Motorists call out ‘frustrating’ act that causes traffic congestion

The ‘short stop’ at a set of traffic lights can be particularly annoying to see on the roads because there’s nothing you can do about it.

RELATED: How to get the green light every time

This short stop refers to drivers who don’t pull up close enough to the lines at an intersection for the traffic lights to sense a car has arrived.

Sure, you can beep your horn and flash your lights, but the chances are that the short-stopping car has no idea what it is doing wrong.

You wouldn’t be alone in getting frustrated with this act, as it has become a particularly hot topic on online forums such as Reddit.

“Frustrating. Why is this happening all the time now in Melbourne?” one user wrote, accompanied by a photo of a taxi at least one car length from the traffic lights.

“I came across a person at 5am doing this at an intersection where they need to touch the induction loops for the light to change. I always wondered how long he had been waiting there,” said another.

“People can’t judge where the front of their car is. If you draw a line from their eyes to the top of the bonnet that is in their line of sight, that’s where they think they are stopping,” reasoned a commenter.

While people are highlighting the problem, does this actually cause more traffic congestion and make the lights take longer? And is it illegal?

Should you pull all the way up to the line at traffic lights?

To ensure smooth traffic flow, you must pull up to the solid white line at the intersection. Service NSW even mentions on its website that “You must stop as close as possible behind the ‘Stop’ line”.

In a previous story, we sat down with Chris Miller from the Department of Transport Victoria, who explained just how green lights work. Not every set of traffic lights will solely rely on the electromagnetic sensors (also called loops), because they relay data gathered to automatically trigger the lights at certain times to ensure the maximum amount of traffic gets through.

“Intersections don’t work independently; they tend to be linked to other intersections along specified routes. We look at the data, we look at the travel patterns and where the demand is,” said Miller.

Miller also mentioned that on certain quieter roads and low-volume times, you need to run over the electromagnetic sensor to trigger the lights.

“In the middle of the night, when there’s no demand, you’ll probably find that when you pull up, the light will fairly quickly go green as long as nothing is coming in the other direction. At those times, the light is triggered by a magnetic loop built into the road pavement,” said Miller.

“As you approach the intersection, the magnets under the road detect that a large chunk of metal has just arrived. Then, that’ll send the signal to the controller box beside the traffic signal to tell the controller that there’s a demand here. If everything’s safe, it will switch to green so that we can get this person on their way.

“Let’s flip to the same intersection, but at 7:30 in the morning, you’ll find that it will operate quite differently. We prioritise our signals to give a nice, easy flow to where most people are headed. We’ve got data from each intersection that counts the cars, knows what speed they’re doing, and knows what time of day has the biggest demand.”

Positioning your car correctly is especially important when travelling along roads that aren’t in high demand during peak periods. The traffic light system needs to know that you are there and waiting for the green. Stopping short could mean you are waiting an eternity for the lights to change, and you could be causing more traffic congestion.

Is it illegal to stop too far away from the line at traffic lights?

Believe it or not, stopping too far from the line at a stop sign or traffic light is illegal. It is covered under Road Rules 2014 – Regulation 56: “A driver approaching or at traffic lights showing a red traffic light must stop if there is a stop line at or near the traffic lights as near as is practicable, but before reaching the stop line”.

It can be interpreted by a police officer to fine you for not stopping close enough to the line at a red light.

The fine is actually the same as running a red light, which is $464 and three demerit points in New South Wales for “not stopping at the stop line at a red light”.

This is different to the “proceed through red traffic light” fine and “not stop before the stop sign at a red light” (going over the white line).

However, unless you are imposing a large inconvenience on the road, you’re unlikely to be fined for it.

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