Even waiting a beat after their light turned green wasn’t long enough to avoid this red light runner.
Presumed Washington resident and Redditor /u/Pap3rkat posted up dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit showing the unbelievable moment an elderly driver in a Toyota Sienna straight up blew through a red light at a busy intersection a good 9-10 seconds after their light turned red.
Check out /u/Pap3rkat’s thread and dashcam video posted below. It’s marked NSFW for language.
[OC] White van blows through red light no even caring about whats going on around them (taken 10/10/23) NSFW Language
byu/Pap3rkat inIdiotsInCars
The accident occurred in Tacoma, WA at the intersection of Pacific Ave. and South Tacoma Way (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
In the video, we can see OP sitting at the aforementioned intersection as the protected left turn lanes to his left and directly on the other side turn green.
With a green light to turn across the whole intersection, traffic going straight has red lights.
I counted just about up to 10 seconds until I see a white Toyota Sienna van on Pacific Ave cross and enter the intersection against a red light.
Here’s the van’s POV before going through the intersection. From this screenshot, it’s quite clear they had a red light.
“The Subaru and bus luckily were paying attention, and it was a long intersection. The Subaru and the bus protected turn was green for about 9-10 seconds before the white van rolls through the intersection,” OP clarified.
“Driver of the white van was geriatric. Can’t see it in the clip but there was a disabled placard and two older individuals in the van chatting.”
In Washington, while running a red light doesn’t result in points on your record, you are subject to a fine up to $250.
Simply put, that elderly driver was not paying attention, and it’s fair to say age was a contributing factor.
Thankfully, I was able to find several driving improvement programs in Washington aimed at older drivers.
If you know an older driver in The Evergreen State that can use that sort of continuing education, please refer them to the linked resources above.
