A flashing light does not mean you have to stay stopped, you idiots!

I was driving south on Highland approaching the Greenline when the light turned yellow. I slowed down. And then red. I stopped, first in line. There was a lot of traffic, so there were lines of cars stopped in each lane. 2 bicyclists rode past on the Greenline, which is why the light had turned red. A short time later, the light began flashing red. I looked both ways, and there was nary a pedestrian or bicyclist in sight, so I proceeded to move on down the street.

You'd think I had committed some heinous crime. Much honking and waving and thrusting upwards of obscene gestures and the making of angry faces ensued. And as I kept an eye on the traffic behind me I noticed that not a single one of those cars moved until the flashing red light went off.

Just a little info for the idiots who apparently missed that lesson in drivers' ed: A FLASHING RED LIGHT IS TREATED AS A STOP SIGN! The flashing red light is specifically intended to allow drivers to proceed after stopping.

Here's a video that explains this:



I swear, I'd vote for annual re-testing of all drivers.