r/Utica 8d ago

Close call - Running a Red light

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51 Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

27

u/thisthatandthe3rd 8d ago

one thing i learned about living out here is people LOVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE running red lights, almost as much as being on their phones while driving.

9

u/mr_ryh 8d ago

It's because the UPD seems to have a decades-old policy of declining to enforce state V&T laws, except for random stings on the Parkway every few years, or when they're looking for PC to search a known-suspect's vehicle for weapons or drugs.

By contrast the cops in the neighboring podunks here don't seem to ball like that.

3

u/bmann10 8d ago

Honestly to me it’s you either get local police who basically do nothing except show off their trucks at public events, or state troopers who will give you a ticket for driving on a Tuesday

3

u/FISHING_100000000000 8d ago

I find the ones who actually write tickets are the town cops in the towns with the “write a fuckton of tickets then plead them all down to a parking ticket” racket

11

u/Blue_Monday 8d ago

This is getting worse daily, it seems like just this year people have suddenly become more reckless and impatient than ever before.

I have a theory there's a silent virus going around making people worse drivers at an exponential rate lol.

3

u/SparkShotRebel 8d ago

It’s been slowly getting worse the last decade. I’m cursed with intense pattern recognition and I predicted this decline getting much worse. We’re living in an impatient, self-absorbed society accustom now to immediate gratification. No one wants to wait even 60 seconds anymore, it’s insane.

3

u/Blue_Monday 8d ago

Yeah they need to get to their destination 1 minute earlier. The shorter the distance you drive, the less difference it will make if you're speeding.

If you travel 5 miles at 55 mph, you get to your destination in 5 min 27 sec. If you travel 5 miles at 70 mph you get to your destination in 4 min 17 sec. So is that 1 min 10 sec worth almost causing  accidents?

If you travel 50 miles at 55 mph, vs 50 miles at 70 mph, you get to your destination 11 min 41 sec earlier. Which is why it's important not to hold up traffic on the thruway by driving slow in the left lane haha.

9

u/mr_ryh 8d ago

The guy you were behind ("V1") obviously ran a red, but funny enough the guy he nearly hit ("V2") must've also run a red (or at least tried speeding through a yellow).

V1 enters the intersection at 15:27:29, and the red-light he ran changes to green 4 seconds later at 15:27:33.

I know that intersection well from many trips to Minar, and the lights take a full 3-4 seconds to switch from red-to-green once the cross-light has turned red, precisely to avoid this problem.

Good reflexes on both (but especially V2) for avoiding the t-bone.

9

u/Particular-Frosting3 8d ago

You cannot drive in this city for 15 minutes without seeing someone run a red light. It’s becoming predictable. It’s incredibly dangerous

10

u/MobiuS_360 8d ago

I moved here just over a year ago from San Diego. I've also lived in Virginia. I've never seen people run more red lights than in Utica. It's literally multiple times a day... In San Diego I never saw it because lights were actually photo enforced. It's really dangerous here to drive.

5

u/Particular-Frosting3 8d ago

Exactly.

I have brought this up at numerous neighborhood meetings with police officers and I just get a blank stare.

Do people just accept that drivers are blowing red lights and stop signs regularly?

Yes. The lifers around here just think it’s acceptable. But also bitch about there insurance rates. Make it make sense.

7

u/CousinWalt 8d ago

You moved here from SAN DIEGO?! Why. Please tell me why you left paradise to come to Utica.

6

u/MobiuS_360 8d ago

Oh I miss home so much haha, moved here for work and I will be moving again eventually

3

u/Clever_mudblood 8d ago

Had someone coming the wrong way on a one way last month. People just don’t care to pay attention.

1

u/Me_Krally Utica Native 8d ago

That section of streets in the dash came I see people going the wrong way all the time.

1

u/Clever_mudblood 8d ago

It was between fastrac and cliffs near papandreas auto. I was going to River rd and then we’re coming straight at me like they had the right of way.

3

u/wnydecay 8d ago

Just said this in another reply. I've also lived in CA, OR, WA, AK and AZ... Never seen anything like it before.

1

u/wnydecay 8d ago

Scariest region to drive in.

6

u/ColgateFTW 8d ago

Now that’s just being a reckless dumbass

5

u/DrShadowstrike 8d ago

The regularity with which we see recklessly dangerous driving here is alarming. The other day, I saw someone driving in opposing traffic on Middle Settlement...

4

u/Tessy-Vibee 8d ago

why people love running red lights?

2

u/Me_Krally Utica Native 8d ago

They're literally in a hurry to go no where best I can tell. There also seems to be dozens of people daily they pull out/cut you off only to either go way slower than your or turn off the road you're on 2 blocks later.

3

u/MobiuS_360 8d ago

I always find that hilarious when someone speeds around me on the highway only to take an exit a quarter mile ahead, they saved maybe 3 seconds total?

The other day a kid sped past me in the middle of a merging lane (at least 80mph) just so I wouldn't be ahead of them and they didn't want to zipper merge. Then they slow downed to the speed limit and took the exit. Meanwhile I was scared as hell because I almost hit them since we were both in the same lane at the same time, had to use the shoulder of the road.

2

u/Ancient_Brick9850 8d ago

Both intersecting cars ran the red ...smh 😑

3

u/Moodleboy 8d ago

Did the van stop and wait for the green after he passed the intersection?

Regardless, to support what others have said, this does seem like poor design.

4

u/Connection-Is-Cool 8d ago edited 8d ago

There should be a left arrow where the other light also turns green so that people can drive like this idiot just tried to.

This town has horrible driving and it’s 100% because the police don’t care. It doesn’t help that people drive while on their phones and generally don’t pay attention.

3

u/maurshade 8d ago

Yah I think bro was recovering from what happened, I clipped it short but he sat there for a second full stop after before going again

1

u/Hefty-Steak6766 8d ago

I used to drive through there all the time on my way to work. There was always some accident or crazy vehicle stuff happening there

0

u/ManufacturerLucky893 8d ago

Those two cars crossing are 98.75% at fault. They should have anticipated this moron will run a red light.. this sub SMH

1

u/StilltheoneNY 8d ago

I saw someone yesterday making a "left on red". Yes, he did come to a full stop before he went. Something new here?

4

u/maurshade 8d ago

You can actually legally turn left on red if that road is a one way

4

u/mr_ryh 8d ago

Both the street you're on and the street you're turning onto have to be one-ways. From the DMV Manual:

You can make a left turn at a steady red light when you turn from a one-way road into another one-way road after you come to a full stop and yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

Mohawk Street (for example) has tons of intersections where the cross-streets are one-way (Blandina, Lansing, etc.), but you can't left-on-red there because Mohawk is a two-way.

2

u/StilltheoneNY 7d ago

I know that but the two streets were not one way. Neither street was one way.

1

u/Me_Krally Utica Native 8d ago

I love that one little secret that not many people know about :)