Life continues to test our patience every single day. It’s always on the days that we’re in a hurry when everything seems to take longer. The line at the gas station is longer than usual, there’s problems at the register, people are tapping their feet and sighing. You keep checking your watch, and the time is ticking away until you need to be at work. It becomes easy for us to lose our temper and get frustrated with the circumstances. It has happened to all of us.

Our patience becomes essential when the lack thereof puts our lives or the lives of others at risk.

In elementary school, we are taught the basic meaning of red, yellow, and green when it comes to traffic lights. It is only when we get older that we lose sight of the importance of following basic rules. Any one person is not more important than the next–all our time is valuable. If we think we are more important than another being and run a red light, putting another person’s life at risk, we are truly losing sight of both an important moral (patience) and the basic safety rules of the road.

According to government research, an estimated 800 deaths and 200,000 injuries occur annually due to people running a red light.

Running a red light also includes driving through a yellow light that turns red as you are in the middle of the intersection.

Why do people run red lights?

One of the biggest reasons is because people lose patience. As mentioned above, people may be in a hurry and don’t feel like they have time to wait for the light to change.

Another reason is because people were already in the intersection when the light turned yellow. The duration of the yellow light depends on the speed of traffic. The higher the speed, the longer the yellow light. People will run red lights when they are already too close to the intersection to safely come to a stop.

This happens. The light changes unexpectedly, and we’re already going too fast to stop. However, when people begin running red lights due to impatience, it becomes a sad and unnecessary issue. Running a red light is a form of aggressive driving.

Do not put the lives of other people at risk because you are impatient. People die because of this. The life of another human being is worth the extra few minutes of waiting at a red light. Do not try to speed up to make the light. Do not cross the street on a red light if you don’t think there are any cars coming. Be a considerate driver.

Next time you are sitting at a red light, take a deep breath and realize that the light is going to turn green, and life will move on. Remind yourself that the light is red because the crossing light is green, and it is life-threatening to cross the street at that time.

By: KayLynn P.