How did I run this red light while looking straight at it?

Last night, I was driving myself and two friends home from another friend's house (not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol), and I had gone past a couple of green lights, but when I saw a red one, I recognised it as a red light, but I didn't stop. My brain like didn't make the connection between red and slow down and stop. I finally slammed on the brakes in the middle of the intersection when one friend said ';What are you doing? It's red!'; Then, I realised I had to stop. Thank god no one was coming, otherwise it would have been a very bad night.



I don't know what even happened. I was paying attention, and I wasn't distracted. This has happened once before, too. I was driving with my dad, and I did the same thing. I stopped when he yelled at me, and I again realised I had to stop. This is so weird and not good. Why did this happen? How can I stop it from happening again? This was really scary.



I don't know if it's related, but a few times before, I have had like ';time lapses'; where I completely forgot some period of time, around 30 or less seconds each time. I was conscious, but had absolutely no memory of it. Twice while driving, once while playing tennis, maybe another time, too. I can't remember. While I was playing tennis, I supposedly played the last point of the game but had no memory of it and tried to play it again, until my dad and sister said it had already happened. While driving, the driving instructor told me to change lanes, which I did not remember happening, and when I was supposed to change, he was like, ';Why aren't you going?'; The other time, my mom told me to turn, and I almost drove past the intersection before she told me again to turn.



Also, I get plenty of sleep, and I didn't have too much on my mind at the time. I can't see any reason for this to happen.



Thank you for your help.How did I run this red light while looking straight at it?
It looks as if you may have more on your mind than you are aware of. This is probably a problem with concentration. It happens to everybody. But if you are concerned you may want to see a psychiatrist to check for any problems. He may refer you to a neurologist for a workup. Nobody can diagnose you on this site. If you think you need help than you should get it.How did I run this red light while looking straight at it?
This same thing happens to me. It scares the hell out of you when you realize what is happening. It can also happen as you drive by your highway exit while you are looking right at the sign. People tell you their names and as they say it you are already forgetting it. This is one thing that helps me. 3 words. Task at hand. Tasks at hand. Concentrate on the task at hand. That was said by someone in a safety meeting at my job and I actually repeat that to myself to make sure I am paying attention.
this happens to me mainly when i'm mentally tired. the only difference is that i stop at green lights! make sure that you don't drive while you're tired, even if you've had enough sleep, if you're feeling tired at all, have someone else drive. i've heard statistics stating that driving while tired is just as dangerous as driving drunk.



i've also gone on ';auto pilot'; which i think happens when you're just in the groove of what you're doing and not really paying attention. try to keep yourself stimulated while you're driving so that you don't lapse into a different world :)



good luck, stay safe!