Traffic lights, more harm than good?

[Superliminal]

surveyor said:

There was a set of traffic light in Portishead. They failed and traffic moved better.

They then turned them off for a trial and traffic continued to flow better.

These traffic lights are no longer in Portishead.

Very progressive I thought.

The exact example I was going to use. My Nan lives in the flats behind that junction. It's much better now than when the lights were in place.

[markmullen]

The traffic lights on my way back into York (Malton Road) were switched off for weeks and traffic flowed beautifully, they were switched back on (to allow the occasional bus to be prioritised, another thing I disagree with) and queues became common again.

[acespizee]

N Dentressangle said:

The sheer number and pointlessness of Bristol traffic lights is staggering.

[12v3pot]

Superliminal said:

surveyor said:

There was a set of traffic light in Portishead. They failed and traffic moved better.

They then turned them off for a trial and traffic continued to flow better.

These traffic lights are no longer in Portishead.

Very progressive I thought.

The exact example I was going to use. My Nan lives in the flats behind that junction. It's much better now than when the lights were in place.

Video here: http://www.wimp.com/trafficlights/

(Not all good news, however)

[amancalledrob]

JordanTurbo said:

IMO we should adopt the "turn left on red if clear" rule as other countries...

Edited by JordanTurbo on Tuesday 8th October 20:17

Don't we have filter lights for that purpose where they're suitable? I could be wrong about that...

I guess the potential pitfall with 'left on red if clear' is that it trusts your fellow motorist to accurately define 'clear'. Too many drivers I've seen would settle for 'clear enough'.

[ian_touring]

Shirley there must be solid evidence of benefits, given how much they cost to install??? Or am I assuming too much, that common sense rules decisions to give traffic light installations the "green light"

[crostonian]

Makes me laugh, over the last thirty years we've gone from crossroads with no lights, crossroads with lights, roundabouts with no lights and now roundabouts with lights. What next?

[anonymous-user]

crostonian said:

Makes me laugh, over the last thirty years we've gone from crossroads with no lights, crossroads with lights, roundabouts with no lights and now roundabouts with lights. What next?

Next comes roundabouts with no lights again, then crossroads with lights, then crossroads without lights.
The tts who claim to "manage" our traffic still won't get it though.......

[12v3pot]

Crossflow Kid said:

Next comes roundabouts with no lights again, then crossroads with lights, then crossroads without lights.
The tts who claim to "manage" our traffic still won't get it though.......

Don't worry, we'll eventually get to total micromanagement: traffic lights on your dashboard, controlled by the planners directly.

[acf8181]

My most hated thing on the road is traffic lights ON roundabouts......surely the whole point of the roundabout is to avoid the need for lights?! grrrrrr!

[fangio]

ShampooEfficient said:

Any more details? If its where I'm thinking, theyve removed a RAB that was busy twice a day, with a huge amount of signals that mean its busy permanently while you wait for your turn...

I think it's the Riverside/Church Road set-up!

[Motorrad]

Turn hate towards roundabouts where vision of conflicting traffic streams is deliberately obscured.

Then we turn on traffic lights.

[Stuartggray]

There is a big roundabout on the edge of Edinburgh. The Gogarburn roundabout. It has traffic lights all over it seemingly designed to impede you at every junction. It is bliss when the lights fail and it works as originally designed.

[northandy]

ShampooEfficient said:

Any more details? If its where I'm thinking, theyve removed a RAB that was busy twice a day, with a huge amount of signals that mean its busy permanently while you wait for your turn...

I think your right, a busy twice a day roundabout, replaced with the most ridiculous junction I've ever seen.

[ImpossiblyDaft]

amancalledrob said:

Don't we have filter lights for that purpose where they're suitable? I could be wrong about that...

I guess the potential pitfall with 'left on red if clear' is that it trusts your fellow motorist to accurately define 'clear'. Too many drivers I've seen would settle for 'clear enough'.

These apply when the pedestrian crossing is green, in which case the road gives way to pedestrians. It works reasonably when people are prepared for it, but would be a disaster if applied in the UK.

[henrycrun]

We have a 4 way set that switch to green for an isolated vehicle.
But it only works like this during the night.

[trackerjack]

No no no, you guys just do not understand what is going on here!
The whole purpose of traffic lights is to piss you off so much you go green and take the stinking diesel bus or train.
However who wants to sit on public transport listening to inane chatter of mobile phone users ie "YES I AM ON A BUS"?
Enjoy teenagers with their filthy trainers on the seat opposite and every other person coughing away! Not to mention the tinny personal music that invades your ears.
So sit in your car with your own music in a comfy seat and just chill.........unless you have to transport a teenager.

[oyster]

JordanTurbo said:

IMO we should adopt the "turn left on red if clear" rule as other countries do allong with having them change to a constant amber repeat during the night when they are not needed.

Edited by JordanTurbo on Tuesday 8th October 20:17

Except that in the US where it appears to work well, the cars have to give way to pedestrians as they turn, and in all my time in the US I have never seen a vehicle fail to give way to a pedestrian. Why do I believe that over here, drivers would somehow believe they are superior to pedestrians and not give way.

[MX7]

oyster said:

Except that in the US where it appears to work well, the cars have to give way to pedestrians as they turn, and in all my time in the US I have never seen a vehicle fail to give way to a pedestrian. Why do I believe that over here, drivers would somehow believe they are superior to pedestrians and not give way.

No idea. All you need is a crossing painted on the road, and people will stop.


4 Way Stop Vs Roundabout - Mythbusters

[carreauchompeur]

N Dentressangle said:

It has to be. The sheer number and pointlessness of Bristol traffic lights is staggering.

But then the entire way transport is fked up in Bristol is staggering too, so I guess a few traffic lights should come as no surprise.

.

N Dentressangle said:

It has to be. The sheer number and pointlessness of Bristol traffic lights is staggering.

But then the entire way transport is fked up in Bristol is staggering too, so I guess a few traffic lights should come as no surprise.

I fully agree. I've lived near the centre for 10yrs now and it used to be really smooth for me to drive from Anchor Rd to Gloucester Rd.

Now they have instituted so many car-unfriendly junctions and lights (altering the timing etc) that it's an unpleasant stop-start stop start nightmare whatever the traffic, and Anchor Rd is a car park at rush hour (This is a nightmare given where my car is parked!)

Add in the fecking bus stops in the middle of the road, etc...