Pick 28 - Bending Rules

Today I waited at a red light for at least 5 minuets. I was the fifth car in the line. I had gone through this intersection before so I knew something was wrong with the light. This is one of those smart traffic lights. It senses when no cars are coming through on one street and if there are cars waiting on the crossing street it bypasses the normal wait time and turns green for the crossing street. So either something was wrong with the light control or the timer reset itself incorrectly after a power outage. Whatever the cause, 5 minutes is a long time to wait for a traffic light to change. The person at the front of the line must have been an inexperienced driver or visitor from some foreign land. I say this because any experienced American driver would have waited the customary time and if the light remained red with no opposing traffic in sight, would have proceeded cautiously through the intersection against the red light. The fact that the driver behind the lead person did not lean on his/her horn indicates the driver at the head of the line would probably freeze up if horns were blown. So all five drivers waited in patience. Finally the light turned green and we proceeded through.

As I mulled over this experience, I realized the hidden value here. American drivers are likely the only drivers who, when faced with this kind of decision, would give the light its due respect and proceed through the intersection. It is part of our nature. We do not serve our technology. It serves us. So we are not afraid to defy a rule when it serves no purpose. I don't believe this is true in other parts of the world. In Germany, if faced with the same situation, the driver might wait all day or until a person in authority came by and waived them through. In Italy, the red light would probably be ignored most of the time so the driver would not even notice how long it remained red. In England, the driver would likely turn around then register a proper complaint with the Ministry of Traffic Control. But in America, there is hidden somewhere in our inner being the ability to distinguish between deference to a rule for the common good vs.a rule for the sake of having a rule. Traffic lights provide a prime example of this principle. We know we need traffic lights to maintain safety and manage access to public roads. But we also know that traffic lights are mere fallible machines. When they fail we are able to do the right thing without hesitation or the approval of a higher authority.

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