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.

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.

Emergency services get stopped at red lights all the time, particularly when they're not responding to something, but also when they are, in case the light can't react in time. They usually slow down for safety, sometimes stopping.

Edit: the punctuation will remain fucked up. Sorry.

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.

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

I would posit that it could be based on something else entirely, a civic or moral obligation a person feels to abide by the spirit of the law to help protect fellow people, even if they would not be punished or could some how gain something - in this case, a finite resource - time, for violating the law.

'Memento mori' I had heard the "everyone shits" but all blood is red is much more powerful.

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.

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.

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

There is a whole community of rabid bicyclists (a subset, I'm not generalizing to all bicyclists) who fervently believe they should be able to ride through red lights if there's no cross traffic because "it's haaaard" when they have to stop.

Also: cops and ambulances can literally rig the system in their favor, which means the impartiality of red lights is questionable. (And, the rigging is probably in most cases for a good cause, but still.)

I like another commentator's post: everybody poops. The people who don't probably - almost uniformly - wish they could, because it they don't it's because of some medical condition they'd trade pooping for in an instant. It's probably not even a silver lining, because they still have to deal with the waste and it's almost certainly more of PITA than just pooping.

Nice shower thought, though, Marcus A. I'm not strong-willed enough to practice stoicism - I can barely manage to be a reliably hedonist - but I do firmly believe and practice the dichotomy of control. It's the only thing keeping me sane since the election.

I hear the Europeans just drive around in circles.

🫶

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.