Proof that totally unregulated traffic IS possible and that it doesn't necessarily result in accidents.
By the way, I spent three months in India, and this could have been filmed in a hundred places.
video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-20636678525989...0
V
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Just because that short video didn't capture an accident don't mean there are none.
Even if there were ten crashes a day, there'd be dozens of periods when you could film for a few minutes without recording a crash.
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Sorry, I thought it was mildly humorous. I wasn't actually suggesting this in my capacity as Minsister for Transport.
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In most places in this country ,when t/lights breakdown,the traffic flow improves.
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In most places in this country ,when t/lights breakdown,the traffic flow improves.
I agree and certainly between the hours of midnight and 6 oclock in the mornig traffic lights are totally unecessary and just cause unecessary hold ups
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rustbucket (the original)
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Some of the daftest traffic lights are at pedestrian-controlled crossings. A) There are too many - normal 'zebra' crossings impede the traffic flow far less and create less pollution as a result. B) The electronic 'brains' controlling them are as thick as the people that programmed them: You want to cross the road and there's a load of traffic coming; you press the button and wait; and wait some more; there's a suitable gap when you can cross but you still wait; then some more traffic comes and the lights change; traffic is held up unnecessarily while you cross.
My programming would be: Lights change immediately in response to pedestrian request to cross. Impose specified minimum time between pedestrian 'cross' authorisations in order to avoid uresonably inhibiting traffic flow. Best of both worlds. That difficult?
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Normally in Warsaw in the early hours of the morning many traffic lights would flash amber and you could proceed with caution. Especially fantastic for doing dawn patrol airport runs and the like, you never had to stop. More recently though they've taken a step backwards and started phasing them eight seconds red, eight seconds green so it's impossible not to get caught by them at any speed. Even the pedestrian crossings when there isn't a soul for miles are constantly flicking through their sequence. I lost count of the times I had to stop this morning at 4.30am on a 4-mile stretch of completely deserted dual carriageway. The temptation is to run them on red and I see some taxis doing that but knowing my luck...
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I have yet to see a traffic light failure on a roundabout at any time of day that didn't result in reduced queues.
To my mind junctions should be traffic light controlled, or use a roundabout. There is no reason for both together.
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Absolutely.
My favourite horror spot is the traffic light son the roundabout over the A3 at the cobham / weybridge junction
Madness. utterly and completely not required and just cause problems
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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"I have yet to see a traffic light failure on a roundabout at any time of day that didn't result in reduced queues."
You obviously weren't on the Leeds ring road a few weeks ago. The lights had failed on a major roundabout and it was chaos.
The main problem seemed to be caused by drivers trying to work this one out. If the lights fail does it revert to a roundabout and priority is given to those already on it, or does it revert to a traffic light junction and you proceed with caution whether you are on the roundabout or not?
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My pet hate is buttons for pedestrians to request an opportunity to cross the road. A lot of twerps, many of whom are of adult age, walk down the road pressing all of them as a matter of course whether they want to cross the road or not. This should be a £60 on-the-spot fine offence, like jaywalking as the cousins call it but in reverse.
Of course it's possible the buttons are just there to amuse the passers-by and don't really work. I do hope so.
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Of course it's possible the buttons are just there to amuse the passers-by and don't really work. I do hope so.
You are right. As a pedestrian the buttons have no effect whatsoever. The lights will change in their own good time. The buttons are simply things to touch and feel good, like idols in Hindu temples, or certain parts of the anatomy of Henry Vlll's suit of armour.
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When traffic lights were installed on Junction 3 of the M42 about a year ago, hardley a busy junction, i really couldnt see the reason behind them, now a year later, i see alot more queues down onto the motorway, surely a safety hazzard and if i want to go west bound from A435 B'ham at 1am i can potentially wait at 3 sets, crazy, at night i just go through them with caution (apart from the motorway exit one) as there is no one ever there.
Also a bit further up the thread regarding traffic flow increasing with the lights out, last week they went out at a busy junction in Stourbridge due to road improvements and the traffic was fine alot better than it was this morning when they were working!
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Sheffield City Council part own a traffic light manufacturer. In my lifetime, Sheffield has gone from a handful of traffic lights to a forest at every junction. Coincidence?
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On Thursday with the storms the traffic lights on the A34 at Monks Heath (near Manchester) were out. Due to this, it took me over an hour to get off the site of my nearby workplace. So I think it's safe to say that some traffic lights do help!
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The *government (two-jags *prescott) told the *councils in 2000 -
If you can create enough congestion, we'll allow you to rob the people caught up in it.
* deliberately not capitalised as a mark of disrespect!
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and they were jammed at red coming out of Cobham Saturday evening - the Merc in front took about 5 minutes to get enough courage to jump them despite there being very little traffic.
Dan
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>> My favourite horror spot is the traffic light son the roundabout over the A3 at the cobham / weybridge junction Madness. utterly and completely not required and just cause problems ------------------------------ TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
When these lights were first proposed, we were PROMISED that the lights would be operational at peak times only.
That promise was given by a politician - so guess what it was worth!
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Isn't it amazing how the world around us can come up with devices that read tiniest registration plates from 10 metre high poles, decipher the number, locate previous instance of that number in it's global memory, calculate distance and average speed and then, if neccessary issue automatic fine with a picture, but for our own good they can't modify the same device that the traffic lights would stop going through cycles for completely empty streets. And then they tell us it's all about the traffic...
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[Nissan 2.2 dCi are NOT Renault engines. Grrr...]
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There's a junction near me which is programmed so that it doesn't 'go through cycles for completely empty streets'.
All well and good, but you try getting them to detect a modern alloy-framed motorbike. I'm seriously fed up with having to wait for a car to arrive - and the same applies to those cyclists (e.g. me) who bother to stop at red lights.
There are road users out there who aren't in cars!
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Usless blummin thing can't even detect my two wheeled tank. (Africa Twin)
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[Sofa Spud adopts pedestrian mode]......
There is a new pedestrian crossing at an improved junction near where I live. This is much better when on foot and better when in car too..............................
..................EXCEPT for one problem - the buttons for the pedestrian crossing are the new touch-button type that don't work if you are wearing gloves or if your hands are very dry. Also they fail quite often - you press the button and the ring of lights comes on then go out and you're back to square one! These touch-button crossings are clearly unreliable and WORSE than the older push-button type - a technological step backwards.
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Entertaining article on whether we need traffic lights or not in the Times the other day
{link removed - DD}
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Phil
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Doesn't India have appalling numbers of road accidents?
An Indian colleague went to India to learn to drive. He took some lessons, and was then told by his instructor that he was of a sufficient standard, and he received his licence. There was no independent test. When he came back to the UK, he was able to drive here legally. Fortunately, he has since taken lessons in the UK and now has a UK driving test. Indian colleagues tell me that India is very corrupt, so I wonder how many people pass their test after paying an appropriate amount?
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I remeber reading Clarksons column in Top Gear mag in a dentists waiting room where he wrote about being the co-driver in an Indian rally for blind drivers.
An interesting concept to dsay the least...
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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we have a road like that in leicester,its called belgrave rd
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Never mind India, I've just spent a week in Cairo, and that IS chaos! Most of the cars are 20-30 years old and belching fumes too. Impossible to cross the road as a pedestrian, they just drive at you. Maybe there ancient brakes are shot....
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An update:
This morning, as on many similar days, I rode my bike in from Waterloo Station to our London office.
At the north end of Waterloo Bridge, where it meets Strand at Aldwych, there is normally a half decent snarl-up and typically a minute or so's delay (even on a pushbike). Today, the traffic lights were out of order. Result? No traffic waiting at any of the entrances to the junction. Everyone keeping their eyes open and moving sweetly past one another.
I was negotiating the junction at the usual time of day, if you're wondering.
I agree that a sample of one is not proof, but I have seen similar things before and the result always seems to be similar. I wonder what'd happen if they turned off every set of lights in Central London?
V
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