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By Monty Hight

Q: Monty, I'd like clarification on the matter of yellow lights and what constitutes an infraction.

Is the timing of yellow lights all the same, or do they differ? It seems the lengths of yellow lights differ, some longer than others, some very short. This makes a difference in one's decisions.

And what constitutes an infraction? Having it turn red while passing the intersection? Middle? End? Again, clarification needed here, especially with the cameras being placed on intersections and high fines being levied.

A: It all depends on who's sitting in the old cardboard box on the corner and what type of tip the traffic officer has given him that day, that dictates how fast the yellow changes to red. Not funny, I know.

Well you may have guessed that there is a specific manual that covers this: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

Without boring everyone with a whole lot of mathematical equations, here is the basic to minimum yellow light change interval timing. If the posted speed or prima facie speed is 25 mph or less, the minimum yellow interval is 3 seconds. 30 is 3.2, 35 is 3.6, 40 is 3.9 and 50 is 4.7.

I know for a fact that the yellow interval times at many of the controlled intersections here in Redding are generally a bit longer than required but they are never less than what the manual requires.

As far as what constitutes a violation for failing to stop for a red traffic signal, that too is pretty simple. As long as your vehicle enters into the intersection or is within the intersection before the light changes from yellow to red, there is no violation.

When approaching an intersection controlled by a traffic signal, it's best to look toward the controlling device several blocks ahead. This looking down the road is known as raising your visual horizon or scanning. As we approach the light and it has been green for as long as we have been observing it (known as a stale green), we should be anticipating that a yellow light may be in our future. Depending on the posted speed limit for the roadway, the timing for the yellow lights varies. Through traffic may have a 3- to 5-second yellow, but most left-turn lanes regardless of the posted speed limit will have a shorter time, maybe 3 seconds. The higher the posted speed limit for the roadway, the longer the yellow phase.

Regardless of the timing, the yellow lamp indicates a red light is definitely in your future. If you wish to have a future, you should now consider slowing and stopping as opposed to racing toward the intersection to see whether you can make it into it before the red light.

There are several differently designed intersections that operate on various sensor/video systems that I have spoken of in earlier columns. But the rules regarding stopping for a red traffic signal are very specific. A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line. If there's no limit line, the driver should stop before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection. If there's no crosswalk, the driver should stop before entering the intersection.

The vehicle shall remain stopped until the light turns green.

But, I'm not going to go across the intersection, I'm just going to turn right and no one is approaching in the other direction. Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver, after stopping, facing a steady circular red signal, may turn right or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street. A driver making that turn shall yield the right of way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right of way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety.

The key word in every case is stop. Cease moving: to come to a standstill or bring something to a standstill. Stop the car! No matter which dictionary you look up the word, it all means the same. The vehicle code does not have an exception rule covering the time of day, the amount of traffic in the area, the "I've got to go to the bathroom" rule.

Once again there is some logic when it comes to the engineering and planning of our roadways and traffic control devices. That makes it much simpler for the rest of us to go out and enjoy the ride.

Monty Hight is a retired CHP officer. He can be reached at coptalk@charter.net.