This reader's suggestion came in the form of a rant. He was upset at drivers who were stuck in the intersection when the light turns red because traffic on the other side of the intersection was already stopped, leaving no room to exit. Blocking traffic on the cross street was ignorant and those drivers needed to take a look at how they disregard the rules of the road.
He's correct, you should not enter an intersection on the green light unless you can clear it if the light turns red. It is illegal to stop, stand or park in an intersection in British Columbia unless you are avoiding conflict with traffic, complying with the law or obeying the directions of a peace officer.
We were taught the Smith System of driving during recruit training in Regina. One of the rules, aim high in steering, taught that the farther down the road you see while driving (and it's talking about seeing, not just looking), the less likely you are to have a collision. Or, in a case like this, the less likely you are to be caught blocking an intersection when the lights change.
Yes, if you do this, you probably save a few seconds at the expense of everyone else but how do you feel when you are in a hurry and someone does it to you? What if an ambulance or fire truck need to get through? Your convenience should not override everyone else's.
