"Rajesh Kakad (BT)" wrote in message
...
Would it not be easier to have the same rule as in the USA, where they can
turn right on a red signal?

So we should be able to turn LEFT at a RED light.

Of course the pedestrians and other cars on the green, have priority.

This would save time, reduce pollution (whilst waiting) and get traffic
moving, instead of sitting idle.

What does London say ?

Some might say that a certain newt-collecting person who holds a mayoral
post in London might actually *want* the traffic to remain stationary for
longer so as to deter people from driving in London ;-)


In general I'd say that a turn-left-on-red rule would probably work quite
well. But to be effective, it would require a separate lane for
left-turners - otherwise the person in front of you who wants to go straight
on would prevent you getting past him to turn left. It would need a massive
programme of re-education, not just of drivers but also of pedestrians and
cyclists. Maybe it should only apply to junctions with a left filter, where
the left lane sees one of two aspects: flashing amber (while straight ahead
traffic has red, to warn you that you must still give way to traffic from
your right and to pedestrians) and green (in sync with the green lights for
straight-ahead traffic).

Possibly more urgent is to upgrade traffic lights to have a phase for
right-turning traffic: I've sat for ages at lights which only let one
vehicle turn right for each cycle of the lights because there is an
infinitesimally small time between the lights turning green to let you onto
the junction and the oncoming traffic starting to move, blocking your right
turn. I remember that there was a set of lights like this near Feltham, on
the route that the Heathrow Airport to Feltham Station bus used: it would
have been quicker to have got off the bus as it first stopped in the queue
and walked the last few hundred yards to the station :-(