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One of the first things you learn when you learn to drive is how to read and react to the traffic lights. This is something that we actually learn at a very young age, though how to work with them is something that takes on a whole new meaning once you are behind the wheel. My daughter for the longest time said that red meant stop, green means go, and yellow means Greg. She’s a fan of the Wiggles, so the yellow comment didn’t surprise me too much.

When you drive, however, the traffic lights become something a little more complicated, especially when you come upon one when you are going fifty-five. That tricky yellow light has always been a problem for me. I don’t come up on traffic lights hoping to race through one, but I do hope to not have to stop. Don’t we all? The problem is that you never know when one is going to change, and you may be faced with slamming on the breaks or gliding through.

I was stopped just a few weeks ago when one of those tricky traffic lights turned yellow as I went around a bend. It’s not the best place for a light, but it has to be there. Once I saw that it had turned yellow, I had the choice of slamming on the breaks violently, or going through at the last minute. I went through, and much to my dismay, there was a police officer just waiting for someone like me to come along. Of all of the traffic lights in the city I was driving through, this one must have been the trickiest.

Thankfully, the officer let me go with a warning, but not without first asking me if I was sure I knew what traffic lights were for. I assured him I did, and he allowed me to go on my way. Ever since, I have been weary upon coming up on any lights, and I know that I could again get pulled over at any time, and this time I might indeed get a ticket. Traffic lights are there for safety, of course, and by all rights I should have gotten a ticket and I know it. Though not all people will learn a lesson when they are left with a warning from a friendly police officer, you can be sure that I have indeed learned to keep a closer eye on the traffic lights that I come upon each day as I drive.

Labels: Lights, Traffic