[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: traffic lights



In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.951021045444.13069F-100000@osiris> Lord Kittenslayer <nbassett@osiris> writes:
$On 20 Oct 1995, Pete Babic wrote:
$> I like the way the traffic lights are set up in Germany. If you're waiting for
$> a red light the yellow light comes on before the light changes to green. This
$> tells you to shift into first and get ready to go. I wish they would do this
$> in the U.S. It's a simple thing, but very useful.

   In Toronto, at least, drivers do the same thing by watching the
cross-traffic lights.  When they go red, you know something's about
to change.

   If you don't know the light pattern at the intersection, of course,
you don't know if there's an advanced green the other way or anything
like that.  But advanced greens are going the way of the dodo and
being replaced by separate turn lights so it's often not too
difficult to guess what the next thing the lights will do will be.

   Not as precise as the system you described, sure, but it's not
like we're driving in a vacuum without the intermediate yellow.

   And anyway, since there's almost always someone running the red
light, even after the light turns green you often can't just proceed
into the intersection immediately.  So our green light usually means
the same as the yellow light described above - you've still got time
to shift into first because there are probably a few cars still crossing
through the intersection.

$Other European countries have even better traffic light systems than Germany:
$For example, in Austria a light will flash green before turning yellow 
$and then red.  This way you are never faced with the immediate decision 
$of either slamming on the brakes or running a light.

   So what's the difference between this and a longer yellow which
lasts the same time as the Austrian flashing green plus yellow?
Either way, when the light changes from solid green to something
else, you know you have some number of seconds before the light
turns red.

   Again, the way Torontonians deal with this is by simply not stopping
until the light turns red.  It's rare to see someone actually stop
for a yellow light.

   I wish there was something effective that the authorities could
do to try to fix up this kind of driver behaviour, but apparently they
have no will or ability to do it.  And drivers aren't even scared of
running red lights with cops around because they know most cops
will let them get away with it.

   Oh, and another beef - why do light timings vary so much from
one city to another?  This ought to be consistent, shouldn't it,
so that a driver in an unfamiliar city will at least know that,
say, when the light turns yellow it will remain yellow for some
given period of time before turning red, and that a four-way red
will be used for a second or two before cross traffic gets a green
light?
-- 
 ______________________________________________
/  Hi Ho Silver, who likes the idea of having  \  __________________________
\  SNTF and large h00ters in the same package   \/   silver@bokonon.UUCP    \
 \______________________________________________/ ...{!uunet}!bokonon!silver \