Turlock traffic lights adding to danger

It is so sad that a boy died last week in an automobile crash at the corner of Monte Vista Avenue and North Walnut Road in Turlock, when it could have been prevented. I have complained about the poor operation of this traffic light for the last eight months, by phone calls and personally going to the city offices and speaking with the traffic director.

I went again and told him a person is now dead because of the way the light operates. It still needs to be corrected. The problem is, it looks green for you, then turns red for you, but stays green for oncoming traffic, so you assume that you can safely complete your left turn in front of them. This misconception has been the cause of many collisions at this and other traffic light locations in Turlock. Everyone ever involved in a collision at this location that I spoke with said they thought it was OK to complete their turn after it turned red for them. Now a poor boy is dead.

The city must take responsibility to fix this. Turlock is the only city in California that I know of that has its traffic lights designed this way. The city needs to change them, or there will be more victims!

GARY E. SIMS

Turlock