in a hurry. I have to be careful if I want to run the red light, because I can’t predict when someone go on racing mode and run right toward me.

Do you stop if the light is red and you’re the only car at the intersection, @Mimishu1995?

@ibstubro I have never been the only one on the road, but if I was I think I would just go. And I meant people here don’t just run because there is no traffic, they run because there is no one to punish them for that.

That’s scary, @Mimishu1995. I couldn’t tell if you were serious or not.
Better not tell @SQUEEKY2.

Yes. There’s one in the neighborhood I grew up in. It’s on a side road in nowheresville. It will only change if there are two cars waiting for the light.

When it’s 3am, you can wait for a half hour and it will not change.

Unfortunately, the cops also know this, so when you take that road it’s always a gamble as to whether or not someone will be laying in wait to give you a ticket.

Honestly, I don’t know why the damned red lights have to be so stupid, and run 24/7. Aren’t there hours of the day that a lot of the lights could he a 4-way flashing red? Or red one direction yellow another?

Anyone that’s lived in a small town can tell you how maddening it can be to drive through town at night, literally be the only car on the street, and have to stop 3–4 times in a 12 block radius. I live near a little town that rolls the sidewalks up downtown at 6 p.m. and there are 5 stop lights in a 10 block stretch of Broadway that never shut off. Yes, you can drive that 10 blocks at 3 a.m., never see another soul, and have to stop 5 times.

Yes, in snow or bad rain, when stepping on the brake would have meant possibly skidding. I did it only when I was sure that nothing was coming in the opposite direction.

I did in Oakland CA a few months ago, at 4:15 in the morning. It was stuck. Even though I was over the sensor, the left turn light wouldn’t come on. There was no traffic in any direction for about five minutes, so I finally just said to myself “screw it” and turned.

As it was, I almost missed my train and would have been late for work.

I had my chauffeur call in a police escort one time, I was late for a dental appointment.
So yeah, they shot right through & I made up the time, jolly good show.

Yes. I was in Northern Virginia at 2am and the traffic light cycle at some intersections is ridiculously long. A cop was next to me in his car waiting also, and I saw him wave, seemingly saying go through the light, and then he ran the red, and I followed suit.

There must be other times, but I don’t remember any others specifically.

Intentionally, only once that I can remember. There is an intersection of two two-lane blacktops in the flat, deserted arctic tundra between Gällivare and Kiruna, Sweden. It was a bright, cold day and visibility was about 12 miles in all directions. Not a soul in site. I didn’t want to re-set my cruise control and I wanted to get to civilization by nightfall. I blew through cruising at about 90 miles an hour. I figure the Swedes put the light there in case of inclement weather when you really wouldn’t be able to see the intersection and any trucks on the highway.

@JLeslie , that is funny. I have had the very same thing happen to me, except my cop just gave a straight-faced nod. I went on, after he did. No big deal.

I know a town so small there are no lights at all. There is one through street, There are a few short side streets with a scatter of stop signs. I doubt anyone even would notice if those should disappear. They all know when/where to stop. The old, rusty signs probably don’t even get a glance. They are so old, some are on posts only two feet tall. When the wood rots, and the sign falls, someone just nails it back to whatever is left.

2–3 times in the past year I’ve been behind cars that were so far back from the intersection they would never trigger the sensor. I had to pull around them for anyone to ever go anywhere. Another time I can think of, I put my car in park, got out, and ran up to tell the people we’d never go if they didn’t pull up. The person behind me waved as I got back in my car.

Oh yeah. People clueless about the sensor can be very frustrating. Luckily, that hasn’t happened often.

Gads. I hate waiting and waiting at a left turn signal. It finally turns green…and some moron in front, who isn’t paying attention waits too long to git. Moron always just makes the green, while everyone behind him gets to stop and wait again.

Oh, yes. I haven’t run many red lights, but I’ve certainly done so several times. Why? Because I was being a jerk. I like to hope I’m not that sort of person, but who doesn’t have bad moments?

Yes.

* When for various reasons, it would be very sudden to stop in time, and would be disruptive or possibly dangerous, and there was no cross traffic.

* When there is clearly no one anywhere in sight (e.g. in the middle of the night).

* In other countries where the other drivers were routinely ignoring practically every traffic indicator.

Yes, when it was obvious the light was malfunctioning and there was no one else around. Otherwise, no.

Once, because all the intersections lights were red. 5 minutes pass, and none of them are green. So at that point, I blew through it.
Once more, when a drunk hit me and i chased him.
(Yes, his insurance investigator lectured me on the dangers of chasing, and saying I never should chase. Right before he handed me a check for $7000)