January 2, 1978: Turning Right On Red

January 2, 1978: Making a right turn in your car despite the traffic light showing red becomes legal in New Jersey. This was a big deal then. It’s a pretty big deal now.

The law took effect on January 2 because January 1 was a Sunday.

Allowing right turns on red is actually optional. Intersections can have signs saying, "NO TURN ON RED," with qualifications possibly added, such as in the photograph above.

But right turns on red have proven very popular in New Jersey. In fact, when someone doesn't take advantage of it, the driver of the car behind them usually honks their horn like they're back in New York City. And turning right on red isn't legal in the City, except in a few intersections on Staten Island.

But it is legal in the rest of the State of New York. Indeed, every other State followed New Jersey. On January 1, 1980, Massachusetts became the last State to legalize it.

*

January 2, 1978 was a Monday. Because January 1 fell on a Sunday, the annual New Year's Day bowl games were pushed back:

* In the early afternoon, Number 1 Texas, with Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, were upset by Number 5 Notre Dame, with sophomore quarterback Joe Montana, 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Dallas.

* In the late afternoon, Number 4 Michigan were upset by Number 13 Washington, 27-20 in the Rose Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Pasadena, California. That opened the door for the Numbers 2 and 3 teams, both playing that night.

* Number 2 Oklahoma were upset by Number 6 Arkansas, 31-6 in the Orange Bowl, at the stadium of the same name in Miami.

* And Number 3 Alabama beat Number 9 Ohio State, 35-6 in the Sugar Bowl, at the Superdome in New Orleans.

So the National Champion was Number 3 Alabama, right? Wrong: Both the sportswriters' poll, the Associated Press (AP), and the coaches' poll, United Press International (UPI), chose Number 5 Notre Dame. So the polls screwed Alabama in favor of Notre Dame, just as they had in 1966, when Alabama were the last undefeated & untied team, and Notre Dame had the famous 10-10 tie with Michigan State.

Baseball was out of season. No games were played in the NBA. One game was played in the NHL: The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-2 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

And in English soccer, the team I would one day start supporting, Arsenal, beat Suffolk team Ipswich Town, 1-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London. But Ipswich would have its revenge, beating Arsenal in the season's FA Cup Final.