Does the UK still need amber lights at junctions?
Discussion
We have recently been teaching our young daughter about her surroundings. When out in the car earlier today, stopped at traffic lights, she started saying "Red means stop, green means go". This got me thinking...
Do we still need amber lights at traffic junctions? I can see the point at pelican crossings (which I think means "go only if the way is clear") but why do they still have them at "normal" light-controlled junctions?
Are there other countries in the world that manage fine without the amber signal?
I looked up the meaning of the amber light on the link below and red + amber means stop, then on the way back to red again an amber on it's own means "Stop at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up may cause an accident".
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_...
So (in my opinion) it isn't needed at the start of the sequence (still means stop, same as red on it's own). Instead of going green>amber>red why not just have a flashing green when it's about to change to red and miss out amber altogether?
Is this a throwback to how the system was designed 60-70 years ago and it would be too costly to change it?
Do we still need amber lights at traffic junctions? I can see the point at pelican crossings (which I think means "go only if the way is clear") but why do they still have them at "normal" light-controlled junctions?
Are there other countries in the world that manage fine without the amber signal?
I looked up the meaning of the amber light on the link below and red + amber means stop, then on the way back to red again an amber on it's own means "Stop at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up may cause an accident".
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_...
So (in my opinion) it isn't needed at the start of the sequence (still means stop, same as red on it's own). Instead of going green>amber>red why not just have a flashing green when it's about to change to red and miss out amber altogether?
Is this a throwback to how the system was designed 60-70 years ago and it would be too costly to change it?
I think we still need amber between the change from green to red, but when changing from red to green most people start to move off when the red & amber lights are showing together, so going straight from red to green and ommiting the red/amber phase probably wouldn't cause an issue.
doctordr said:
Why don't we have left on red?
Because we don't have that many 4-way traffic lights like they do in the US?I think we still need amber to stop as if it turned red as you were 2' away at 30mph you would be breaking the law pretty much instantly. As for go, I can't see the harm about going straight from red to green, there must be a reason though?
oobster said:
......................I looked up the meaning of the amber light on the link below and red + amber means stop, then on the way back to red again an amber on it's own means "Stop at the stop line.
Where I live the amber on its own means "only four more vehicles can go". Then red means " only two more vehicles can go".Or so you might think!
Geoff.
There is a very busy junction in town with queues all the time at all four ends but when the lights are out the queues are gone.
I think they should change to flashing amber at quiet times.
These days with computers etc it shouldn't be difficult to have lights that worked in favour of the traffic flow.
I think they should change to flashing amber at quiet times.
These days with computers etc it shouldn't be difficult to have lights that worked in favour of the traffic flow.
ARH said:
in my experience busy traffic lighted junctions flow better when they are broken as every one is on gaurd and look where they are going. they also let trafic through in turn. If only it was like that all the time.
+1.There is a roundabout near to me that works the same. (a1058 silverlink).
IIRC a few places I visited in the states have Red -> Green, then Green -> Amber -> Red. Makes sense, as some people don't know whether to go on amber or green - although if I'm caught unawares I like to race the amber light to get into gear and take the handbrake off before it goes green. I'm yet to win, unfortunately.
LuS1fer said:
Why do we need lights at all? Most of the tw*ts I see think red means go.
I once observed some w
ker on a scooter who, upon reaching a red light, mounted the pavement and drove round the traffic lights, over the road, back on to the pavement on the other side and then joined the road again.gizlaroc said:
sebhaque said:
although if I'm caught unawares I like to race the amber light to get into gear and take the handbrake off before it goes green. I'm yet to win, unfortunately.
I just leave my car in gear and my foot on the brake! 
Direct change from red to green is standard in USA.
As is the ability to treat a red traffic light as a stop sign when turning right. i.e. you can make a right turn through a red traffic light after stopping at the line. It's a good idea to watch out for pedestrians though as they may have a "walk" sign.
As is the ability to treat a red traffic light as a stop sign when turning right. i.e. you can make a right turn through a red traffic light after stopping at the line. It's a good idea to watch out for pedestrians though as they may have a "walk" sign.
When I went to the States a few years ago (Wisconsin) late at night all the lights flashed Amber constantly. My brother informed me that this simply means just treat every one like a normal junction. If it's clear then go.
Brilliant idea, nothing more daft than sitting at red at midnight on a deserted road.
Brilliant idea, nothing more daft than sitting at red at midnight on a deserted road.
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff