Broken traffic lights - proper procedure?

I have encountered this twice already and both times I've called the police because it just seemed insane.

Plain and simple situation but can be deadly. The traffic lights on an intersection of 2 major roads malfunctioned in a way that one road had only red and the other was just green for an endless time. People got fed up of waiting and ran the red light. I was in the right lane so I decided to turn right and do a u-turn. I got home and called the police to let them know. What would you guys do? Technically would someone be ticketed for running the red light in this situation?

you should have stole a stop sign from a place and directed traffic.

I would of just did what you did of turning right and make a u-turn

If a traffic light is malfunctioning, treat it as a all-way stop sign.

Seriously, how DO people get their licenses here?

Originally Posted by Flyer

Seriously, how DO people get their licenses here?

Originally Posted by Flyer

If a traffic light is malfunctioning, treat it as a all-way stop sign.

Seriously, how DO people get their licenses here?

true, question that all the time...lol

Originally Posted by Flyer

If a traffic light is malfunctioning, treat it as a all-way stop sign.

Seriously, how DO people get their licenses here?

Not really. If you are driving on the road and the light ahead is green, how do you know it's malfunctioning and treat it as stop? It's not like that the lights are off.

Have you guys ever seen a malfunction with the trafflic lights where as the count timer is 0 then it somehow becomes a green light when it is supposed to be a red light?

Originally Posted by user01

Have you guys ever seen a malfunction with the trafflic lights where as the count timer is 0 then it somehow becomes a green light when it is supposed to be a red light?

I see that happen all the time... now whether it's broken or not...

Originally Posted by user01

Have you guys ever seen a malfunction with the trafflic lights where as the count timer is 0 then it somehow becomes a green light when it is supposed to be a red light?

What have you been smoking? 0 = Yellow, in my life time I've never seen a 0 = RED.

If you're talking about the count down if there is no weight on the sensor it will revert to the WALK/DON'T CROSS. = GREEN. (Since it's already green)

If traffic lights are completely out = four-way stop

If traffic lights are malfunctioning like this however, then you do whatever the signal tells you unless it would be unsafe to do, such as all directions having green lights.

For people that decide to run the red, I think they could still technically get a ticket because they are creating a dangerous situation and could cause an accident. It is not reasonable to expect the cars facing the green light to know that the light has been green for 30 minutes, so like it or not, they have the right of way. I think calling the police is the best thing you can do in these situations as they can send someone to direct traffic.

Originally Posted by z24driver1986

I have encountered this twice already and both times I've called the police because it just seemed insane.

Plain and simple situation but can be deadly. The traffic lights on an intersection of 2 major roads malfunctioned in a way that one road had only red and the other was just green for an endless time.

How long is an endless time?

Almost all signals in the GTA are computerized, and either work on embedded traffic loops in the roadway or are set on timers, with many using both loops and timers as traffic conditions warrant.

If the traffic control box malfunctions, they are designed to go into flashing light mode.

People got fed up of waiting and ran the red light. I was in the right lane so I decided to turn right and do a u-turn. I got home and called the police to let them know. What would you guys do? Technically would someone be ticketed for running the red light in this situation?

Yes, they could be ticketed for not waiting for a green and potentially causing a collision.

Originally Posted by user01

Have you guys ever seen a malfunction with the trafflic lights where as the count timer is 0 then it somehow becomes a green light when it is supposed to be a red light?

The countdown timers are for pedestrian traffic, and can count down to ) with a green light if not activated by a pedestrian.

Originally Posted by Flyer

If a traffic light is malfunctioning, treat it as a all-way stop sign.

Seriously, how DO people get their licenses here?

Yeah but the guys who have a green light don't know if the traffic light is mal-functioning or not . They have no idea for how long the other side has been red or their side has been green.

Say North - South is continuous green light and East-West is continuos red light due to malfunction & if I am coming North - South all I see is a green light & have no clue east-west is mal-functioning .

Now if North-South has a red/yellow flasing light or NO light ,I can make out its mal-functioning & will treat it as an all-way stop , but if its solid green I will go thru & NOT stop .

I have seen that happen around here too where we had a red light and the oncoming traffic had a green. It was nerve-racking as we all had to make a cautious entry and turn into the intersection.

Originally Posted by Reign

What have you been smoking? 0 = Yellow, in my life time I've never seen a 0 = RED.

If you're talking about the count down if there is no weight on the sensor it will revert to the WALK/DON'T CROSS. = GREEN. (Since it's already green)

Ah, yes '0' = yellow. My bad. I start noticing this after they implemented the count timer on the road, usually, I wouldn't care and keep on driving. But it's weird though, I see most count timer counts down to '0', the yellow light appears then the red light signals a stop. But I have never seen it count down to '0' then it becomes green again. Probably happened 2 times so far.

Originally Posted by Whitedart

The countdown timers are for pedestrian traffic, and can count down to ) with a green light if not activated by a pedestrian.

Maybe, do you got some source?

the time was forever... like i waited 5-10 minutes in a line up until either ppl turned right or ran the red light. Traffic piled up pretty nicely too. Computers break down too... I could see an even worst situation - all 4 ways