A DRIVER has revealed what you should avoid doing when a red light turns green – in what could be life-saving advice.
Taking to TikTok, a woman named Andrea recently went viral after sharing a driving safety tip she learned from a friend who works in a morgue.
A woman has warned drivers to pause before hitting the gas at a red light that tuns green[/caption]
Waiting for just a few seconds could make the difference between life or death[/caption]
The TikToker shared her advice after speaking with a friend who works at a morgue[/caption]
The video, which she posted from her TikTok account @ann_19833, received over 1.4 million views.
In it, she emphasizes the importance of waiting a few seconds after a red light turns green before proceeding – with this brief pause perhaps enough to save your life by giving you time to check for drivers who may be running the red light.
“If you’re the first car at a red light, wait a few seconds before you go when it turns green,” she said.
“That five seconds might save my life.”
She added: “When you’re driving and you get to the red light, you stop… And as soon as the red light turns green, you go.
“Don’t do that.”
Instead, she told those watching her video to simply count to four or five seconds before moving forward – especially at nighttime.
The main reason is to avoid the risk of T-bone collisions caused by reckless drivers.
The advice, she says, stems from her friend’s experience working in a morgue, where they’ve witnessed numerous fatal accidents caused by drivers running red lights at intersections.
“This is very serious,” Andrea said.
“You could be doing everything right, but that doesn’t mean the other driver is.”
Viewers in Andrea’s comments section agreed, with one writing: “It’s great advice with how it is here and the many times this has happened because of red light runners.”
Another added: “I did that… waited a few seconds… the guy behind me started honking like crazy and then veered around me, gave me the finger, and then got liquified by a truck trying to beat the light.”
A third commenter said: “I don’t care if the one behind me keeps honking, imma take my time, honey.”
A former EMT added: “Not only do I wait, I look both ways to make sure nothing is coming and vehicles have stopped.”
“I tell my little brother this all the time,” another concerned commenter wrote.
“It’s shocking how often people try to beat the red light.”
This comes as it was revealed certain drivers can legally run red lights in 21 different states – but only under specific conditions.
However, riders must be aware that wait times can vary from state to state, with rulung in South Carolina, for example, stating motorists must pause for up to 120 seconds before they go.
So-called ‘Dead Red’ laws are a set of regulations in certain US states that allow motorcyclists to legally proceed through red traffic lights.
These laws exist to address the issue of traffic light sensors failing to detect motorcycles, often due to their smaller size and lack of sufficient magnetic material.
This, in turn, makes it difficult for the inductive loop sensors to register their presence when they’re stopped.
What is ‘Road Rage’?
While road rage is often defined by an aggressive reaction to another driver’s actions, it could be dangerous.
The NHTSA says road rage is different from aggressive driving, as it comes down to intention. The agency says many state laws include intent to harm as part of a road rage or reckless driving offense.
“Although some States have passed laws criminalizing aggressive driving, it should not be confused with road rage, which is an intentional assault by a driver or passenger with a motor vehicle or a weapon that occurs on the roadway or is precipitated by an incident on the roadway,” the agency writes.
“Aggressive drivers, as distinct from aggressive driving, often can be identified as those who violate traffic laws repeatedly or whose violations lead to crashes producing serious injury or death.”
Actions that define road rage in many states are behaviors like trying to run another driver off the roadway, using their vehicle to cause another driver to crash, speeding, weaving in and out of traffic lanes, or threatening and/or using a dangerous weapon.
Source: NHTSA
