Downed power leads to a good question about traffic lights

Your editorial about the confusion that occurs at intersections when a traffic signal is not working because of a power outage brought to mind an interesting question ("Mixed signals," Sept. 1): Why is it more dangerous to proceed through a red light after stopping than to go through a stop sign after stopping?

Why is my judgment trusted to turn "right on red," but not trusted to go straight ahead or turn to the left?

Since stop signals were adopted not to hold up traffic but to enable cross traffic to proceed, is there ever any purpose in waiting for the light to turn green when no other traffic is in sight?

George B. Wroe, Glyndon