this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2025
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As someone who had their life ruined by a speeding driver who ignored a red light, fuck anyone who speeds.
Fuck people that run reds. As a speeder, even I can agree with you on that. I'm so sorry for what happened to you, no one deserves to be put through that.
The thing with speeding is that you will end up running more reds and yellows just due to the stopping distance. Not every light has the same yellow period. The grading, speed and design of the road factor in. If you are doing 60 in a 40 zone, there is a very good chance you wont be able to stop in time for the yellow.
This is just 1 of the increased risks speeding brings to our roadways.
I'm not sure if it's the same in other parts of the world but in the US the first of the pair of arrows before an intersection are a good indicator of if you can pass through before the light turns red. There are sometimes intersections that don't have arrows or where they're not distanced for that, but the majority are like this, I've seen.
But also more generally, as long as you are going a consistent speed and the light is actually yellow at all when you last see it it should be safe. Speeding up to make it through is a disaster waiting to happen.
I have NEVER gone through a red, and yet I routinely substantially speed. There's no excuse for running reds. If your reaction time is too shitty to stop quick enough, drive slower. But some of us have very fast reaction times indeed.
Have you ever decided you were going too fast to stop for a yellow while speeding?
Running a red ≠ going through a yellow. The latter is legal – that's the whole point of a yellow, to give warning for folks who are a bit too late to stop.
Being a bit too late to stop is different from speeding and being unable to stop. The yellow is there to account for heavier vehicles, hazardous road conditons, and a little bit of driver distraction. Its all still timed around the limit of the road. If people are routinely speeding, they are pushing the safety margin of that yellow to its limit.