Everyone gets stopped at red lights

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I don't know if I can actually pull this off, but it's been a thought that I'd like to sound off in the open for others to see.

I follow a lot of stoicism philosophy and I like to follow parables for life lessons. The dichotomy of control, the obstacle is the way, you have two ears and one mouth, Amor Fati, Memento Mori, etc. Most try to put it in every day examples and while I was commuting to and from work, I was constantly fighting the urge not to rage at other selfish drivers. Of course, that comes with the dichotomy of control. I can only control my feelings and actions. But it also occurred to me that no matter what lifestyle you live, what background, character, personality, financial or disability you may or may not have, everyone gets stopped by red lights. There is no competition on who's the fastest, selfish, richest, toughest, or luckiest person. If you're rich and own a private jet, you'll have a chauffeur drive you to where you'll be. If you don't own a car, bikes and pedestrians have to obey the intersections. Runners and wheelchairs, fast cars and slow cars, big ass trucks and mini models. Sometimes you get lucky and it's a green light, but eventually everyone has to stop at a red light.

We're all equal and it has me more grounded than ever before. We have sports competitions and favorite teams, and my needs versus your needs. Political views, be damned. I always think of the person cutting me off or squeezing and now I just let them. Wherever they are going and for how long, a red light will stop them too.

I wish I could be more profound or add so much more to make into a book, but there you go out in the open. Now people can poke holes in it if they like. Haha

Ebby

But it also occurred to me that no matter what lifestyle you live, what background, character, personality, financial or disability you may or may not have, everyone gets stopped by red lights.

Police, funerals, ambulances, firetrucks, sports teams, Presidents, and elitist bicyclists may have missed the memo.

southsamurai

Nah, all of those eventually deal with the same roads in a situation where they aren't granted those exceptions. Even cyclists will if they stay on the road, and arguably that's still the same concept because they have to leave the road to bypass the lights if there's no gaps big enough to get through.

KingJalopy

Especially the cyclists. Where I live we have dedicated bike lanes on every street everywhere but they always ignore stop signs, lights, etc... and it drives me mad when I have to proactively not kill them.

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a red light will stop them too

lol, don't come to France, you'll be disappointed.

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It's really not that hard...

Kairos

Emergency services get stopped at red lights all the time, particularly when they're not responding to something, but also when thru are, or at least slowed.

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Asshole drivers in Oakland, too. They’ll openly run lights if there are no cops in sight.

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Of course there are some exceptions and it's not perfect, but it's not an every day occurrence with most of those. You do bring up valid points. It's more of a thought of not wanting to rush everywhere because you'll get stopped eventually. There are traffic jams, protesters, accidents, and severe weather that can function the same. If it's something that will help someone deal with the everyday and not have to worry about other people's status in the world or even the ongoing depression of how little ahead you are in life, it's a sign that represents a sliver of equality.

🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️

Not if you run through them like a ton of people in my city do.

Aedis

I would also like to point out that everyone stops to take a shit. (not usually at a red light)

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I was going to say something similar -- having seen 20+ car crashes from my apartment window, I can confirm that many people do not stop when the light is red...

Be careful out there.

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Great point.

This could be added as a warning.

Eventually, if you don't stop at a red light, something's gonna happen and it's probably not good.

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Alright, you win. You get to start the book deal. Haha

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If you learn the timings, and choose the right route, you can hit green lights all night. Back when I had a job which finished up around 2am, I managed to travel ~15km across the city without hitting a red light, probably 2/3 of the time.

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I hear the Europeans just drive around in circles.

🫶

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Usually in bigger cities that’s the case. But small towns can be REALLY hit or miss. If there’s traffic sensors they generally do a good job at keeping traffic flowing. But you will know if you’ve hit a light that doesn’t have them, or is purposefully time poorly.

There’s one in my city that is impossible to make unless the second it turns green I gun it. Sometimes I have a second or two to spare. But if there’s ANYONE in the way you will not make that light.

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Since traffic lights are car infrastructure, you don't need them when there are no cars, which is the case in many cities that are walkable and bikable. You don't need a machine to tell you what to do when you're only going 20 km/h.

thermal_shock

some areas near me have lights that will stay green on the main road mostly, but as soon as they see you speeding, they'll turn red and have signs saying so.

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There are too many loop holes to the traffic lights. The jesus freaks would quote the bible about it and say, "The rain falls on the just and unjust alike." Personally I'm a fan of "everybody poops."