Dysfunctional roadworks traffic signals

[Chromegrill]

What are you supposed to do if you are sitting at red temporary roadworks traffic signals and they fail to change?

Happened to me the other day, twice. After sitting there stuck on red with the engine running for maybe an hour and a half (*) and cars behind me getting impatient, I gave up and drove through. Quiet side road, nothing had been coming in the opposite direction. Light the other side wasn't working so clearly the lights were defective. No number or indication of contractor to report to either.

Happened again later on a different road, only this time busy main road in both directions. Red light and roadworks obstructing my side meaning a continuous stream of cars coming towards me, nowhere safe to turn around and took ages for a break in traffic that I and others near me in the queue could risk driving through the red. Again on the other side, no green, just not working.

I didn't think you were supposed to drive through red lights. Have I given a legitimate exception?

(*) OK a bit more than 90 seconds but I think the kids in the back were stretching it to suggest I was there 90 minutes even if it felt it to them.

[Simpo Two]

I would have a good look all round, weigh up the situation and use my initiative. Otherwise there'd be 1,000 cars in a line all full of skeletons. Very Gary Larson.

[BertBert]

If only there was a way to search the internet for such things...

176
You MUST NOT move forward over the white line when the red light is showing. Only go forward when the traffic lights are green if there is room for you to clear the junction safely or you are taking up a position to turn right. If the traffic lights are not working, treat the situation as you would an unmarked junction and proceed with great care.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 36

[donkmeister]

I was a naughty boy the other day at a roadworks - traffic was coming towards us, then our light went green but the traffic carried on coming. Then our light went red just as the final car cleared it ..

Driver at the front thought "sod it" and went. As did a few cars in front of me and behind me.

Could have been faulty/misconfigured lights, could have been faulty drivers. The opposing light went green (in my rear view mirror) just after I drove through, so probably the latter!

[55palfers]

There is a shedload of legislation around the management of streetworks.

For each contravention of said Regulations on a site the contractor can be fined around £120(??)

If local councils allocated some proper enforcement to streetworks compliance then, eventually, contractors would start to manage their sites properly and things like defective traffic signals would be quickly remedied. Or dare I suggest, set up properly in the first place!

https://app.hauc-uk.org.uk/the-red-book

Edited by 55palfers on Thursday 2nd November 22:10

Edited by 55palfers on Thursday 2nd November 22:14

[119]

BertBert said:

If only there was a way to search the internet for such things...

176
You MUST NOT move forward over the white line when the red light is showing. Only go forward when the traffic lights are green if there is room for you to clear the junction safely or you are taking up a position to turn right. If the traffic lights are not working, treat the situation as you would an unmarked junction and proceed with great care.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 36

Can't see any mention of temporary traffic lights in that snippet.

[Black_S3]

BertBert said:

If only there was a way to search the internet for such things...

176
You MUST NOT move forward over the white line when the red light is showing. Only go forward when the traffic lights are green if there is room for you to clear the junction safely or you are taking up a position to turn right. If the traffic lights are not working, treat the situation as you would an unmarked junction and proceed with great care.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 36

Where’s the white line on temporary traffic lights

[Black_S3]

Chromegrill said:

I didn't think you were supposed to drive through red lights. Have I given a legitimate exception?

Happy to be corrected but I was taught by a ex plod driving instructor that temporary lights are no different to someone from say a utility company holding a stop and go sign. Ie you can completely ignore them with the caveat that if you ignore them and fk it up in the process you’re highly likely up for atleast careless driving.

[Mammasaid]

Black_S3 said:

Chromegrill said:

I didn't think you were supposed to drive through red lights. Have I given a legitimate exception?

Happy to be corrected but I was taught by a ex plod driving instructor that temporary lights are no different to someone from say a utility company holding a stop and go sign. Ie you can completely ignore them with the caveat that if you ignore them and fk it up in the process you’re highly likely up for atleast careless driving.

Wrong, they have the same status as permanent ones, however each site should have an info board with a telephone number to call in an emergency.

[Pica-Pica]

I must say in many decades of driving, I have never, ever come across a stuck traffic light, temporary or permanent. I feel deprived.

[snuffy]

BertBert said:

If only there was a way to search the internet for such things...

176
You MUST NOT move forward over the white line when the red light is showing. Only go forward when the traffic lights are green if there is room for you to clear the junction safely or you are taking up a position to turn right. If the traffic lights are not working, treat the situation as you would an unmarked junction and proceed with great care.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10 & 36

That's as maybe.

And if the temporary traffic lights are stuck on red, how does one apply the above?

[gazza285]

The last bump I had was at a set of temporary lights, I went through on green, two cars came round a corner in the roadworks, the first missed me, the second car didn’t. The driver was adamant that she drove through her lights on green. While we exchanged details, and I swapped her spare onto the OSR, as the valve had been ripped out, the contractors chucked the lights on their pickup and scarpered.

[TUS373]

I have chanced upon stuck temporary lights on many occasion. Makes we wonder if either it is the same faulty equipment being used in our locale, or someone thinks it a jolly jape to dick about with them.

Surely, if they fail, they should default to 'off' rather than 'red', then it is clear to all that they are off and out of use.

We can reboot the Mars rovers when they lose signal, but we can't get temporary lights to work. They have one purpose, not that complicated, but cause misery to drivers all the time!

[E63eeeeee...]

I had this happen to me on the A702 on the way to Edinburgh one evening fairly recently. I was sat at a temporary red for what seemed like half an hour with that creeping realisation as a few cars sporadically came the other way that it wasn't going to change.

Fortunately, I realised after a while that I could see the other set of lights reflected in the hedge and tell when they were changing, so I waited until they went red and went for it.

[Black_S3]

Mammasaid said:

Wrong, they have the same status as permanent ones, however each site should have an info board with a telephone number to call in an emergency.

I’m not convinced it’s so clear cut, unless everything else is equal ie white lines, correct authority for the lights being in that place etc.

Not trying to argue temps can be ignored at will just that imo you’re unlikely to truely get a ts10 for ignoring them if you contested it. Lacking white lines which is clearly defined it seems to fall into one of the careless driving categories, which would be a pretty hard bar to meet if for example on a deserted road someone ignored a stuck temp red when they could see it had absolutely no chance of impacting another road user.

[Short Grain]

I've driven through a temporary set of lights a couple of times, both late at night when they were stuck on red for over 10 minutes with nothing coming the other way. One set I could just see and obviously not seeing any headlights made for an easy decision. The other I was sat behind a police car and that one was a bit longer. Driver of the police car seemed to be getting a bit restless and peering ahead to see if anything was coming, and in the end, off he went, so I followed! After clearing the roadworks they just carried on, happy days, or nights

[Aretnap]

Black_S3 said:

Where’s the white line on temporary traffic lights

If there's no white line you must not proceed past the "When red light shows stop here" sign. Or if there's no "stop here" sign, you must not proceed past the light itself. See section 30(3) here.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/362/sched...

[BertBert]

snuffy said:

That's as maybe.

And if the temporary traffic lights are stuck on red, how does one apply the above?

Well unless you think that temp lights have a greater status than permanent ones you treat them the same in regard to them not working, do you not?

[Aretnap]

Black_S3 said:

I’m not convinced it’s so clear cut, unless everything else is equal ie white lines, correct authority for the lights being in that place etc.

Not trying to argue temps can be ignored at will just that imo you’re unlikely to truely get a ts10 for ignoring them if you contested it. Lacking white lines which is clearly defined it seems to fall into one of the careless driving categories, which would be a pretty hard bar to meet if for example on a deserted road someone ignored a stuck temp red when they could see it had absolutely no chance of impacting another road user.

There would need to be a temporary traffic order in place for the lights. There usually is, but you never know, you might get lucky.

As above, there is no need for a white line for the lights to be enforceable.

[snuffy]

BertBert said:

snuffy said:

That's as maybe.

And if the temporary traffic lights are stuck on red, how does one apply the above?

Well unless you think that temp lights have a greater status than permanent ones you treat them the same in regard to them not working, do you not?

How many days would you wait at the lights (including normal ones) on red then?