RICHARD Thurgood hopes other law-abiding drivers won’t be abused like he was after legally going through a red light at a Ballarat intersection.
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Mr Thurgood was turning right from Sturt Street onto Pleasant Street when he was followed by another driver and verbally abused.
“Two or three kilometres down the road I pulled into Rubicon Street when I heard this fella shout across the road, ‘when is it okay to go through a red light?’” he said.
“Not knowing who he was referring to, I looked around and noticed him getting out of his car and approach me quite irate.”
Mr Thurgood told the man he had not broken the law, but that the situation was unique.
VicRoads regional director Ewen Nevett said the intersection was different to others on Sturt Street because the centre median has far less space for vehicles than other Sturt Street intersections.
“As such, the centre median is a ‘give way zone’ and has been marked with broken white lines allowing vehicles to safely proceed through the intersection from the centre median,” he said.
“This has been done to allow vehicles to safely clear the centre median, particularly for vehicles turning right from Sturt Street into Pleasant Street.
“This reduces the risk of right-turning vehicles queuing back into Sturt Street and reduces the risk of rear-end collisions.”
A U-turn facility in Sturt Street, east of the intersection, also prevents traffic build-up.
Other Sturt Street intersections between Pleasant Street and Lydiard Street with traffic signals have signs to alert motorists to stop on the red signal.
Mr Thurgood said he hoped other law-abiding drivers wouldn’t be treated the way he was.
“I would hate to see a person getting abused like I was for no reason,” he said.
“People should get their facts straight before they start following people and abusing them for doing the right thing.”