Ricky Wysocki gets t-boned in OK

[Shipley]

Not in Oklahoma where the accident occurred, so this is simply incorrect. And as noted with flashing yellow, when the light is yellow, traffic on the crossing street should be facing a red light. I've been involved in more disputes over automobile accidents that I can count, and I have never heard the claim that the other driver "ran" a yellow light. This is probably because it is an admission that the speaker ran a red light.

Running a yellow light in Oklahoma is illegal. You must stop if you can safely stop before entering the crosswalk. You can not speed up to beat the light.

You can be fined for running a yellow light, in Oklahoma.

 

[JC17393]

 

[bbwrenn]

LOL the man upstairs.

Funny how this is ok to say but the opposite isn't.

Landfill hooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

opcorn:

 

[DangeRuss]

Funny how this is ok to say but the opposite isn't.

Landfill hooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

opcorn:

the woman downstairs doesn't appreciate that

 

[smyith]

Based on those photos, I'll have to amend my "running a yellow light" theory to Ricky was turning right, presumably on red, and the truck hit him trying to get through the intersection ahead of the turning light. That scenario would still arguably put Ricky at fault.

yellow lights are not a caution in this case, they are signalling to stop unless you cannot stop in time. alot of people dont realize that when they run a yellow light they can be pulled over for it the same as a red. i bet you ricky has more of a case than the semi driver.

i havnt watched that movie in forever!

 

[scarpfish]

To me, intersections with lights would be safer if they'd give the street with the green 3-4 yellow flashes (with the green still on) before it went full yellow to give drivers an idea of when to move through and when to prepare to stop.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

Running a yellow light in Oklahoma is illegal.

Except that it's not.

"2. Steady yellow indication:

a. vehicular traffic facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal is thereby warned that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter, and

b. pedestrians facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal as provided in Section 11-203 of this title, are thereby advised that there is insufficient time to cross the roadway before a red indication is shown, and no pedestrian shall then start to cross the roadway."

- 47 O.S. 11-202(2)(b) (OSCN 2015)

In fact, there is no state violation code for running a yellow light, although there is one for running a red, as you might imagine.

You must stop if you can safely stop before entering the crosswalk.

If you are a pedestrian, see above.

You can not speed up to beat the light.

I think speeding is a separate offense, isn't it?

You can be fined for running a yellow light, in Oklahoma.

Interesting that you can be fined for something that is not prohibited. Of course, if it turns red, then that squarely falls under the statute.

 

[notroman]

yellow lights are not a caution in this case, they are signalling to stop unless you cannot stop in time. alot of people dont realize that when they run a yellow light they can be pulled over for it the same as a red. i bet you ricky has more of a case than the semi driver.

In some states, yes. This is not the case in Illinois.

 

[Timeetyo]

yellow lights are not a caution in this case, they are signalling to stop unless you cannot stop in time. alot of people dont realize that when they run a yellow light they can be pulled over for it the same as a red. i bet you ricky has more of a case than the semi driver.


i havnt watched that movie in forever!

Except - if it was yellow for the truck - wouldn't it be red for Ricky?

 

[JC17393]

Except - if it was yellow for the truck - wouldn't it be red for Ricky?

Exactly my point in saying that it might not be the truck's fault in that scenario. If the truck has a yellow, that means absolutely that the crossing street has a red. Right on red may be legal, but only after coming to a complete stop and if there is time to do so safely (i.e. no oncoming traffic).

If the truck was approaching the intersection at a speed in which a car turning in front of it couldn't do so without a collision, the car shouldn't have been trying to make that turn at all. That's even if he knew the truck's light had turned yellow and he assumed the truck was going to come to a stop.

 

[smyith]

In some states, yes. This is not the case in Illinois.

that depends on the context. if you speed up to make that yellow you most certainly can be pulled over. tho i dont believe they call it running a yellow light and consider it more along the lines of reckless driving. i dont think there is a rule that specifically states a penalty for running a yellow light, however there are rules that can be applied reasonably to the offense.
kind of along the same lines of people think they can pull into an intersection when taking a left and cant complete the turn yet, you cant do that either (blocking an intersection).

Except - if it was yellow for the truck - wouldn't it be red for Ricky?

yes it would. but judging for how is car was hit i would infer he was making a right turn. it is quite common to see people turning right on a red go when they see the other sides light go yellow. it should come down to whether or not they detemine if the semi had enough time to stop when the light turned yellow.

 

[JC17393]

that depends on the context. if you speed up to make that yellow you most certainly can be pulled over. tho i dont believe they call it running a yellow light and consider it more along the lines of reckless driving. i dont think there is a rule that specifically states a penalty for running a yellow light, however there are rules that can be applied reasonably to the offense.
kind of along the same lines of people think they can pull into an intersection when taking a left and cant complete the turn yet, you cant do that either (blocking an intersection).



yes it would. but judging for how is car was hit i would infer he was making a right turn. it is quite common to see people turning right on a red go when they see the other sides light go yellow. it should come down to whether or not they detemine if the semi had enough time to stop when the light turned yellow.

Considering he got hit, how can it not be determined that the semi didn't have enough time to stop?

Based on Ricky's description of the truck "coming out of nowhere", if he was making a legal turn on red and did so because the crossing traffic's light had turned yellow, either he saw the truck coming and guessed wrong that it would slow down/stop or he simply didn't look left at all before beginning his turn. Legal issues aside, that's poor driving if that's how it happened.

I would never make even attempt to make a right turn on a red unless there was no oncoming traffic in sight or that oncoming traffic had come to a complete stop...not that they had a yellow or a red light, but that they had physically stopped moving forward. Then again, I always operate my car as if every other car on the road is being driven by a complete moron. Trust no one. Assume nothing.

 

[coupe]

Except that it's not.

"2. Steady yellow indication:

a. vehicular traffic facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal is thereby warned that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter, and

b. pedestrians facing a steady circular yellow or yellow arrow signal, unless otherwise directed by a pedestrian control signal as provided in Section 11-203 of this title, are thereby advised that there is insufficient time to cross the roadway before a red indication is shown, and no pedestrian shall then start to cross the roadway."

- 47 O.S. 11-202(2)(b) (OSCN 2015)

In fact, there is no state violation code for running a yellow light, although there is one for running a red, as you might imagine.

But there are municipalities that have yellow light ordinances. See, e.g.:

Extra Tulsa Police Patrol Cracks Down On Yellow Light Runners; and

Tulsa Police Crack Down On Traffic Light Violators

 

[tampora]

I think speeding is a separate offense, isn't it?

"Speeding up" (a.k.a. increasing your speed) is NOT the same thing as "speeding" (a.k.a. exceeding the maximum allowed speed).

 

[Discette]

What kind of car was Ricky driving? I haven't seen anyone identify the model of car in any of the comments.

 

[smyith]

Considering he got hit, how can it not be determined that the semi didn't have enough time to stop?

Based on Ricky's description of the truck "coming out of nowhere", if he was making a legal turn on red and did so because the crossing traffic's light had turned yellow, either he saw the truck coming and guessed wrong that it would slow down/stop or he simply didn't look left at all before beginning his turn. Legal issues aside, that's poor driving if that's how it happened.

could've also been a blind turn, like the road bends just before the light.
laws do not always serve justice (rarely imo). i would agree that by common sense standards ricky is at fault no if ands or buts. however this is america where common sense does not exist in the majority of our laws.
they have ways to figure out how fast the truck was going before the collision. depending on their system might even be able to determine exactly when the yellow began and when the accident occurred. and theres always that chance theres a camera in the intersection. and depending on the semi company the truck might have been low jacked, and those things have a plethora of info the investigators can use.
and most importantly, it matters how the officer wrote up the accident report.

I would never make even attempt to make a right turn on a red unless there was no oncoming traffic in sight or that oncoming traffic had come to a complete stop...not that they had a yellow or a red light, but that they had physically stopped moving forward. Then again, I always operate my car as if every other car on the road is being driven by a complete moron. Trust no one. Assume nothing.

yup thats the way you are supposed to drive imo. around here running red lights is way way way too common, im paranoid every time i pull into an intersection anymore. cops dont even pull over for it when it happens right in front of them.

 

[scarpfish]

I love how we're all speculating about what happened here but not a one of us have seen the accident report.

 

[smyith]

I love how we're all speculating about what happened here but not a one of us have seen the accident report.

the luxuries of sitting on a forum at work with nothing productive to do

 

[Timeetyo]

yes it would. but judging for how is car was hit i would infer he was making a right turn. it is quite common to see people turning right on a red go when they see the other sides light go yellow. it should come down to whether or not they detemine if the semi had enough time to stop when the light turned yellow.

This makes no sense to me.

Let's assume it was yellow for the truck and red for Ricky.
Ricky turns right on red, either not seeing or not realizing the truck won't stop. There are 3 options:

1 - If the truck did not have the ability to stop safely (just went yellow), this is then 100% Ricky's fault.
2 - If the truck did have time to stop and didn't - then it is at best shared fault. The truck should have stopped. Ricky should not have gone right on red if he couldn't have safely done so. Really though - even in this case - I'd lay blame on the car going right on red.
3 - Unable to determine the timing and if the truck could have stopped. IMO here I still blame the car going right on red. Clearly there is fault there - and there *may* be fault on the truck going through on yellow.

 

[Timeetyo]

the luxuries of sitting on a forum at work with nothing productive to do

Agreed!

I'm getting paid for this discussion - are you all?