OPEN DISCUSSION #12: "what does an unprotected light mean?"

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Protected and unprotected lefts revisited: theory ...":

I was in an accident in SanFrancisco recently; the driver of the other car reported that he was going straight at an unprotected light; what does an unprotected light mean?

Posted by Anonymous to L.A. traffic sucks: Let's fix it! at 9:10 AM

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When you come to an intersection, you have three options:
1. Go straight
2. Turn right
3. Turn left

But if it's a 4-way intersection, there are cars that also want to do the same thing (go straight, turn right, turn left) at the three other corners. What do you do? The only way to keep traffic from becoming a big mess is by regulating who goes first.

How do you do that?

With a...

1. Traffic light
2. Stop sign (4-way)

A traffic light regulates traffic by PROTECTING YOUR RIGHT OF WAY:

1. Green: Go! Your right of way to go in this direction is protected by the green light.
2. Yellow: Caution! Be ready to stop! (NOT in L.A., though! In L.A. a yellow light means, "GO AS FAST AS YOU CAN BEFORE IT TURNS TO RED!! TAKE NO PRISONERS!")
3. Red: Stop!

At some intersections, it's possible or not possible to turn right or left for some reason. When the light turns green, it usually means that traffic can flow STRAIGHT on the same street in both PARALLEL directions. Because traffic is flowing in one direction (say, north-south at a particular intersection), that means that traffic perpendicular to it (east-west traffic) is blocked by a red light. So if you have a green light, you can go straight, and--in MOST states--you can turn right (Unless there is a "NO RIGHT TURN ON A RED LIGHT" sign at that intersection).

How then do you turn left?

At most intersections in L.A. you have to wait for the traffic flowing in the opposite direction on the same street you're on to stop before you can make a left. THIS IS CALLED AN UNPROTECTED LEFT TURN.

WHY?

Because your right of way is NOT "protected" by a GREEN ARROW light. If there is NO GREEN ARROW LIGHT at an intersection that means that you can make a left turn ONLY on a UNPROTECTED turn. That is, you HAVE TO WAIT until the traffic flowing in the opposite diection to yours on the same street STOPS or slows down enough for you to have a chance to make a left turn.

If you have stopped at a RED LIGHT and you need to make a RIGHT turn, and in your state making a right turn at a red light is legal, then I think this is also an UNPROTECTED turn. Because your don't have the right of way here. Traffic coming perpendicular to you does! So if you want to turn right on a red light, you must wait until traffic coming perpendicular to you stops or slows down to give you a chance to make an UNPROTECTED right turn at a red light.

So, as far as I know, an "unprotected light" means turning left or right without having the right of way but allowed on the condition that you use caution and wait for traffic to stop or slow down before making a turn.

I have never heard of "going straight at an unprotected light". Unless he means that he was "running a yellow light". Or unless he means that he was "running a red light"!

As far as I know, the ONLY WAY you can go "straight at an unprotected light" is by "running a red light"!

As I explained above, the ONLY TWO "unprotected" directions you can go are LEFT or RIGHT. How can you possibly go "straight at an unprotected light"?

Perhaps he means a YELLOW light. Perhaps the ONLY light you can go straight on an "unprotected" light is the YELLOW light. In L.A. NO ONE respects this --that's why "unprotected lefts" are so difficult to make there-- but, technically, when the light turns YELLOW you're supposed to slow down and be ready to come to a stop before the intersection. So, technically, if you go straight on a yellow light, you're really going "straight on an unprotected light"? The YELLOW light means "caution, get ready to stop!", so if you go straight, you're actually going "unprotected" because you don't really have the right of way anymore (except in L.A.! In L.A. YELLOW means "GREEN" to most people!).

One of the Newsmagazines (20/20, Dateline NBC, 48 Hours...) had a report about all the terrible accidents that have happened because of people "running a yellow light." I'm really amazed that there are not more accidents in L.A. because of this. I think the reason there aren't is that motorists making a left have become resigned to waiting and making sure that ALL cars have come to a stop before making a left turn on an unprotected light. If they thought,"Okay, light's turned yellow, those guys must slow down and come to a stop right now! It's my turn to go! I have the right of way!" I'm sure there would be millions more accidents in L.A.

I don't know the details of your accident. If you were "making an unprotected left turn" and he was "running a yellow light," then I really don't know who's at fault. Perhaps you both were. If the light was turning yellow when he decided to go straight, he should have slowed down and come to a stop. If you were trying to make a left at an unprotected light (NO green left arrow), you should have WAITED until ALL cars came to a stop or traffic slowed down enought to give you a good chance to make a turn.

In such situations, the best thing is to drive defensively, not aggressively: WAIT. BE PATIENT. WHENEVER YOU ARE AT AN INTERSECTION MAKING A TURN, USE CAUTION. If you were both aggressive and impatient, then an accident is the result.

Does that answer your question?

Hope that helped clarify things a bit...