“DURBAN motorists are playing a dangerous game by not waiting for traffic lights to turn green before pulling off,” warns policeman, Cpt Dereck Vijiam.
A growing trend in Durban South where motorists slowly pull off at a red robot before it changes to green is of serious concern for Cpt Vijiam, who believes this behaviour could lead to serious road accidents.
Recently a seven-year-old boy and two other people lost their lives when a taxi allegedly jumped a red light in Clairwood and slammed into the vehicle they were travelling in.
Although running a red robot is dangerous and unlawful, some may argue that there is a place for it.
They believe that at certain times, especially at night, going through a red robot could save you from potential hijackers. “I understand at night when the roads are quiet, you may think you can risk it but during the day you are endangering everyone’s lives,” added the motorist.
On a Facebook post highlighting this issue, Katherine Oberholzer commented on how misleading pulling off can be for other drivers:”When I am the second car in a queue of cars at a robot and the car in front of me decides to just drive off and without even thinking I start moving as well, only realising in a split second that the robot isn’t even green and then have to slam on brakes, causing confusion for the rest of the cars. Let me not even get started on how often I see taxis doing it,” she said.
What do the signals mean:
A red signal means stop.
A green signal means you can go, provided it is safe, and if you are turning right, you give way to vehicles coming towards you that are going straight through. You give way to pedestrians crossing. This includes riders of mobility devices and wheeled recreational devices.
A yellow/orange signal indicates the lights will soon turn red and you should stop before the lights unless you are so close to the intersection that you can’t stop safely.
A flashing red signal means the traffic signals are not working. In this case you must apply the ‘give way’ rules for uncontrolled intersections.
If caught running through a red robot you could be fined an amount of R1,500 or more.
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