jesydney

Found this on facebook
<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1635639216713374&amp;id=1 635634160047213&amp;substory_index=0" data-width="500"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1635639216713374&amp;id=1 635634160047213&amp;substory_index=0"><p>As you can see from the photo, the Yellow Light duration is on 3.9 sec. The Police, Roads authority and the Government...</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aus-Red-Light-4-sec/1635634160047213">Aus Red Light 4 sec</a> on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1635639216713374&amp;id=1 635634160047213&amp;substory_index=0">Saturday, 1 August 2015</a></blockquote></div></div>

jbt56

That actually sounds pretty reasonable for the road speed limit. Here in the US, it would be a 30 MPH (50 kph = 31.07 MPH) road.
An important question is how fast average traffic goes. Often here, the majority of traffic will be moving at 5-10 MPH over the limit, negating the engineering of the yellow light time. We suffer with many 'political speed limits', which are set below actual driven speeds.

Carsy

You got done son fair & square. Best to stop winging & look out for pedestrians & motor cyclists.

jesydney

Maybe US drivers and Carsy have faster reaction times.

Yellow light turns on, studies have shown that it takes aproximately 3 sec for a normal person (depending on age) to react. So you have 0.9 sec to access the situation and stomp on the brakes. If you look in the rear view mirror that is 1 sec gone, then another 1sec making a decision to stomp on brakes. Thats gone past the 4 sec from yellow to red light.

When traffic, I have seen slower reaction times. For example when somebody pulls out of the curb parking into traffic and the person immediately behing the person pulling out takes more than 5 sec to step on the brakes, almost hitting the person pulling out.

95Sinned420

Anyone who takes 5 seconds to react to a road hazard/condition should not be driving. It takes less than a second to see a car pulling out, takes less than a second to react.

All yellow lights give ample time for any driver within speed limits to stop in time. If you couldn't stop in time, you are either speeding or distracted and did not see the yellow light in time to react.

jbt56

I agree with your first statement, but would qualify your second. Yellow light timing SHOULD give plenty of time to safely stop for a given road, based on the 85th percentile speed driven on that road. Often, yellows are too short by being based on the posted limit (often rightfully ignored), or on purpose (generally when cameras are present, to boost revenues). Numerous studies have shown that increasing yellow times by 0.5 to 1.0 seconds reduces red-light running by 90% or more immediately, negating the need for cameras. Unfortunately for us, that doesn't make the municipalities money. Some cities have even been caught shortening yellows for the cameras, so they'll 'bust' more people.

C300Sport

Have to agree with you there. I think times being suggested are a touch inflated to support a defense theory.

Carsy

It all comes down to speed, anticipation & defensively driving to the conditions . No hard feelings JES.

mullat

Delet.

Tirgoman

Not sure about Aussieland but in the US you are guilty of running the red light if you have not crossed the stop line ( the white line that is painted on the road ) before the light turns red. That means that if you past the stop line then yes you are in the intersection and the light is red but no ticket.. Or putting it another way, if the light is red and you have not crossed the stop line you are guilty. The yellow should be timed so that a car can pass through the intersection from the stop line to clear the intersection during the yellow period. At that point the green for the cross traffic comes on. That way there is a little cushion before some hits someone. Of course if you're calculating the response time take into account a couple of milliseconds for your brain to ask "yes the light is yellow but can I get across the stop line before it turns red?" I've heard a lot about being rear-ended but that is the fault of the following driver, they should not be that close that they don't have enough time to react and also should be looking ahead on the road to anticipate the light change and traffic conditions. Actually after seeing some really bad accidents caused by red light runners I've actually started pausing and watching cross traffic if I'm the first car at a red light so that I don't end up being hit by a red light runner in the cross traffic. More and more people don't believe the law applies to them and they're so important that they can try to run a "real red light".