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As part of our campaign to understand motorists’ driving behaviour, The Star is monitoring intersections. This week Simon Henderson took a look at Cargill's Corner, a hot spot identified by Dunedin police as a red-light running problem zone.

Arriving at Cargill's Corner, on a rainy afternoon last Monday I was struck by how busy it was.

The intersection of Hillside Rd and King Edward St had a steady flow of traffic on both roads. Trucks, buses, utes and passenger vehicles sped past.

Many motorists were well behaved and followed traffic light directions.

However, there were cars that ran red lights both straight ahead and on the turning arrow.

Cars at Cargills Corner risk an accident by crossing on orange and red lights. PHOTO: SIMON HENDERSON
Cars at Cargills Corner risk an accident by crossing on orange and red lights. PHOTO: SIMON HENDERSON

Despite it being a rainy afternoon, many drivers did not seem to change their behaviour even as the skies darkened and the street became slick with rain.

Cars squeezed through orange lights despite having enough time to slow and stop.

A clear street ahead seemed to prompt some drivers to risk orange and even red lights, despite not knowing what traffic could be coming towards them.

I spent about 20 minutes at each corner as I gathered statistics, and I was only able to record what I could see from my position.

Comments

Try the corner of Andy bay road and Hillside road, quite a lot of cars run the red there turning right into hillside road.