RE: Red Light for Speeders
Tuesday 13th April 2004
Red Light for Speeders
San Francisco traffic engineers experiment with traffic lights linked to speed detectors
City traffic engineers in San Francisco's Bay area are experimenting with a new idea in speed limit enforcement. Drivers who exceed the speed limit when approaching a traffic light will find the light turning red as they approach. Presumably then they have to stand on the brakes rather sharpish!
Check out the full story here
Discussion
In Slough, the sequence of lights to get you along the A4 used to be set so that if you stuck to the speed limit, you'd encounter green lights all the way 
, but if you went too fast you'd have to keep stopping. 
Now it's the opposite. To get through all the lights on green, you need to be at the front of the queue when the lights change and then proceed in excess of the limit.
Progress? I don't think so...
Edited to add: I know this 'cos somebody told me so.
>> Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 13th April 11:55
, but if you went too fast you'd have to keep stopping. Now it's the opposite. To get through all the lights on green, you need to be at the front of the queue when the lights change and then proceed in excess of the limit.
Progress? I don't think so...
Edited to add: I know this 'cos somebody told me so.
>> Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 13th April 11:55
SFGate.com said:
"It's kind of big-brotherish, but sometimes it's the price we pay for safety," said JoAnne Brewer, 49, who walked her golden retriever past the new signal Tuesday morning and predicted it would be a success.
What has the dog got to do with it?
Having driven round San Francisco they all seem to obey the speed limit pretty well, but then the highway patrol are pretty vigilent and visible.
The idea of lights that just change sounds dangerous to me.
You get a similar system to this in Spain. As you approach an isolated village on the equivalent of a single carriageway NSL there will be signs warning you to slow down. If you don't then amber warning lights will flash at you as you enter the village. If you still don't slow down enough then a flashing amber light in the middle of the village will turn red forcing you to stop for 10 seconds or so.
The roads through these villages are fairly straight and the village section often no more than a few hundred metres long so it can be tempting to just slow down a bit but with kids, stray dogs etc roaming aimlessly around so you they are far more dangerous than you would think.
IMO a system that gives you plenty of warning and opportunity to slow down to a sensible speed and only stops you if you choose to ignore it is a good thing.
The red lights only activate if you are speeding and so when you stop at the lights it gives the locals the chance to hurl some Iberian profanities at you for speeding through their village. Certainly a better speeding deterent than a possible fine from a hidden camera.
The roads through these villages are fairly straight and the village section often no more than a few hundred metres long so it can be tempting to just slow down a bit but with kids, stray dogs etc roaming aimlessly around so you they are far more dangerous than you would think.
IMO a system that gives you plenty of warning and opportunity to slow down to a sensible speed and only stops you if you choose to ignore it is a good thing.
The red lights only activate if you are speeding and so when you stop at the lights it gives the locals the chance to hurl some Iberian profanities at you for speeding through their village. Certainly a better speeding deterent than a possible fine from a hidden camera.
turbosei said:
Having driven round San Francisco they all seem to obey the speed limit pretty well, but then the highway patrol are pretty vigilent and visible.
Whiuch is exactly what we used to have in the UK. It worked; bring it back.
turbosei said:
The idea of lights that just change sounds dangerous to me.
Madness born of lunacy! Suspect the accident rate will go up at these junctions from now on... own goal for the "safety" lobby IMO.
The T Boy said:They've done this in F1 for years - called a stop/go penalty
If you still don't slow down enough then a flashing amber light in the middle of the village will turn red forcing you to stop for 10 seconds or so.
I would have thought that the risk is that someone who is only moderately speeding will speed up more at the last minute, to get through before the light changes to red.
I drive in california (san francisco and bay area) every 8 weeks and I must say I think this is great! There is a lot of speeding in the bay area, which would not be a bad thing, if they knew how to drive! It freaks me out, as most of them have no idea and are glued to the mobile (sorry cell) phones!
Whilst many people have views about 'speed' cameras (to put it mildly), cameras which trap those idiots who run red lights are held in less contempt.
On the A40 west of Burford, the 'speed' cameras encourage dangerously slow overtaking of trucks staggering along at 50 mph by people who will only do so at 60. So what was once a safe 'mirror, signal, manoeuvre' event with eyes on the road ahead and acceleration sufficient to minimise exposure has now become a protracted - and vastly more dangerous - procedure....
Coming down the A46 to the A46/M40 roundabout junction near Warwick the other night at the limit required by current roadworks, some oik in a white van raced past, then ran the red light when the lights changed down from green. And was promptly flashed. Serves the stupid, dangerous, impatient sod right!
>> Edited by nickwilcock on Saturday 17th April 12:48
On the A40 west of Burford, the 'speed' cameras encourage dangerously slow overtaking of trucks staggering along at 50 mph by people who will only do so at 60. So what was once a safe 'mirror, signal, manoeuvre' event with eyes on the road ahead and acceleration sufficient to minimise exposure has now become a protracted - and vastly more dangerous - procedure....
Coming down the A46 to the A46/M40 roundabout junction near Warwick the other night at the limit required by current roadworks, some oik in a white van raced past, then ran the red light when the lights changed down from green. And was promptly flashed. Serves the stupid, dangerous, impatient sod right!
>> Edited by nickwilcock on Saturday 17th April 12:48
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