Traffic laws are a set of rules that govern how people and vehicles move on public roads. These laws often include administrative regulations regarding driver licensing and registration, vehicle insurance, and safety inspections.
Criminal traffic offenses can result in heavy fines, license suspension, and even jail time. Understanding these laws can help you avoid breaking them and keep yourself and others safe on the road.
Speed Limits
In most states, speed limits determine the maximum legal vehicle travel speed on a particular section of road. Some limits are statutory while others are established through engineering studies. Most traffic engineers follow the guidelines presented in the FHWA Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) when conducting these studies. For example, the MUTCD recommends that speed limits be set within 수원운전연수 5 mph plus or minus of the 85th percentile operating speed, determined from speed surveys conducted on the roadway.
Research has shown that lower maximum speeds definitely reduce crashes and injuries. However, the extent to which they do so depends on the overall design of the roadway and the implementation of active enforcement and supportive adjudication.
It is also important to recognize that speed limits are only part of the system of traffic laws aimed at controlling driving speeds. Many other countermeasures may be needed, particularly in heavily traveled areas with high pedestrian activity or in locations where there are special considerations for vulnerable users such as children or seniors.
In addition to statutory and engineering speed limits, some States have legislation allowing cities and towns to “opt-in” to Chapter 90 of the MUTCD and reduce speed limits on city and town-owned roadways in densely settled* areas. This approach has proven to be effective in saving lives when accompanied by education, vigorous enforcement and other traffic safety measures.
School Buses 수원운전연수
School buses transport over half a million children each day. In order to ensure their safety, it is important that you drive with extra caution in or near school zones and during the hours when school buses operate (usually between 7-9 a.m and 2-5 p.m).
In New York, traffic must stop when a school bus displays its mechanical stop signal or flashing red lights and extends its stop arm in order to receive or discharge passengers. This applies to both private roads and highways. In some states, such as Washington and Ohio, it is permissible to pass a stopped school bus if you are on a divided roadway that has separate roadways for opposing directions of traffic. However, New York Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1174(a) requires all motorists on a non-divided roadway to stop for a stopped school bus even if you are traveling in the same direction as the bus.
In these instances, the driver should slow down to a speed no higher than 20 mph when approaching the bus and be prepared to stop at any time when the flashing red lights or stop arm are activated. If you are on a roadway that provides two or more lanes of traffic in each direction, but the road is separated by a barrier or unimproved median, you need not stop.
Yielding to Emergency Vehicles
In general, all drivers must yield to emergency vehicles when traveling on a road or highway. This includes police officers, firefighters, ambulances, coroners and rescue personnel. These individuals are working in close proximity to traffic and operate their vehicles with the express purpose of saving lives or minimizing injury to others.
Therefore, if you hear an emergency vehicle’s siren while driving on any road or highway in New York, you must immediately pull over to the right side of the road (or to the shoulder, if there is no lane), and stop until the authorized emergency vehicle passes you. If the vehicle is approaching at an intersection, you must also exit the intersection and stop on the right side of the roadway before the authorized emergency vehicle passes you.
When you are ready to resume your course of travel, make a visual sweep in all directions and proceed slowly back into traffic. Be mindful of pedestrians as well.
Drivers who violate the law may be issued a traffic ticket under VTL 1144. If you receive such a ticket, an experienced traffic attorney can often get the charges reduced to a less serious offense that will not significantly impact your license. However, it is important to remember that paying a traffic violation fine is an admission of guilt.
Turning Right on Red
In most states, drivers can turn right on red as long as they come to a complete stop at the red light and yield to pedestrians. However, this practice can be dangerous and even deadly for people on foot. Fortunately, New York City has laws that prohibit right turns on red as long as drivers obey all other traffic rules and yield to oncoming traffic.
At most intersections, there is a white line that indicates where drivers should come to a full stop when they are approaching a red light. This helps to keep traffic moving and prevents lines of cars from forming at the stop. However, many drivers don’t actually come to a full stop before turning on red. They often start to inch forward into the intersection and fail to look for oncoming traffic or pedestrians.
According to WCNC in Charlotte, this problem is prevalent throughout North Carolina as well. While it was once legal to turn right on a flashing red arrow, the state changed the law in 2012 to prohibit this. Many drivers still fail to heed the new law and can face fines for doing so.
Whether you are in New York or another state, it’s important to understand these rules and how they affect your driving habits. Then, you can avoid getting a traffic ticket and stay safe on the road.