Dumb traffic lights!

Why is it that so many sets of traffic lights in this country are "Dumb", what I mean by that is; they are installed with road sensors, buttons for pedestrians to press and sometimes with IR detectors.

BUT they just seem to be set to some fixed time schedule, you could be waiting for ages as they churn their way through the sequence, staring at the empty road & pedestrian crossings.

[rant]
If the lights have intelligence, why the fúck dont they use it!!

[/rant]

Red Alert

I totally agree with you there!

One thing I can think of is if the control box gets changed due to a breakdown they mightn't bother connecting up the sensors particularly on pedestrian crossings.

There are some sets in Tallaght that are recently installed with all the sensors & controls and are still dumb!

bryanw

On the Wyattville road at Ballybrack its very likely that you will get stopped at every traffic light along that particular stretch of DC. There are about 6 sets within a very short distance of each other if anyone knows the road. I have heard that they are sequenced like that to stop drivers going too fast.

bazzer

Watch the pedestrian lights in O'Connell Street. If someone activates the crossing near the GPO, the ones at the Spire also change, even though nobody is near them! Bloody annoying by times.

Wishbone Ash

Deleted User wrote: »

If the lights have intelligence, why the fúck dont they use it!!

It's frequently the motorists who are at fault for not moving up to activate the sensor.

steyr fan

Have you ever driven along the canal (either direction) early on a Sunday morning. No other traffic going in any direction, and yet as you approach each set of lights, they turn amber then red?

It has to be amongst the most annoying of experiences to have light after light turn red, and no crossing traffic. It almost encourages you to speed up to beat the lights.

jjbrien

there is one set of very stupid traffic lights on the mahide road when your heading passed the statoil garage in donneycarney at at entrance to elm mount road the sensor is setup to change instaly when any car coming from elm mount road drives up to it to change straight away and let them onto the malahide road it has caused gridlock on the malahide road it should be sequenced to change when there is a break in the traffic and then left the car onto the road or change after a set number or seconds not straight away i live around the corner from it and it bugs me

Wishbone Ash

steyr fan wrote: »

Have you ever driven along the canal (either direction)

We have two - Royal and Grand (and that's just in Dublin).

steyr fan

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

We have two - Royal and Grand (and that's just in Dublin).

Apologies WA, I meant the GRAND canal. (Anyway, it would be very difficult to drive along the other one)

Wishbone Ash

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's frequently the motorists who are at fault for not moving up to activate the sensor.

Partially true, but almost all lights have advance sensors as well.
There are some lights where they are used and on a quiet sunday morning it's possible to switch the lights by slowing down over the first sensor and then maintaining that speed the lights will usually change for you!

Colm R

Stupid lights, stupid lights indeed. Its frustrating in a car waiting for a light to go green on a quiet stretch of road.

What I hate more is as a pedestrian, waiting for stand alone pedestrian lights (i.e. ones which are not at a junction.) The ones in Killester on the Howth Road, could have pedestrians waiting for up to 3 minutes.

mikemac

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's frequently the motorists who are at fault for not moving up to activate the sensor.

Not always the case that someone is at fault.
I've waited 3 minutes plus on an moped at a junction with sensors. And yes, I was in the correct position at the stop line.
But the second a car pulled up behind me, the sequence started to change. I'm thinking a moped or any motorbike may be too small to be picked up by the sensor

At offpeak hours with no other traffic around a biker may have no choice but to break a red light.