[Chris22]

What is it with both sides of the road getting a green light at the same time

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Chris22

What is it with both sides of the road getting a green light at the same time

That should not be possible. A box called a "conflict monitor" is supposed to switch the intersection into flash mode if cross-traffic recieves a green ball. If it happens, and you can prove it- the county is negiligent and can be sued if an accident occurs. Be advised, it is almost impossible to get that condition. I worked with traffic signals for a few years and am a collector of them as well. Definately report that intersection to your local public works department.

[Chris22]

they all seem to be like that here in ocala wife was in an accident today because of it and the other driver not paying attention, but my wife having a maine license and the other ady being a church lady they blamed my wife and gave a 120 citation

This is how it is

its a 4 way intersection of course wife was at the bottom area at a red light, it turned green the car in front of her turned left almost hittign a guy walking i nthe crosswalk, wife pulls out sstopping for the crosswalk guy lady came out of the road across the road goign to cross the road smacks my wife i nthe passangers side scrapes up the lengh from froont door to back

which i had a picture would explain better

both sides are green side my wife was c omming out you can go on the other side you can come out and go straight or right, very suprised there aint mroe accidents because of it

citation was for turning left into oncomming traffic

heres a picture

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

WOW, I hope your wife is OK!

You can not tell me that the other drive could not see your wife either! Oh, your wife's car was in inviable mode, wasn't it?!?!

These drivers scare the living tar out of me, I feel like I am driving in Jersey, NYC or a DC metro at times! LOL

[riveree]

Sorry that happened, I hope everyone was alright.

If I understand it correctly...

If your wife had a green light and was turning left and the car that hit her was straight across the intersection and intended to go straight through the green light (essentially going straight the whole time), then your wife had to yield to the car that ultimately hit her.

If you're going to turn left through a green light, unless you have an arrow, you are not supposed to pull out into the center of the intersection until you have a clear line of sight and can see that you have the open space to make the left...it sounds like maybe your wife had pulled out into the intersection prematurely and then got stuck behind the car in front of her.

Take it slow.....the road rules are definitely different here in FL - it can take a little while to catch on. Look out for the illegal U-Turns too....that's a Florida favorite and a big pet peeve of mine .

[Chris22]

yeah tell me bout it, wife got few bruises but shook up quite a bit

i dont understand why they have 2 greens at the same time for cars that would be going the same direction. When we was here on vacation back in Feb i always complained about the lights lol. Im just glad the kids wasnt with her, or i wasnt driving her to work with the kids, it could of been alot worse.

Think i hate is the cops believed the other lady even though the guy i nthe crosswalk said the ame thing my wife told them. Dont know if it was a race thing or not but the original marion county cop was black as well as the other lady that hit my wife.

[Chris22]

no the other drive wasnt even at the green light yet, when my wife pulled out, the eye witness said that the other person was going 20-30
she had to stop once she got out there for the guy still corssing i nthe crosswalk, and the van came out through the light and ran into her
and there wasnt an arrow light it was just straight green on both sides

[riveree]

It might be that it is an older intersection, or a smaller intersection, so there are no dedicated left turning lanes with arrows.

I know what your saying, and for all we know, it could have been a game of chicken and that driver thought your wife would move or something, or maybe they really couldn't see her (though if it was a van, they were probably high enough to see around the other cars).

In the end though, I think it's one of those things where it boils down to who was turning left and who was going straight.

You might be able to fight the ticket and that could help with your insurance. If you haven't yet done so, maybe go back out the site and take some pictures now in case you decide to pursue that option later.

You do need to be careful driving in Florida. There are a lot of uninsured drivers on the road, a lot of drunk drivers on the road and there are also a lot of armed drivers on the road (it's so easy to get guns here). Buy the safest car you can afford and expect the unexpected.

[Chris22]

yep very careless drives around here, everyone has the pedal right to the caret whereever they go, weaving in and outta lanes to get by people

almost wish i was a cop cleaning up bad drivers would be a big thing with me