Running The Red Light

Running the red light is a real killer. It is not a sport. It is an act of treachery!

It seems more and more drivers are taking matters into their own hands by re-writing the rules of the road and jeopardizing the lives of everyone in the process.  The red light means stop! The colour was probably chosen because it is a piercing visual reminder that you do not have the right to move- at this moment. Other traffic does! Running the red light seems to be a game for some, with dire consequences for all. Red is a primary colour-like blue and yellow. It is the granddaddy of all colours from which all other colours are created.  Yellow reminds us that red is coming, so act accordingly-stop! And green, originating from blue and yellow, tells us to go, safely.

It was Valentine’s Day- many years ago-when I came very close to becoming a traffic statistic. As I waited at the intersection, an expansive section of road with several lanes going North/South in the town in which we lived, the light turned green...  I looked left, then right... Because of the hilly configuration of the East/West section, directly in front of me, I paused for several seconds waiting for any last minute entries into the thru traffic that might suddenly appear and alter my plans to turn left. I waited. (I then looked left and right again, one final time, making sure all traffic was stopped for my entry into the intersection. I moved slowly into place to make my turn. In a flash, I braked hard, as a car containing four individuals sped by me. The speed at which the car was going indicated to me that the driver had had no intention of ever stopping at this intersection-red light or not! I had taken every precaution before attempting my left turn. My hesitation to move was a godsend. The ‘red light’ runner didn’t care. Death was waiting for me that day.

I recall the day our first born arrived. It was 1979, years prior to the Valentine’s Day near miss.  It was not a good day. Our son was not due for another three months! Yet here I was, in the early stages of labour, driving myself to an unscheduled doctor’s appointment. The pain intensified as time passed, coming in waves, as I waited to be seen by my doctor and later as I drove myself home. 

Driving back home was now almost unbearable, an almost unthinkable feat of strength. My pain threshold was being tested on a grand scale, making driving a near impossible feat. I was buckling under the pressure yet I drove home, safely, without the faintest thought of running a red light! That would have been a suicide mission, wouldn’t it have been?... One hour later our son was born!

To all who dare to ‘run the red light’, are you in labour? Then, perhaps, you have no excuse to even consider this dangerous act!... I did not!... Red is the colour of blood as well as the red light, an appropriate colour comparison considering what you are about to do!! So stop doing it!  Lives hang in the balance.