A taxi driver from Rome known to the press as Marco S. recently explained to the media how both Ciro Immobile and the driver of the tram with which he collided may have both crossed the road on a green light.
Immobile was involved in a crash with the number 19 tram in Rome on Sunday morning while driving with two of his daughters. Immobile, the two passengers as well as the tram driver were hospitalised with minor injuries.
The driver of the tram later publicised the fact that he thought Immobile must have crossed the road on a red light to have caused a collision of that scale.
‘Marco’ told Corriere dello Sport that he drives through the same intersection of the city on a daily basis and that he had noticed issues with one of the traffic lights that controls the lanes for public transport.
He explained to the outlet: “The problem that I personally encountered involved the traffic light that regulates the traffic on the preferential route reserved for public transport, the disabled, NCC and us taxi drivers.
“The first malfunction was that the lights can signal red for a very long time. So I’ve seen colleagues nailed in front of me for endless minutes and someone eventually might still cross the intersection with great caution just to pass.
“They stand still for up to twenty minutes. But then the opposite also happens, the green light lasts just two or three seconds, then immediately turns red again. And so you find yourself having engaged the intersection but find yourself in the middle of the road on a red light.
Meanwhile, those coming in cars see the green light signal in front of them and don’t brake. I heard the words of Immobile and I read those of the tram driver and both seemed very determined in claiming that they had passed on the green light.
“Given what I experienced and also my other colleagues who replied in the chat, it could actually have happened – would not surprise me.