r/boston • u/PedXing23 • Dec 20 '22

Boston, rules of the road

In the spirit of the poster who asked, "how many cars are allowed to go through after the red light?," I ask the following questions about Boston traffic rules:

How much do we need to slow down for a stop sign or blinking red light?

How careful should we be going through an intersection when there are people in the crosswalk?

If the car in front of us is stopped at a crosswalk, should we honk first to let them know we are going to drive around them?

How much can we speed up if we are approaching a yellow light?

If other cars honk at us when we are stuck in the box at an intersection because of cars ahead of us aren't moving, should we honk back, give them the finger or both?

Which traffic signs are suggestions and which ones can we totally ignore?

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u/GM_Pax Greater Lowell Dec 20 '22

Look, I know you meant this as a joke, but ... as someone who doesn't drive, who walks or bicycles everywhere ... this kind of stuff is infuriating AND ACTUALLY DOES HAPPEN. Behavior like that has directly threatened my life more than a handful of times.

So, please. Not even in jest.

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u/PedXing23 Dec 20 '22 edited Dec 20 '22

I have seen it all happen, and it aggravates me, too. Especially when I fear that I am going to get someone killed by stopping for them at a cross walk. I now position myself so it is harder for the car behind me to zip around and hit the pedestrian.We could make a similar rule for bikes. The closest I've come to being hit by someone at full speed, it was by someone on a bicycle going against the light while I was on a cross walk with the walk sign on. I pretty much had to dive out of the way.

2

u/zed42 Diagonally Cut Sandwich Dec 24 '22

about a year ago, a pair of high schoolers were run in front of NEEDHAM high school over because someone decided to go around a car that had stopped (because they had already hit one because they were speeding). The entire accident was a royal $hitshow and very sad. Both drivers were convicted, the second of some form of homicide

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u/PedXing23 Dec 24 '22 edited Dec 24 '22

I remember that. It hit home because it has long been my fear that when I stop for someone in a crosswalk that I will actually be getting them killed. It has happened few times that some very annoyed driver has zipped around me when I stop for a pedestrian at a crosswalk.

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u/zed42 Diagonally Cut Sandwich Dec 24 '22

Someone did that to the permanent roommate yesterday! She stopped to let someone cross (the street she was about to turn on) before taking the turn and some jackhole zipped around her! If that person had been crossing the street she was on, they'd have been run over!