Traffic Light Cameras

RobAMerc

Now let me start by saying I am not at all in favour of nanny stateism and I think the speed camera thing is a complete money generator however I do think its time we introduced traffic light cameras at major junctions.

If it does nothing for safety it certainly will help keep traffic moving, some of the messing I see on a daily basis around traffic lights is shocking !

whats the general consensus here ? yea or nay ?

MagicSean

Yes. Fines for yellow box hoggers.

Colonel Sanders

k_mac wrote: »

Yes. Fines for yellow box hoggers.

+1000000

Cookie_Monster

RobAMerc wrote: »

If it does nothing for safety it certainly will help keep traffic moving,?

how exactly?

Guy:Incognito

During the snow the only reason traffic was so bad was because people didt obey traffic signs and lights for some reason.

Everythign shoul dhave worked the same just slower, meaning your journey took a bit longer but no, what happened was as the lights turned red, people were pileing through in the mortal fear they might have to wait for the next set because only a few cars were gettign through quick enough. This led to all the junctions being congested and a line of traffic going one dirctection blocking everything. Bloody morons.

stealthyspeeder

They have them at most of the major junctions on the outskirts of inner city Belfast, I think they are a good idea as if someone jumps a red light there is a very real chance of a serious accident. (unlike the old speed cameras :mad:)

I do quite a bit of driving in Dublin where there is a kind of "Amber is really Green" culture at the lights, when I go up to Belfast and drive through these junctions, the difference in light discipline is huge!

thebiglad

k_mac wrote: »

Yes. Fines for yellow box hoggers.

Good idea - probably the only way to prevent people blocking the junctions/yellow boxes are permanent, automatic cameras which will ticket persons stopping in the box. I think they do this in UK already.

Another lesson from UK (or at least London) is cameras on the buses to film motorists either driving or parking in the bus lanes and again automatic fines can be issued - of course the removal of unused bus lanes and revert them to car lanes would also be a good step.

ShiresV2

RobAMerc wrote: »

whats the general consensus here ? yea or nay ?

Be careful what you wish for!

One problem is that the length of time on amber is set in law (can't be adjusted to suit location) and is on the short side for some light controlled sections.

corktina

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

They have them at most of the major junctions on the outskirts of inner city Belfast, I think they are a good idea as if someone jumps a red light there is a very real chance of a serious accident. (unlike the old speed cameras :mad:)

I do quite a bit of driving in Dublin where there is a kind of "Amber is really Green" culture at the lights, when I go up to Belfast and drive through these junctions, the difference in light discipline is huge!

Its "red is really green" here in Cork....its getting so you are afraid to stop on orange in case the guy behind has his foot down....

MagicSean

ShiresV2 wrote: »

Be careful what you wish for!

One problem is that the length of time on amber is set in law (can't be adjusted to suit location) and is on the short side for some light controlled sections.

I dont see where you're coming from. Amber means stop and should be treated like a red.

Cookie_Monster

k_mac wrote: »

I dont see where you're coming from. Amber means stop and should be treated like a red.

Stop if safe to do so. Obviously if you're doing 80 kph and the light turns amber when you are 20m from lights you ain't gonna be safely able to stop.

Theta

thebiglad wrote: »

Good idea - probably the only way to prevent people blocking the junctions/yellow boxes are permanent, automatic cameras which will ticket persons stopping in the box. I think they do this in UK already.

There is no camera that can enforce this. What about cars stopped in a yellow box to turn right? It would lead to as many false fines as it would correct fines!

MagicSean

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Stop if safe to do so. Obviously if you're doing 80 kph and the light turns amber when you are 20m from lights you ain't gonna be safely able to stop.

You shouldn't be going that fast approaching traffic lights.

Cookie_Monster

k_mac wrote: »

You shouldn't be going that fast approaching traffic lights.

:rolleyes:
why not? there are plenty of roads with an 80 or 100 limit with lights on them.
How fast should I be going?

Theta

k_mac wrote: »

You shouldn't be going that fast approaching traffic lights.

So your telling me you should slow down when approaching every single set of lights. There would be traffic jams all over the country if this was the case. You should be prepared to come to a stop as in if the light has been green for a long period as you approach then it may turn green so be prepared to stop!

k_mac wrote: »

I dont see where you're coming from. Amber means stop and should be treated like a red.

Its gas driving in the states, to them it means speed up so you get through the lights before they turn red.

ShiresV2

k_mac wrote: »

I dont see where you're coming from. Amber means stop and should be treated like a red.

Thanks for the tip. :rolleyes:

Viper_JB

Theta wrote: »

Its gas driving in the states, to them it means speed up so you get through the lights before they turn red.

It's pretty much the same here, everyones who drives has done it and those who say they haven't are liars.

Cookie_Monster

Theta wrote: »

Its gas driving in the states, to them it means speed up so you get through the lights before they turn red.

50% of the time here it means that too

ART6

The system I saw in Luxor, Egypt some time ago was better than cameras I'd say. The traffic lights have a display on them facing the oncoming traffic. When the red light is lit the display is red but counts down in seconds. When the light is green the display is green and, again, is counting down in seconds. That way, when you are approaching a traffic light you know how long you have before it changes. Hence no point in flooring the loud pedal if even when doing so you aren't going to get there in time. The Arabs there didn't seem to concern themselves too much about good driving habits, but no-one seemed to jump the lights or try to cross on amber.

GTE

Forgive my ignorance, but are we talking about those small little cameras that are usually on top of the traffic light?

I always thought they were just some sort of sensor to detect high volumes of traffic so it can adjust the traffic light times, not some sort of picture taking device to catch law breakers

Cuddlesworth

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

I do quite a bit of driving in Dublin where there is a kind of "Amber is really Green" culture at the lights, when I go up to Belfast and drive through these junctions, the difference in light discipline is huge!

There would have to be. When your light goes amber to stop, their light goes amber to go. If you break the red you are going to hit something.

daveharnett

ART6 wrote: »

The system I saw in Luxor, Egypt some time ago was better than cameras I'd say. The traffic lights have a display on them facing the oncoming traffic. When the red light is lit the display is red but counts down in seconds. When the light is green the display is green and, again, is counting down in seconds. That way, when you are approaching a traffic light you know how long you have before it changes. Hence no point in flooring the loud pedal if even when doing so you aren't going to get there in time. The Arabs there didn't seem to concern themselves too much about good driving habits, but no-one seemed to jump the lights or try to cross on amber.

Makes a lot of sense. Could improve the efficiency of junctions a good bit too.

donvito99

What are the cameras on top of some traffic lights for? Traffic management, sensors?

The older ones look like this,



..and the newer ones are very similar to webcams.

FarmerGreen

Its a microwave vehicle detector, you see them on traffic signals at roadworks as well.