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Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
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 ? |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"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 :-( |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Rajesh Kakad (BT) wrote:
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 ? Even if there is a separate lane for left-turning traffic, which often there isn't room for in London, a left-turning driver would have poor visibility of conflicting traffic if a bus or truck is waiting in the adjacent lane at the lights. As a way of improving junction capacity, I prefer the French system (Parisian, anyway) of giving pedestrians priority over turning vehicles. At a cross-roads where north-south and east-west roads meet, when north-south traffic has green signals, the 'green man' is displayed for pedestrians crossing the east-west roads, and traffic turning into those roads has to give way to them. I'm sure the HSE would have a fit, but it does seem to work. The great advantage is that there is no need to halt all traffic for a pedestrian-only phase. -- Richard J. (to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address) |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Fri, 28 May 2004 13:45:43 +0000 (UTC), Rajesh Kakad (BT)
wrote: 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 ? Whilst we at it can we have flashing Amber traffic lights meaning give way on traffic lights that are not as important during late evening and early morning? Like they do in Italy How many times have you sat at a red light and nothing has passed through before the light has gone green again? also switch off pelican crossings after say 00.30 as people have a habit of pressing the button as the pass them not intending to cross anymore ideas? -- Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/ |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
also switch off pelican crossings after say 00.30 as people have a habit of pressing the button as the pass them not intending to cross anymore ideas? In the USA they often turnoff traffic lights at night. When off one direction flashes yellow - that's the major road. The other direction flashes red - flashing red means the same as a "stop" sign. Jeremy Parker |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"gs" wrote in message
... On Fri, 28 May 2004 13:45:43 +0000 (UTC), Rajesh Kakad (BT) wrote: 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 ? Whilst we at it can we have flashing Amber traffic lights meaning give way on traffic lights that are not as important during late evening and early morning? Like they do in Italy How many times have you sat at a red light and nothing has passed through before the light has gone green again? also switch off pelican crossings after say 00.30 as people have a habit of pressing the button as the pass them not intending to cross anymore ideas? -- Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/ FWIW, here in the States there was quite a controversy when the idea was first floated for Right Turn on Red. The nay-sayers complained of the hundreds of thousands of pedestrians that would perish. There was, in fact, quite a learning curve (no pun intended) and there were some tragic crashes at first, but all-in-all it seems to work just fine now. As for a dedicated right turn lane (left in the UK), while we do have some, the bulk of intersections have none. Therefore if car #1 goes straight and car #2 wants to turn, car #2 waits for the traffic signal to change. What would really help here in the USA is British style roundabouts. I love driving in your country because the roundabouts at least keep traffic somewhat flowing as opposed to what someone else in this thread said about waiting for signals to change when not a cross traffic or pedestrian is in sight. BTW, if we want to turn left (in the USA) on to a one-way street that only goes to the left and we are also on a one-way street, we can legally turn left. Rich |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
In article , Jeremy Parker
writes also switch off pelican crossings after say 00.30 as people have a habit of pressing the button as the pass them not intending to cross anymore ideas? In the USA they often turnoff traffic lights at night. When off one direction flashes yellow - that's the major road. The other direction flashes red - flashing red means the same as a "stop" sign. Jeremy Parker Also done in some areas of Switzerland. In Eastern Germany, at certain sets of lights, a sign exists permitting you to turn right when the light is at red if the road is clear of other traffic. Seems to work OK - it's a hang over from the days of Communist East Germany. -- Andrew Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this communication can not be guaranteed. Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not associations or companies I am involved with. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Andrew Smith writes:
In Eastern Germany, at certain sets of lights, a sign exists permitting you to turn right when the light is at red if the road is clear of other traffic. ... A textual sign, or graphical? I find it hard to imagine the icon for that. In the US, intersections where you must *not* turn right on red (except in New York, where by municipal law the default is reversed) are marked with textual signs, NO TURN ON RED or similar wording. We used to have the same here, but now a no-right-turn icon is placed beside an icon of a traffic light with the red lit, and you're supposed to figure out for yourself that a preposition or conjunction connecting the two signs is implied. By the way, for those who have never experienced it, the North American right-on-red does require the driver to stop first, and wait for all conflicting traffic. In other words, here a red light is equivalent to a stop sign if you're making a right turn. (And dishonored about as much.) -- Mark Brader, Toronto | Keep out of eyes--if this occurs, rinse with water. | (Directions seen on shampoo bottle) My text in this article is in the public domain. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Rich":
BTW, if we want to turn left (in the USA) on to a one-way street that only goes to the left and we are also on a one-way street, we can legally turn left. He means on red, of course. Otherwise it wouldn't be interesting. That is the usual rule in North America, but there is some variation between states and provinces. A few don't allow this, while a few allow left-on-red as long as you're turning *into* a one-way street (left and right turns into the same street would go into different lanes unless the one-way street was too narrow, so there's no conflict with converging traffic); or as long as you're turning *from* a one-way street. See e.g. http://www.geocities.com/jusjih/signals.html. -- Mark Brader, Toronto cat/dev/null got your tongue? -- Jutta Degener My text in this article is in the public domain. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Jeremy Parker" wrote in message
... In the USA they often turnoff traffic lights at night. When off one direction flashes yellow - that's the major road. The other direction flashes red - flashing red means the same as a "stop" sign. So what's the difference between a flashing yellow and a solid green? Incidentally, since the average life span of a traffic light bulb here is about none months, I would imagine that the life of these flashing bulbs must be a few weeks, unless they always use LEDs in them. BTW, has anyone else noticed that dead traffic light bulbs have become very common recently in London? -- John Rowland - Spamtrapped Transport Plans for the London Area, updated 2001 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acro...69/tpftla.html A man's vehicle is a symbol of his manhood. That's why my vehicle's the Piccadilly Line - It's the size of a county and it comes every two and a half minutes |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Sat, 29 May 2004, John Rowland wrote:
"Jeremy Parker" wrote: In the USA they often turnoff traffic lights at night. When off one direction flashes yellow - that's the major road. The other direction flashes red - flashing red means the same as a "stop" sign. So what's the difference between a flashing yellow and a solid green? Solid green means that non-emergency vehicles may not legally cross the road you are on (although they can turn right/left on red). Flashing yellow means someone might try to cross the road before you get there (although you still have right of way), so watch out for them. Here there are signals marked "Part time signals" that simply go dark when they are turned off. In the U.S. they would run flashing yellow/flashing red in the equivalent circumstance. A signal that is black in the U.S. should be treated as a four-way stop sign. Incidentally, since the average life span of a traffic light bulb here is about none months, I would imagine that the life of these flashing bulbs must be a few weeks, unless they always use LEDs in them. In some U.S. municipalities they realized that the lower power consumption of LEDs means that a replacement of a traffic signal bulb would pay for itself in four years or so. So they started replacing all the bulbs even before they burned out. -- Michael Hoffman |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
In article , Mark Brader
writes A textual sign, or graphical? I find it hard to imagine the icon for that. Graphical. From memory it took the form of a green arrow pointing right attached to the main green light. The graphic was mottled. -- Andrew Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this communication can not be guaranteed. Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not associations or companies I am involved with. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
In message , gs writes
Whilst we at it can we have flashing Amber traffic lights meaning give way on traffic lights that are not as important during late evening and early morning? Like they do in Italy My experience in Naples is that traffic lights are advisory only. -- Clive |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Mark Brader wrote:
In the US, intersections where you must *not* turn right on red (except in New York, where by municipal law the default is reversed) are marked with textual signs, NO TURN ON RED or similar wording. It's just New York City where you can't right-turn on red. It's legal in the rest of New York state. (Though you can't talk on a handheld cellphone in the city or the state, which is very inconvenient for visiting Jersey drivers who are used to turning right on red while holding their phone :-) Alex |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Fri, 28 May 2004 at 21:27:33, mookie89
wrote: What would really help here in the USA is British style roundabouts. I love driving in your country because the roundabouts at least keep traffic somewhat flowing as opposed to what someone else in this thread said about waiting for signals to change when not a cross traffic or pedestrian is in sight. Wouldn't it, just! I would die of frustration if I had to drive in the USA, where every single intersection, no matter how minor, has its traffic lights..... (on ordinary streets, not motorways, of course - but Brooklyn or New York.... yikes!). -- Annabel Smyth http://www.amsmyth.demon.co.uk/index.html Website updated 9 May 2004 |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Mon, 31 May 2004, Annabel Smyth wrote:
I would die of frustration if I had to drive in the USA, where every single intersection, no matter how minor, has its traffic lights..... That's not entirely true. There will generally not be a traffic signal at an intersection between a major road and a minor road, although there are exceptions in central business districts. Likewise, intersections between two minor roads usually do not have traffic signals. And of course, I have actually seen roundabouts in America (!). (on ordinary streets, not motorways, of course - but Brooklyn or New York.... yikes!). Brooklyn is a part of New York City. -- Michael Hoffman |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
What would really help here in the USA is British style roundabouts. Try Massachusetts. You too can drive like a Bostonian. Jeremy Parker |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Michael Hoffman" wrote in message
news:Pine.WNT.4.58.0406010830400.2736@ZVAVZBB... On Mon, 31 May 2004, Annabel Smyth wrote: I would die of frustration if I had to drive in the USA, where every single intersection, no matter how minor, has its traffic lights..... That's not entirely true. There will generally not be a traffic signal at an intersection between a major road and a minor road, although there are exceptions in central business districts. Likewise, intersections between two minor roads usually do not have traffic signals. And of course, I have actually seen roundabouts in America (!). (on ordinary streets, not motorways, of course - but Brooklyn or New York.... yikes!). Brooklyn is a part of New York City. -- Michael Hoffman Here in Illinois there is a specific formula for determining if/when a traffic control is warranted, be it a stop sign, traffic signal, or simply a yield sign. Being in a major metropolitan area - Chicago suburbs - satisfying the requirement for X amount of traffic volume is reached fairly quickly, it seems. Traffic signals seem to pop up like weeds, sprouting up overnight - yes, I am exaggerating. In the northwest suburbs, there is one traffic circle that I am aware of - been there many years. We used to go sit and watch the fun as most people using it had not a clue what to do. The circle is by an industrial area with many out-of-towners coming through on a typical business day. Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. Rich |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
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Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
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Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
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Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:27:40 GMT, "mookie89"
wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. Do they not use induction loops in the US? Most major traffic-light intersections in the UK are fitted with these, which mean that if the direction on green is not being used, the lights can be automatically changed as a car approaches on the other one, meaning the car will probably only need to slow down briefly if at all. Where you have roundabouts with unbalanced flows, it's also common for traffic lights to be used on the roundabout to regulate traffic flow. A roundabout only really works if the traffic flow is reasonably balanced. This is causing problems at certain roundabouts in Milton Keynes, which are likely to gain traffic lights and/or speed limit reductions to try to resolve the problem. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Neil Williams" wrote in message
... On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:27:40 GMT, "mookie89" wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. Do they not use induction loops in the US? Most major traffic-light intersections in the UK are fitted with these, which mean that if the direction on green is not being used, the lights can be automatically changed as a car approaches on the other one, meaning the car will probably only need to slow down briefly if at all. Where you have roundabouts with unbalanced flows, it's also common for traffic lights to be used on the roundabout to regulate traffic flow. A roundabout only really works if the traffic flow is reasonably balanced. This is causing problems at certain roundabouts in Milton Keynes, which are likely to gain traffic lights and/or speed limit reductions to try to resolve the problem. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain Inductions loops, yes. But..... Here in Illinois, IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) may set the control device(s) for peak/non-peak hours. So even though there is a loop, it may take up to two minutes to cycle through depending upon what time of day it is. Two minutes, 120 seconds, when no one is on the cross street is, as you know, an eternity. Another irritant is pedestrian crosswalk lighting. My experience in the UK has been that I push the button, the light will change at some point, then almost immediately the system begins bleeping and the light changes again meaning there is time for a few people to cross and traffic once again proceeds. Here in the USA, it seems that pedestrian lights are timed assuming the slowest person on earth is crossing. Many times one person crosses, the light continues up to 30 full seconds and then cycles again. Again, the time seems an eternity. All this tends to have people jumping the light or worse yet, attempting to beat the light before it changes red thereby endangering the pedestrian. I am not complaining per se as some sort of traffic/pedestrian control is necessary. The point of delicate balance, though, seems elusive. Rich |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
mookie89 wrote:
Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm -- Richard J. (to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address) |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Clive wrote in message ...
In message , gs writes Whilst we at it can we have flashing Amber traffic lights meaning give way on traffic lights that are not as important during late evening and early morning? Like they do in Italy My experience in Naples is that traffic lights are advisory only. No no no. In Milan, they are instructions, in Rome suggestions, and in Naples Christmas decorations. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:03:10 GMT, "mookie89"
wrote: Inductions loops, yes. But..... Here in Illinois, IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) may set the control device(s) for peak/non-peak hours. So even though there is a loop, it may take up to two minutes to cycle through depending upon what time of day it is. Two minutes, 120 seconds, when no one is on the cross street is, as you know, an eternity. snip This is rather silly. Applied properly, induction loops will override the cycle and give right of way to the road on which there are vehicles over the one where there are not. Only if there are vehicles on more than one of the roads feeding the junction is it necessary to revert to a traditional pre-programmed cycle. This kind of thing is also used to give buses priority at certain junctions, for example. If a vehicle is detected in the bus lane, the lights are automatically changed in its favour so it shouldn't even need to brake. This has been going on for a while - the intersections on the 1970s Runcorn Busway are so fitted, I believe. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"gs" wrote in message
... On Fri, 28 May 2004 13:45:43 +0000 (UTC), Rajesh Kakad (BT) wrote: 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 ? Whilst we at it can we have flashing Amber traffic lights meaning give way on traffic lights that are not as important during late evening and early morning? Like they do in Italy How many times have you sat at a red light and nothing has passed through before the light has gone green again? also switch off pelican crossings after say 00.30 as people have a habit of pressing the button as the pass them not intending to cross If enough drivers just start turning left through red lights anyway the police aren't going to take any notice and it will become normal. It'll be just like law the forbidding people to use their mobile phones whilst driving which has become a complete JOKE. Another example is cyclists riding being 'allowed' to ride through red lights. Freddy |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
In message , James
writes No no no. In Milan, they are instructions, in Rome suggestions, and in Naples Christmas decorations. Just occasionally, something appears in Usenet to make me laugh out loud and splatter the screen with tea. This - happily - was one such moment! :-)) -- Ian Jelf, MITG, Birmingham, UK Registered "Blue Badge" Tourist Guide for London & the Heart of England http://www.bluebadge.demon.co.uk |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Neil Williams" wrote in message
... On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:03:10 GMT, "mookie89" wrote: Inductions loops, yes. But..... Here in Illinois, IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) may set the control device(s) for peak/non-peak hours. So even though there is a loop, it may take up to two minutes to cycle through depending upon what time of day it is. Two minutes, 120 seconds, when no one is on the cross street is, as you know, an eternity. snip This is rather silly. Applied properly, induction loops will override the cycle and give right of way to the road on which there are vehicles over the one where there are not. Only if there are vehicles on more than one of the roads feeding the junction is it necessary to revert to a traditional pre-programmed cycle. This kind of thing is also used to give buses priority at certain junctions, for example. If a vehicle is detected in the bus lane, the lights are automatically changed in its favour so it shouldn't even need to brake. This has been going on for a while - the intersections on the 1970s Runcorn Busway are so fitted, I believe. Neil -- Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK To e-mail use neil at the above domain Silly, I agree. And very frustrating. Just last night it happened to me. Again. I went in to the city to catch a night baseball game (Chicago Cubs, of course) and the train got back to my community at midnight. As I pulled up to cross the major road, my light was red but the opposing traffic had a left turn light. I had to sit through the entire cycle which allowed a green on the cross street but not one vehicle was there! I finally got my green light. It would just seem that with today's technology they could do a better job. Also, our emergency vehicles have what's known as an OptiCon System on board. Basically it is a very specific white high intensity strobe lamp aimed slightly upward. At many USA intersections a little periscope appearing apparatus is mounted just above the traffic light. That's the OptiCon sensor. When the police car/ambulance/fire truck emits the strobe pulse, the signals quickly favor the emergency vehicle. Rich |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Richard J." wrote in message ... mookie89 wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm -- Richard J. (to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address) OMG! I wonder what kind of, er, medicine that traffic engineer was taking at the moment of truth. The police must have been severely.... puckered.... when they decided to let all the traffic just have at it. But hey, if it works! Thanks for pointing this out to me. A very good British friend of mine consults a lot in public transport, specializing in public school transport. I'll have to ask her about this one. Rich |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Freddy" wrote in message ...
"gs" wrote in message ... On Fri, 28 May 2004 13:45:43 +0000 (UTC), Rajesh Kakad (BT) wrote: 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 ? Whilst we at it can we have flashing Amber traffic lights meaning give way on traffic lights that are not as important during late evening and early morning? Like they do in Italy How many times have you sat at a red light and nothing has passed through before the light has gone green again? also switch off pelican crossings after say 00.30 as people have a habit of pressing the button as the pass them not intending to cross If enough drivers just start turning left through red lights anyway the police aren't going to take any notice and it will become normal. Ok, you go first !!!! ;-) |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Richard J." wrote the following in:
mookie89 wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm That's amazing! I think I might have to go to Swindon just to see that. -- message by Robin May. Inimitable, but would you want to anyway? "GIVE IN! IT'S TIME TO GO!" - The NHS offers a high standard of care. Kitten in Big Brother: rebel without a cause (or brain). Spelling lesson: then and than are different words. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
In message , Robin May
writes "Richard J." wrote the following in: mookie89 wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm That's amazing! I think I might have to go to Swindon just to see that. I had the misfortune to *see* the one in Colchester recently.... -- Kat Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Robin May typed
"Richard J." wrote the following in: mookie89 wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm That's amazing! I think I might have to go to Swindon just to see that. I think there's a similar one in Hemel Hempstead.... -- Helen D. Vecht: Edgware. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Wed, 2 Jun 2004 17:51:28 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht
wrote: That's amazing! I think I might have to go to Swindon just to see that. I think there's a similar one in Hemel Hempstead.... I've not seen the one in Swindon but looking at that photo I think the one in Hemel is much bigger |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Andrew P Smith schrieb:
In Eastern Germany, at certain sets of lights, a sign exists permitting you to turn right when the light is at red if the road is clear of other traffic. Seems to work OK - it's a hang over from the days of Communist East Germany. If i may comment on this, in eastern germany this was a well-established practice from quite long ago. The sign is called "gruener Pfeil" (green arrow) and attached beneath the red light. The sign is not illuminated. It was taken over by the west after the reunion. Here in Hamburg, a lot of junctions now have a green arrow. The learning curve was pretty low. There have been newspaper articles saying what it is and how to use it. Its dead easy once you try it out. I think the learning curve was so low because you can just ignore it! How to use it: a) if you don't want to use it, just ignore it. b) Stop at the position where you would normally stop c) Edge forward slowly until you can see if your route is clear of cars and pedestrians (there is no all-pedestrian phase on german traffic lights. Its done like an earlier post about France said, with priority for pedestrians.) d) off you go. I love it. PS On crossing the road in different countries: (Exagerated) I was in Poland a few days ago. I had to re-learn how to cross a road... It seems to me that polish drivers drive like hell... What i figured out was this: a) Watch if road is clear, but assume a higher vehicle speed that at home b) if road is clear, be sure and watch again. cross. c) Some roads never get clear. Wait for a small gap in traffic and just hop onto the street. d) dont watch cars approaching as you will be scared to death e) cross f) turn back to watch cars that stopped for you. Judging by how the Polish do it this seems to be the way of crossing a road. A Zebra Strip in Poland is just an indication of "Here might be a spot suitable to cross the road" where in germany it says "Here pedestrians have priority", making my learning even harder... |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Wed, 2 Jun 2004, Kat wrote:
In message , Robin May writes "Richard J." wrote the following in: mookie89 wrote: traffic circles When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm I love that it's now _officially_ called The Magic Roundabout! That's amazing! I think I might have to go to Swindon just to see that. I had the misfortune to *see* the one in Colchester recently.... Hey, at least you haven't had to *cycle* across it on a regular basis ... Actually, it's not that bad - the way it's laid out is a lot better than in Swindon; there, it's one big expanse of tarmac with lines printed on it a rather bizarre way (reminds me of the Nazca lines - AND SO CLEARLY BUILT BY EXTRATERRESTRIALS IZERNTIT), whereas in Colchester, it's more like N roundabouts connected by very short roads, so to a large extent, your normal road sense handles it. And apparently, it's officially called an Olympic Roundabout. tom -- Basically, at any given time, most people in the world are wasting time. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
On Tue, 1 Jun 2004, it was written:
On Tue, 1 Jun 2004 15:21 +0100 (BST), (Peter Beale) wrote: One thing which struck me as very odd (apart from driving on the wrong side of the road) was a number of quite major cross-roads where traffic from all four directions is required to stop. The four-way stop has a significant benefit compared to a roundabout, in that it is completely fair. It does not allow one heavily trafficked route to monopolise the junction at peak times. Hey, what if British roundabouts changed direction on a periodic (or perhaps random) basis? That would make them fair. Actually, it wouldn't, would it? More fun, though! tom -- Basically, at any given time, most people in the world are wasting time. |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
Robin May wrote:
"Richard J." wrote the following in: mookie89 wrote: Interestingly enough, in a fast growing northern suburb of Indianapolis, traffic circles are becoming quite common in new road construction. Drivers seem a little tentative, not understanding proper traffic circle protocol, but hopefully this will ease out and we Americans can take a lesson from our British ancestors and keep the traffic flowing instead of sitting at a red light wasting gasoline while absolutely no one is using the cross street. When you think you have mastered roundabouts, have a look at my favourite, the Magic Roundabout at Swindon: http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm That's amazing! I think I might have to go to Swindon just to see that. When I was in Swindon a couple of years ago for a football game at the County Ground, I made the mistake of trying to cross the MR from the Burger King on the far side. That was a nightmare... -- James Farrar | London, SE13 | |
Reduce Traffic - Turn left on a RED
"Gunnar Thöle" wrote in message
... A Zebra Strip in Poland is just an indication of "Here might be a spot suitable to cross the road" where in germany it says "Here pedestrians have priority", making my learning even harder... No, in Poland the Zebra strip is regarded as a good place to make pedestrians jump out of the way. A friend of mine used to describe them as "Target Strips". -- Terry Harper, Web Co-ordinator, The Omnibus Society 75th Anniversary 2004, see http://www.omnibussoc.org/75th.htm E-mail: URL: http://www.terry.harper.btinternet.co.uk/ |
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