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New Law Will Allow Drivers To Drive On Red Light In Ohio, There's A Catch

Drivers in Ohio will be able to drive into an intersection even if there is a red light in front of them, but with a catch.
Traffic lights with Red light on in intersection 1 photo
Photo: Pexels.com
Instead of running the red light like in Grand Theft Auto, the drivers who want to enter the intersection when the traffic light is red can only do that if they halt at the stop bar in the intersection.

Once an automobile has come to a complete stand-still, its driver can enter the intersection if he or she finds that the traffic light is not operating correctly, but only if they do not see other vehicles approaching from a different direction.

Evidently, if the automobile that was driven into the intersection on a red light gets into a collision, its driver will be at fault. That will be a big responsibility to carry, and it may be worth it to keep stopping at the red light even after the law comes into effect in March.

As 10Tv notes, some drivers are already concerned about the effects this bill will bring to the state. According to a driving instructor named Charlie Allen, the roads are already “full of dangerous drivers already,” and he declared that he does not know if this is “the wisest decision.”

A police officer named James Triplett agreed with him, and completed the statement with the fact that not all drivers seem to acknowledge: “you are taking your life into your hands if you think you can blow through an intersection and not get into a crash.”

Other police officers have expressed concern for the changes in legislation, and they also fear that the new law could “encourage” people to run a red light. This is not the first time when a state allows drivers to drive on a red light, and there’s a good reason for why this has been considered possible.

Many traffic lights in the USA operate using “traffic sensors,” which are built and configured to recognize vehicles, but fail to “see” motorcycles and light cars. Sometimes, those sensors fail altogether, and you may end up sitting alone at a traffic light in the middle of the night for several minutes just because it does not “sense” your vehicle’s presence.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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