What to do when one side of the traffic light is broken while the other side is normal?
4 Answers
If the traffic light doesn't change for more than 20 minutes, it's malfunctioning. First check if there are any traffic police or temporary traffic signals nearby. If not, you can proceed directly. It's best to record the situation with your dashcam or mobile phone camera, otherwise you might be penalized for traffic violations if caught. Being extra cautious never hurts. When passing through in such situations, be sure to yield to pedestrians, as traffic accidents can easily occur otherwise.
I just encountered this situation the day before yesterday. I was driving through an intersection when I noticed the green light on my side was on, but the traffic lights on the opposite side were completely out. I immediately reduced my speed to around 20 km/h, constantly scanning both sides. After all, a green light doesn't guarantee absolute safety—if an oncoming driver misjudged and rushed out, it could be disastrous. My back was tense the whole time crossing the intersection, and I didn't ease off the accelerator until I was completely through. Later, a traffic police friend told me that such malfunctions should be treated as an un-signalized intersection, giving priority to vehicles from the right. If the red light isn't displaying, it's even more complicated—you must stop at the stop line, observe carefully, and then proceed. In such cases, it's best to immediately record video evidence and call 122 to report the issue for repairs, just to be safe.
After driving for over a decade, what I fear most is traffic light malfunctions, especially this kind of one-sided failure. Last week at the intersection on Jianshe Avenue, the southbound light cluster went dark while the northbound side kept flashing green normally. When my side showed red, I witnessed two cars from the opposite direction directly crossing the stop line. Now when encountering such situations, even if my light turns green, I'll gently tap the brakes first: first to confirm if there are any vehicles rushing from the crossing lanes, second to check for pedestrians mistakenly entering traffic, and third to glance at the rearview mirror to prevent rear-end collisions. I remember last year at the eastern city intersection, three cars collided consecutively due to similar malfunctions, and later the traffic accident division found through surveillance that it was caused by aging signal light wiring. It's recommended that when crossing such intersections, turn off the music and roll down the windows in advance – listening carefully to surrounding movements is particularly crucial.
Last time when dropping my kid off at school, I encountered a similar situation where my side had a normal green light while all the opposing lights were out. As a novice driver, I might have driven straight through without hesitation, but now I wouldn't dare. My approach involves three steps: I start easing off the throttle 50 meters before the intersection; upon entering, I turn my head left and right twice each; and I'm always ready to slam on the brakes. I recall traffic regulations stating that when some traffic signals fail, the rules for uncontrolled intersections apply—whoever arrives first goes first. However, in reality, I've noticed most drivers enter a few seconds of hesitation, which is actually the most dangerous time to proceed. Once during rush hour, I saw six directions of traffic deadlocked in the middle of the intersection for half a minute, and it took a truck driver waving directions to finally get everyone moving.
