Stop Here on Red?

Today I got stuck behind a car that stopped in front of a road sign that read “Stop Here on Red” and did not continue to turn.

No big deal. Road signs can be misinterpreted. And for all I know, I don’t know what that sign means.

In my book, “Stop Here on Red,” means, “Hey you, driver person! You might think that you should stop on red up there, but wait wait wait! Hold on. You should actually stop back here. Yeah, way back here. Okay, have you stopped where I told you? Awesome. Now if there’s no one coming, you can turn on red now.”

This is in stark contrast to “No Turn on Red,” which means, “For no reason whatsoever–even if your pregnant wife in the back seat is crowning and a crazy, undead, bloodthirsty snowman is smashing in your window and you just realized that you forgot to set your TiVo for the new My Boys season–should you turn right during a red light at this intersection.”

Wait, does the wife crown or the baby? Guys don’t know these things.

How do you interpret “Stop Here on Red”? And in the future, couldn’t that sign just be a little more specific? It doesn’t have to be as lengthy as my description above, but a simple, “Stop Here on Red. Turning Permissible” would work.

Daily Quickie: I don’t know much about the Green Lantern, but this ridiculously cute moment at Comic Con (watch the kid when he shows off his ring) makes me want to know more.

22 thoughts on “Stop Here on Red?”

  1. I agree with your interpretation of that sign. I’m guessing this situation occurred on Lindell?

    Furthermore, I consider this to be one of many marginally useful to useless signs. Most (all?) roads have a large solid white line that indicates where you’re supposed to stop at red lights. If people don’t abide by that, I consider that their own fault. I’d add things like “road slippery when wet,” etc to that category. In my opinion, having these signs takes away from the importance we place on road signs in general and makes the average driver pay less attention to the really important ones.

    Reply
    • You make a great point that I hadn’t thought of–by diluting the really important signs with redundant or less important signs, you lessen the impact of the important ones (Windows Vista software has this same impact–there are so many pop-up boxes warning you that something could be harmful that you end up clicking through them without thinking about it after a while, leaving your computer more open to attack from legitimately invasive malware).

      The Lindell one stops people quite a bit. Yesterday, though, it was Forsyth/Skinker.

      Reply
  2. Agreed with your interpretation on what that sign means. No Right Turn on Red, is the sign that guy was following. But the worst is the sign from Eastbound 40 to South Hampton. It’s basically, “we put a stoplight here, but we’re not sure why, because you can turn right as long as you don’t hit anyone.”

    Babies Crown. It’s when you can see the head.

    I have a hard time seeing Ryan Reynolds as genuine in anything.

    Reply
  3. That sign is about as useless as having one that says, “Go in this lane on green.”

    I agree with T-Mac and would also like to add a sign to the “useless signs” category. Does anyone else get annoyed with the, “stop sign ahead” signs? What does that say, “I’m just warning you, you’re going to have to stop at some point ahead, but I won’t tell you where. Its just going to crop up and this is your courtesy cautionary warning.”

    Green Lantern is awesome by the way, and yes, I’m a nerd and have a Green Lantern ring 😛

    Reply
    • Stop Sign Ahead…good call. Why not just make the stop sign more visible, right? That cuts the number of signs needed in half.

      Reply
      • How can you make a stop sign more visible from around a curve or over a hill? Almost every time you see a “Stop Sign Ahead” its because the stop sign is going to pop up on you because of the topography of the road and you won’t have time to respond appropriately.

        Same with the “Stop Here On Red” its usually because you will be interfering with turning traffic (esp. trucks) if you pull up too far.

        I think both of these signs are necessary and proper and at worst they might be over used, but they certainly shouldn’t be abandoned all together. I’m not sure I see how you can make a sign any more clear than to say “Stop here on red” and include a big arrow that points to a thick white line on the road. Does that really lack specificity?

        Now the 87 “No Parking” signs that you see along the entrance and exit ramps of every interstate rest stop are definitely useless. It seems like one “No Parking on the shoulder of an interstate you freaking idiot” sign should suffice.

        And finally, if you realize that you forgot to set your Tivo then all bets are off and all road signs are moot, because a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do to make sure he gets to watch My Boys at the date and time of his own choosing!

        Reply
        • Bryce, come on–“Stop here on red” couldn’t be less clear. Yes, the “stop” part we get, but too many people think that they can’t GO after they stop. Yes, that’s their fault, but too many people do it, so obviously something needs to change. At the very least, the sign should read, “Stop here on red and then if you need to set your TiVo for My Boys, go ahead.”

          I would fully support a “No parking on the shoulder of the interstate you freaking idiot” sign.

          Reply
        • Bryce, Actually, I’m talking about the “Stop Sign Ahead” signs that are on straight roads where everything is clearly visible. There’s one not far from my house and it gets me every time. 🙂 You are right though, it has its place, it would be better placed on these roads where the topography is sketchy! (Sadly I haven’t seen them on any of them.)

          As far as My Boys go, yeah all bets are off, UNLESS you have friends you know recording it. However if you’re on your way to a My Boys marathon, then forget it, all bets are off, put a police light on top of your car if you have to.

          Reply
  4. OK, I’m guilty. Just this morning I stopped and stayed stopped at the sign that read “Stop Here On Red,” even though the irrate woman behind kept blasting me with her horn. I did this because a few weeks before I was pulled over by the sherif and given a ticket at this same spot because I proceeded around the corner after stopping.I interpreted that to mean I was to stop and not proceed until the light turned green. This was the second ticket I’ve recieved at this type of sign. Some time ago when I was stopped at another intersection with “Stop here On Red” sign a car came up behind me and so I decided to make the turn on red and guess what? it was a sherif and he immeadiately pulled me over and gave me a ticket. So some one tell me what I did wrong in each instance that I got tickets for “moving vilolation”?

    Reply
  5. Well the first time The sheriff asked if I ‘d seen the sign, I said Yes. So he wrote me a ticket for $65 at that time. The reason I proceeded was beacuse I didn’t figure someone else would sit and wait for the light to change like I was doing. It was the middle of the night and absolutely no traffic around. He didn’t say anything else and I was too tired and intimidated to ask questions.
    This recent time , the officer said it was a new sign and they were making a point of stopping drivers so the word would get around.
    Althought I’ve been telling everyone I know,what good is that? This morning I approached this same corner and decided to go straight through the intersection rather than turn.The light was red, so of course I stopped. However to my right in the turn lane with the sign “Stop Here On Red” I counted seven cars run right past the sign without so much as slowing down even a little bit. And there were cars making the left turn into this lane from the other direction. Where was the sheriff then? He could have made his day writing tickets just at the one moment, if he could have caught them all.
    Whether the sign means ‘stop and then proceed’, or ‘stop and stay stopped until the light changes’ made no difference to any of these drivers as they ignored the sign altogether.
    I have decided to aviod this corner and go to the next one that is a right angle turn with a proper stop light where right turn on red is understood, rather than a curve that usually would say “yield” – which of course everyone would ingnor also. I am just puzzled and wish I knew who to call locally to get a clear answer. Thanks.

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  6. Totally guilty ! For the last year I’ve been driving the same route home from work. There is a “stop here on red” sign and I stop and wait everytime. Hence why I’m looking this up ……. Very angry people behind me 🙂 i feel like it’s a trick if I go and a police pulled me over I would feel like a dumbass can you read miss ? My personal favorite sign is ” falling rocks” really thanks and what am I gonna do to avoid this as I pass the sign ?????

    Reply
    • Ashley–I like how you said that you feel like it’s a trick. I wonder the same thing! I have a whole speech in my head about how I’d explain it to a police officer if he ever pulled me over for that.

      Totally agree on falling rocks too.

      Reply
  7. So now I stop make sure it’s clear and I go. The more I think about it it’s true if it was a NO turn on red then they would have put a sign there that states NO turn on red. Hopefully now that I understand this better I won’t be the one stuck behind the person who doesn’t understand. I might even pull beside them and tell them what I now believe this sign means. Goooo 🙂

    Reply
  8. Hello everyone. I`m a US citizen who grew up in Europe but we moved to the US this year. I got my first US drivers license at 43(- We live in Florida. 2 things drive me crazy in traffic here:

    1) Deciding whether or not I`m able to safely stop as light changes from green to yellow in a 45 zone.

    2) The Stop Here On Red sign.

    I`ve been a nervous wreck each time I`m in these 2 situations because I would hate committing a traffic violation. In the beginning I interpreted the Stop Here On Red to mean “wait for a green light before proceeding”. But everytime Ithe cars behind me consistently disagree and they honk angrily when I do not proceed after stopping at the Stop Here On Red Light sign… So I go ahead with my right turn on red when the intersection is clear because I figure I`m misunderstanding the meaning of that sign. TRAFFIC SIGNS SHOULD NEVER LEAVE ANY ROOM FOR DOUBT OR MISUNDERSTANDING.

    I`m glad

    Reply
    • Erick–I definitely agree that traffic signs should never leave any room of misinterpretation. Every element of their wording and design should be built around conveying a clear message within a split second. Unfortunately that is not always the case.

      I think the correct interpretation of a Stop Here on Red sign is as you say below: Come to a full stop on red and then proceed. Why are such signs necessary? After all, you’re supposed to come to a full stop on red anyway. I’m guessing they’re most often used when they want you to stop in a lane that may not be all that obvious to stop in, or perhaps at a location in the intersection that isn’t normal.

      As for the green-to-yellow thing, my understanding is that if you have entered the intersection in any way when the light is yellow (even if the light turns red while you’re in the middle of the intersection), you are abiding by the law. The only case when you’re in trouble is if the light changes to red before you enter the intersection.

      Reply
  9. I guess Stop Here On Red does NOT mean No Right Turn On Red. It presumably means “stop at red before proceeding when it is safe to do so”.

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  10. my son was ticketed because he stopped at this sign before turning right on red. The officer stated that the “stop here on red” sign actually means that you can not turn right on red. He even went to court to fight it and had to pay a fine.

    Reply

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