Use this for questions involving vehicles and/or pedestrians on roadways. Also consider whether any of the following tags are more appropriate: speeding, driving, transportation
Questions tagged [traffic]
376 questions
47
votes
5 answers
If a signal person in California tells me to kill someone, do I have to do so?
According to California sample written driving test (problem 6):
You see a signal person at a road construction site ahead. You should obey his or her instructions:
A. Only if you see orange cones on the road ahead.
B. Unless they conflict with…
user8667
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28
votes
12 answers
In Europe, are you allowed to enter an intersection on red light in order to allow emergency vehicles to pass?
I've seen a video where cars are stopped at a red light, when an emergency vehicle approaches from behind with sirens on. Emergency vehicle picks the lane with the least traffic, which only has one car in it. Since the car is stopped at the stop…
Tamius Han
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27
votes
1 answer
Is it legal for a long truck to shut down traffic?
I was killing time on YouTube the other day, and came across a video of a shipping company moving a very long girder to a construction site. There were several points in the move that they had to block all traffic through an intersection (with one…
HiddenWindshield
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26
votes
6 answers
How do free-speech protections in the United States apply in public to corporate misrepresentations?
Last night, I was driving behind a truck that had a very official-looking sign like this:
(Sign says, "WARNING STAY BACK 200 FT. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BROKEN WINDSHIELDS!")
Some cursory Googling brought me to this page from an attorney (who is…
Bruce Kirkpatrick
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24
votes
6 answers
Why is the defendant presumed guilty in traffic court?
This article says, "When it's your word against the police officer's [regarding a failure to stop at a stop sign], the person with the badge usually wins." It seems like the officer should have to present at least some kind of evidence that the…
tlewis3348
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20
votes
3 answers
Is it legal for a group of drivers to completely "fill" a roundabout?
Suppose a group of drivers want to block all regular use of a particular roundabout, so they all just start driving in it in circles. Once they're all in, the roundabout is useless, because there are no car-length gaps between them. Are they doing…
Someone
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20
votes
5 answers
Can a married couple be charged with a traffic infraction?
In the state of Washington USA, my daughter and son-in-law were joint recipients of a red light camera ticket. The law clearly states that the "operator of the motor vehicle" is responsible for the fine, so it would seem to me that the burden of…
Michael Hall
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16
votes
1 answer
Algorithm generated fines
In the UK, there was recently a case in the press about a driver that was issued a fine for driving in a bus lane. The photograph the Local Authority supplied as "evidence" was of someone wearing an item of clothing with wording that was similar to…
Lefty
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16
votes
6 answers
Is there a general duty to avoid creating unsafe situations when driving (Belgium)?
As I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong), in aviation and in maritime traffic, there is an overriding obligation to operate safely and avoid accidents/damage. E.g.:
Alice and Bob are both cargo ship captains. Alice is bringing her…
Drubbels
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16
votes
2 answers
In the United States, do pedestrians always have right of way?
There appear to be three types of pedestrian crossings in the United States:
Marked: an "official" crosswalk with some sort of markings or indication that it exists.
Unmarked: According to wikipedia, "Unmarked crosswalks generally exist as the…
dakota
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16
votes
1 answer
Can a district attorney dismiss their own traffic ticket?
Recently in the local news, I watched the body camera footage of the Monroe County NY District Attorney getting a traffic ticket. During the video she exclaims to go ahead and write the ticket because she is the one that prosecutes it (I presumed…
rtaft
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14
votes
5 answers
If someone removes a speed limit sign, can one still be ticketed for driving over the limit?
Say a truck driver were to plow into a speed limit sign, rendering it completely unreadable, and further completely unidentifiable as a speed limit sign. It just so happens that this same sign is the first sign indicating a drop to a lower speed…
TheEnvironmentalist
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13
votes
2 answers
Do you have to obey English-only traffic signs in Toronto?
Canada is bilingual, yet some major metros like the Greater Toronto Area have all of their traffic signs in English only, without a French duplicate.
Is this legal or not? Do you have to respect such signs, e.g. no turn Mon-Fri, or are they…
cnst
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12
votes
1 answer
Is a US (New York) police officer allowed to take your keys at a traffic stop?
So I was browsing Reddit earlier and came across this video of someone on a motorcycle lane splitting in New York (which is illegal there), when a police officer swerved into the path of the rider to stop them and pull them over. But before the…
MindSwipe
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12
votes
6 answers
Can you get into trouble for driving after somebody spiked your drink?
Hypothetical:
Some ladies go on a night-on-the-town. One of the ladies is the sober driver and only drinks coke at the bar.
The sober driver had her drink spiked and as the party leaves she drives everyone back home. Somehow she escapes assault but…
Neil Meyer
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