Oh Mighty Mahatma: I anticipate I'm the leading edge of the wave of responses you will get regarding green arrows with red lights when the right turn is totally protected. Examples are Reservoir Road at Cantrell Roal, and Markham Street westbound turning right onto Chenal Parkway northbound. If you were to stop before turning on the green arrow the Hawaiian peace signs would appear in abundance. -- Terry
Dear Terry: Excuse us while we fall on our sword.
By the way, we are forever indebted for another way to describe that particular traffic gesture.
This reminds of the great editorialist Paul Greenberg. Making a mistake shows readers you're human, he would say. Just like them. He would write an annual column headlined "Where we went wrong."
We do know a little something about being wrong, having been married for 46 years. Write it that way, an old friend told us. That should explain everything.
Dear Mahatma of the Highways: I must take exception to your reply about turning right on red with a green arrow. Without the arrow of permission, one must certainly come to a full stop. However, the green arrow means that it is okay to turn without stopping. That green arrow is coordinated with the signaled traffic flow so that it is perfectly safe (as possible) to turn right. The arrow will occur when the cross traffic is turning left on their green arrow. -- Safety Chief
Dear Chief: We had a boss -- John Robert Starr was his name -- who told us more than once never to assume something. Because that made an ass out of u and me.
Actually, he didn't tell us this as much as yell us this. He was a great man, that Mr. Starr.
When we wrote that column, we relied our our memory, having answered the question at least once before. Make that misremembered.
This reminds us of Quarrel, a character in Ian Fleming's novel, Live and Let Die. Quarrel was a helper to James Bond, a debonair secret agent with whom we share no characteristics. Quarrel once told Mr. Bond that his memory was fading. Quarrel, he said while referring to himself in the third person, forgets the taste of the mango as he throws away the skin.
Sometimes we forget what we wrote when we hit send.
Dear Mahatma: Regarding your answer to the question regarding a circular red light and a green arrow, there is no requirement to stop. -- Scott
Dear Scott: Thank you for sending along a little something from the state's legal code. That is Arkansas Annotated Code 27-52-107, "Signal Legend." We should have looked it up.
Turns out that when there's a steady red ball with a green arrow, vehicular traffic facing the signal may cautiously enter the intersection only to make the movement indicated by the arrow. But yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within a crosswalk.
Now, onward!
(Editor's note: The Mahatma's editor was asleep at the light when he let the previous column slip by him.-- Sonny Albarado)
Fjfellone@gmail.com
Metro on 09/07/2019