Yesterday afternoon I watched three cars blow through a red light on Queens Boulevard at 44th St. These cars were not racing to beat a yellow light. This light had been red long enough for me to cross to the center under the 7 train. I was about to step into the intersection--pushing my stroller--when my lizard brain realized that the oncoming cars were not going to stop. The light was not malfunctioning in any way. The cars just ignored the red light!
I am still shaking. How does this happen?
Friday, October 24, 2008
Red Means Go on Queens Boulevard
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4 comments:
It happens because our brilliant legislators in Albany (e.g. Ivan Lafayette) won't allow red light violation cameras.
Reminds of the old joke about an American businessman on a trip to South America.
Businessman gets in a taxi and directs the driver to take him to the hotel. Driver floors it and goes through a red light. Rider says, "Hey, you went through a red light!" Driver says, "No problemo, senor, my brother, he does this all the time." He goes through another red light and says, "See, senor? no problema, my brother does this all the time."
Then the driver gets to a green light. He slams on the brakes, throwing the rider forward into the front seat. The dazed rider looks up and says, "What the heck was that all about! The light was green!"
The driver then says, "But senor, my brother, he might be coming the other way!"
For many years now I've seen drivers ignore red lights, making right and left turns on red. The bulk of the problem lies with commercial trucks or vans and livery cabs passing through Sunnyside as quickly as possible. Not to mention throwing garbage out the window indiscriminately.
Queens is the Wild West without any romance or charm. It's the Third World borough. Most of the people here never drove until recently and have no regard for the law. Don't despair totally - the country still works outside of NYC.
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