Introducing "A No Turn on Red"

Rules, a guide or principle for governing action-a regulation, according to Webster. They are the usual or customary way of doing things, seems sensible. So, if it makes sense why do we insist on bending, breaking or simply ignoring the rules altogether? Is it part of our DNA, possibly? We could trace it back to the Creation Story in Genesis with the story of Adam and Eve. When God created Adam, he told him he could eat from any of the trees in the garden, “except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” (Gn 2, 16-17) The first rule! Don’t eat from that tree; Do Not. Interesting that God created man and then had to give him a rule. Then, God creates woman as a companion to the man and sets them off naked together in the garden.

All seems good in the garden until the serpent shows up and asks the woman (her name is not Eve yet) “did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” (Gn 3, 1) The woman answers “no”, only from the tree of knowledge, because we will die. The serpent tells her she won’t die, God just doesn’t want them to know what he knows then they would be like him. Since the tree and its fruit is pleasing to the eye, she takes some fruit and eats it. Adam is right there, and she gives him some of the fruit and he eats it. They both realize they are naked and quickly hide and cover themselves with loincloths fashioned from fig leaves. Oh, they are in trouble, and they know it. The rule has been broken.

It’s just before sunset and Adam and the woman hear God moving about in the garden, and God calls out for them. When they finally answer God asks them why they didn’t come out right away and Adam says they were afraid because they were naked. God asks them how did they know they were naked? Then he asks them the important question, “did you eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge?” (This is my favorite part of the story) Adam answers God and says, “the woman YOU put here with me-she gave me the fruit.” God asks the woman why she would do such a thing and she blames the serpent. So, the rule is broken, and the blame is pointed elsewhere, sound familiar! It didn’t end to well for the three of them. Adam, Eve (she finally gets a name) and the serpent each suffer consequences. Like any rule that is broken, no one thinks of the consequences until it is too late.

I have been a safety professional in the construction industry for almost twenty years, and have become increasing interested in why people avoid, ignore, or simply defy the rules. Rules that are put in place to protect, to keep us safe. Everywhere I look, construction sites, or anywhere people occupy space, they violate the rules. Recently I started to notice something that I know has been going on for a long time, but I didn’t give it much thought because I was doing it too; making a right turn on red when the sign clearly states, “No Turn on Red”. It is interesting to watch. A driver approaches a red light, stops, and drifts out a little further into the road. He looks left then right, by all appearances he is looking to make sure no other cars are coming. But he is really looking to see if a cop is nearby. Then he makes the turn. There is no accident, and the driver has now just saved precious seconds. Life is good for that moment, no harm done. The rule is broken and there are no consequences for the action. The lesson is “no harm no foul”.

The other day I was at a similar traffic light, except this one had a sign that read “No turn on Red” 7:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday thru Friday. It was 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon, according to the sign you could not make a right on red. The light had just turned red and there were six cars in front of me. I wondered; would the first car break the rule? I was kind of rooting for him to break the rule and I wasn’t disappointed. The driver looked both ways and made the right on red. I watched and within a few seconds the second and third cars repeated the infraction. I was amazed. There was a pause, enough to let out a sigh, has all humanity lost their minds, then the fourth car forged ahead and turned right. With hope hanging in the balance, would the next car do the same? Yup, the bastard did! There was one car left in front of me and the light was still red. I don’t know what the driver was thinking at that moment, was his day so busy he couldn’t pause and obey the signal? He did the same thing as the others. I pulled up to the light and waited. The driver behind me beeped his horn, I’m sure to get me to make the same turn (that will be a topic for another post). I waited for the light to turn green and then I turned. Now don’t think I am some saint, far from it, but I have spent many years in construction safety reminding people to follow the rules, so I need to follow my own advice.

Emerson said, “Good men must not obey the laws too well.” Does that mean we can choose which ones we follow? “A No Turn on Red” is a look at the rules we break. Why do we bend, ignore, or disobey the rules, with no regard for the consequences? Sometimes it’s comical, other times it is not. The objective of this blog is to explore the reasons why we do these things and why life takes a wrong turn sometimes. It is meant to poke fun at some of them, nudge us in the right direction with others, and maybe change the ones that just don’t work. I hope you enjoy this journey with me.