PeteSpencer wrote:..yanks 'turn right on red'
Peter
.. '
after coming to a complete stop'. Similarly with the '4-way stop' (permanently flashing red lights, or 'stop' signs captioned '4-way') at many junctions in US and Canada. Failure to have stopped
completely at one of these before (safely) setting off again can attract a ticket, even in an empty town at midnight, and even if not on a 'public highway' but still on 'public land', such as within a military base's parking lot. On the latter, which can be huge, it has been known for Military Police to park up at night in an obscure corner with binoculars and a camera .. So the rule still impedes traffic flow (and thereby increases pollution) in ways which the commoner (in Europe) 'Give Way' signs (which mean 'carry on without stopping if there is nothing coming') do not.
And the 'right on red' does not apply in all jurisdictions: it used to apply in Ontario but not in Quebec. There was a road bridge across the Ottawa River between Ottawa (Ont) and Hull (Que) where there were lights on the Hull side, and most vehicles were turning right towards Gatineau. Many Ottawa and most visiting drivers unthinkingly turned 'right on red'; there was frequently a Provincial or Municipal Police Cruiser crew ready to pounce with a ticket
I have never accepted the frequent jibe, sometimes aired here, that
in UK road schemes (with penalties for infractions) are designed and intended solely or mainly as revenue generators. However, in parts of North America this is undoubtedly true.
(mere guide at) Jet Age Museum, Gloucestershire Airport
http://www.jetagemuseum.org/TripAdvisor Excellence Award 2015
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction ... gland.html