I did a whoopsie.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 05/26/2016 at 21:00 • Filed to: None

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This happened a couple months ago.

I still don’t get why there are two intersections so close together and the lights aren’t in sync.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Rainbow 05/26/2016 at 21:03

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Too focused on the Ramones are we?

Rainbow > Trunk Impaired 318 05/26/2016 at 21:06

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More like too exhausted after getting up at 4:00AM and having already driven an hour down a slippery back road.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Trunk Impaired 318 05/26/2016 at 21:09

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.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Rainbow 05/26/2016 at 21:10

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It happens, just today I was so hyperfocused on the Sheriff behind me that I almost blew through a red light and only came to a stop just past the stop line. Not good.

Urambo Tauro > Rainbow 05/26/2016 at 22:30

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That’s embarrassing. Kudos for posting it though. Is that a freeway overpass? If this is the kind of intersection that I imagine it is, I think I figured out the signal syncing, but it’s kind of hard to explain via text...

Signals like this are programmed to place a protected left either at the beginning or at the end of each light cycle. Since your left lane serves double-duty, protected lefts are scheduled at the beginning of the cycle. This prevents left-turners from blocking straight-through traffic behind them while waiting for an opening in oncoming traffic.

Luckily, no one was waiting to make such a left here. The signal gave right-of-way to traffic that wasn’t there, which was allowed to turn left or go straight through. The red light you ran does not become a protected left at the same time as them because (I’m making another assumption here) turning left from your position would send you the wrong way down the freeway exit ramp.

Rainbow > Urambo Tauro 05/26/2016 at 22:35

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Close, but I was actually in a left/straight lane. Turning left from where I was would send me back onto the freeway. The road I ended up turning onto runs parallel to the freeway, and they really should have curved it further away for this section. There’s barely room for one car between the two intersections.

Urambo Tauro > Rainbow 05/26/2016 at 22:46

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Ah.

Yeah, there’s a lot of small bridges in the Detroit area that will only let you stack about 3 cars on the overpass. Some allow left turns, some don’t. They seem to be designed on a case-by-case basis. If you’re driving around but are not familiar with the area, you have to be ready for anything. The green light could come sooner (or later) then you might expect.