A new law about to be implemented in Ohio will give drivers an excuse to legally drive though a red light on one condition: if they feel the light is malfunctioning.
You read correctly. If, after the driver has come to a full stop, there is reason to think the light isn’t operating correctly, the driver would be permitted to blow the light.
It sounds like a recipe for disaster and even local law enforcement is worried.
« This is about safety, » Kettering, Ohio, police officer John Jung told CNN affiliate WHIO. « We don’t want the driver to approach a red light, wait for a couple of seconds and determine that it is malfunctioning and then blow through a red light. You still have to proceed with caution. »
Can you imagine the implications of this law being implemented in Montreal? Montrealers aren’t even trusted to turn right on a red light.
The burden of proof will rest with the driver in order to prove the light was indeed malfunctioning. I know of a few lights which are so poorly programed that they qualify as malfunctioning in my mind but I don’t recall every seeing a truly malfunctioning light.
Source: CNN
