Traffic Lights

Pippy1976

How come it goes: Green - Amber - Red and then from Red - Green?

Wouldn't it be a great idea to have red - amber - green. It'd give all the aul grannies a chance to get their car in gear and not be holding up traffic on the GO!

Ficheall

Pippy1976 wrote: »

How come it goes: Green - Amber - Red and then from Red - Green?

Wouldn't it be a great idea to have red - amber - green. It'd give all the aul grannies a chance to get their car in gear and not be holding up traffic on the GO!

And those who were driving as they approached the traffic lights wouldn't have to stop - they might as well just go through the amber, rather than risk delaying folks by slowing down. Good idea, OP.

prettygurrly

totally agree...but then people will give out cos we're adopting a UK thing...not like everything else is a carbon copy of our neighbours eh!

The One Who Knocks

Pippy1976 wrote: »

How come it goes: Green - Amber - Red and then from Red - Green?

Wouldn't it be a great idea to have red - amber - green. It'd give all the aul grannies a chance to get their car in gear and not be holding up traffic on the GO!

Hey!
I hold my own on the track. Thank you very much.
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/08/granny-driver-628.jpg

Pippy1976

It is a good idea, isn't it? Why don't we have lights like that here?

Does anyone know or can anyone provide a definitive answer.

Big Nasty

Because half of us would launch on amber and create more accidents.

I prefer it as is TBH.

Also isn't this more suited to the motors forum?

Pippy1976

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Also isn't this more suited to the motors forum?

Probably but I didn't know there was one!

stoneill

I'm sure he means Red/Amber at the same time as per the UK.
I think it's a good idea.

Merkin

Wouldn't it make people put the pedal to the metal on amber though?

Pippy1976

yeah exactly, that's what I mean. I think it'd speed things up a bit.

I was sitting at lights for ages today. People weren't ready for the off when the green light came on

oppenheimer1

If you had the UK system here, it would mean that the lights would have to stay red for slightly longer. The driver reaction time of drivers is factored in to the time the lights are all red in both directions. If drivers were to react faster (say by being given a warning that the lights were about to change) then this all red time would need to be longer.

james142

Don't they do this in the UK and Germany?

Pippy1976

james142 wrote: »

Don't they do this in the UK and Germany?

I think so, which means it's a system that works. If you get people to slow down (amber) before the red then why can't you get people to get ready (amber) for the green.

zuroph

if people had enough cop on to get the car in gear, they'd do it already. its a nice idea, but i doubt it would have much impact for the cost of implementation.

oppenheimer1

Pippy1976 wrote: »

I think so, which means it's a system that works. If you get people to slow down (amber) before the red then why can't you get people to get ready (amber) for the green.

They do it in the UK and other countries, but you don't get to move away any quicker - the lights stay red for longer to compensate for the decreased reaction time.

That said the UK system is slightly more efficient, due to driver behaviour not being perfect - but ours is marginally safer.

The One Who Knocks

zuroph wrote: »

if people had enough cop on to get the car in gear, they'd do it already. its a nice idea, but i doubt it would have much impact for the cost of implementation.

congrats on the 12,000th

Pippy1976

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

They do it in the UK and other countries, but ours is marginally safer.

Aha! I see. How do you know it's marginally safer? And why would it be?

zuroph

Jamez735 wrote: »

congrats on the 12,000th

ah bollox.

Lenin Skynard

Maybe a small blue light on the bottom that signals 5-6 seconds before the light is going to go from red to green so people know to be in gear.

An amber before green would just mean "go" to most so would be pointless.

colly_06

Don't some go Red-Flashing Amber-Green?

zuroph

top tip...

JUST WATCH THE OTHER DIRECTIONS LIGHTS! when theirs goes AMBER, get ready.

Pippy1976

colly_06 wrote: »

Don't some go Red-Flashing Amber-Green?

Here? Or abroad? I think NZ use that system, if memory serves me right.

Pippy1976

zuroph wrote: »

top tip...

JUST WATCH THE OTHER DIRECTIONS LIGHTS! when theirs goes AMBER, get ready.

haha, I do this but I've recently started thinking it's quite dangerous 'cos some idiot will try break the amber / red light and BOOM!

colly_06

Pippy1976 wrote: »

Here? Or abroad? I think NZ use that system, if memory serves me right.

Here

I'm quite sure actually..

southcentralts

Red is Stop
Green is Go
And Amber is Hurry the hell up, as far as I have seen.

zuroph

Pippy1976 wrote: »

haha, I do this but I've recently started thinking it's quite dangerous 'cos some idiot will try break the amber / red light and BOOM!

meh, his loss.

Pippy1976

southcentralts wrote: »

Red is Stop
Green is Go
And Amber is Hurry the hell up, as far as I have seen.

Totally! When going through lights I've pretty much made up my mind to plough on regardless LONG before I even get to them.

One quick wiki, and here we are..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic-light_signalling_and_operation#Change_from_red_to_green
Change from red to green

In some European countries (such as Austria, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), as well as in Argentina, Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Pakistan, and Paraguay, particularly at urban intersections, the red and yellow lights are displayed together for two or three seconds at the end of the red cycle to indicate that the light is about to change to green. This phase aids the drivers of vehicles with manual gearboxes, giving them time to change into first gear during the short phase, as well as drivers of vehicles that may have been yellow-trapped whilst turning right a chance to clear the intersection in more safety. It also informs drivers who may be approaching the intersection at speed that a green light is imminent, so they may proceed through the junction without having to stop (or, with another of a lead distance, even having to slow), reducing the potential annoyance (and safety risk) of braking sharply to a halt only to have the green light appear immediately after.

Moody_mona

colly_06 wrote: »

Here

I'm quite sure actually..

Lights at pedestrian crossing :-)

keith16

It really is very easy to gauge the general stupidity of people when it comes to traffic lights in this country.

Lights turn green = sit there like a fcuking vegetable until someone 10 cars back in the queue beeps.
Lights turn red = GO GO GO, DON'T STOP.

flyguy

In some countries (like Netherlands) they don't have red/amber before green 'cause it would actually increase the wait time. There's some sort of legal minimum time between other traffic light going red and yours going green. The red/amber would legally not "count" as red so it can only come on at the same time the green light comes on now, so no saving only time wasted. Dunno if similar rule applies in Ireland/other countries.
Btw whatsup with not having your car in 1st gear if your waiting at the lights? Your clutch that heavy? If you're 1st (or 2nd if you're slow) in the queue at the lights you should be in gear and ready to go... It's been a while but during my (Dutch) driving lessons I always had to have the right gear approaching lights to go straight away and be in 1st if waiting @red lights...

Heroditas

I'm almost certain we used to have the red -> amber -> green sequence many moons ago like in the UK but it was changed to the present system simply because people jumped the gun on amber.
My father used to always lament the dropping of the old system.

af_thefragile

I say we should have F1 style traffic lights.

Five red lights and go go go!!!!



Oh and I'll agree that here amber means put your foot down!! On the loud pedal that is...

Pippy1976

flyguy wrote: »

Btw whatsup with not having your car in 1st gear if your waiting at the lights?

I don't like leaving my car in 1st whilst sitting at lights because the clutch grinds which could probably result in wear and tear in the long run. I take it out of gear. Put the handbrake on and wait... wait... wait... wait....

Heroditas

Pippy1976 wrote: »

I don't like leaving my car in 1st whilst sitting at lights because the clutch grinds which could probably result in wear and tear in the long run. I take it out of gear. Put the handbrake on and wait... wait... wait... wait....

You should get your clutch checked if it's grinding.

Pippy1976

Heroditas wrote: »

You should get your clutch checked if it's grinding.

It's not grinding... what I meant was I'd be very wary of leaving my car in gear at lights and pumping the clutch. Wouldn't it wear the clutch down? I just don't like doing it.

Wossack

if you're 'pumping the clutch', probably

saiint

their are a few lights that go from red-amber-green in ireland, in dublin!
i know of 3 of them on the way to angier st from sandymount
makes no difference
everyone shoots as soon as it goes amber
it also gos green-amber-red
people speed up if its going amber then red haha so they dont have to stop
stupid system i think
should just be green red

BrensBenz

Merkin wrote: »

Wouldn't it make people put the pedal to the metal on amber though?

Yep! Some would launch on amber but the grannies would still wait for green......as is the case in UK now.

Pippy1976

Wossack wrote: »

if you're 'pumping the clutch', probably

Pumping the clutch is also another way of saying if your car is in gear but you're stopped you have to keep the clutch half pressed down to keep it from moving back or forward.

It doesn't literally mean pumping it up and down... who does that?! I'm really not silly.

stevenmu

Pippy1976 wrote: »

Pumping the clutch is also another way of saying if your car is in gear but you're stopped you have to keep the clutch half pressed down to keep it from moving back or forward.

It doesn't literally mean pumping it up and down... who does that?! I'm really not silly.

That's "riding the clutch". Pumping the clutch is literally pumping it up and down.

Riding the clutch is very bad for it and will wear it out. You could stay in gear and keep the clutch pedal fully pushed in.

Heroditas

Pippy1976 wrote: »

Pumping the clutch is also another way of saying if your car is in gear but you're stopped you have to keep the clutch half pressed down to keep it from moving back or forward.

It doesn't literally mean pumping it up and down... who does that?! I'm really not silly.

Words fail me.

Pippy1976

stevenmu wrote: »

That's "riding the clutch". Pumping the clutch is literally pumping it up and down.

Riding the clutch is very bad for it and will wear it out. You could stay in gear and keep the clutch pedal fully pushed in.

ok, riding the clutch... apologies for getting the terminology wrong. Although, where I come from it's called pumping the clutch.

I don't want to stay in gear and keep the clutch pedal fully pushed in. It tends to hurt my foot after a while. I like my method just fine.

Pippy1976

Heroditas wrote: »

Words fail me.

??? Not sure I understand this....

jester77

Back in the 1920's a group of Irish lads in a New York suburb were not pleased that the British red was displayed above the Irish green when the first traffic light was installed, so they managed to convince the city to hang it upside down.

looksee

Pippy1976 wrote: »

How come it goes: Green - Amber - Red and then from Red - Green?

Wouldn't it be a great idea to have red - amber - green. It'd give all the aul grannies a chance to get their car in gear and not be holding up traffic on the GO!

Cease with the 'aul grannies' stuff! There are loads of dozy yokes on the roads, it doesn't mean they are grannies.

Pippy1976

looksee wrote: »

Cease with the 'aul grannies' stuff! There are loads of dozy yokes on the roads, it doesn't mean they are grannies.

I didn't literally mean grannies - I meant the collective of nervous drivers. Apologies and clarification.

Wossack

Pippy1976 wrote: »

ok, riding the clutch... apologies for getting the terminology wrong. Although, where I come from it's called pumping the clutch.

I don't want to stay in gear and keep the clutch pedal fully pushed in. It tends to hurt my foot after a while. I like my method just fine.

yea, riding/slipping/pumping the clutch aint great for it unfortunately

and yea, if it starts to hurt your foot after a while, having the clutch fully pressed, you may tend to ease up on the pedal, which again will mean riding the clutch (slightly)

LordSutch

Pippy1976 wrote: »

How come it goes: Green - Amber - Red and then from Red - Green?

Wouldn't it be a great idea to have red - amber - green. It'd give all the aul grannies a chance to get their car in gear and not be holding up traffic on the GO!

Great idea, and I say this as somebody who has driven in Britain a lot. The main advantage would be extra 'Green time', as currently the green time is greatly reduced by people taking off their handbrakes, getting into gear, and just thinking about moving, while slowly moving off )

I wonder when did we got rid of the extra Amber? or was it never part of our traffic light sequence in the ROI?

Pippy1976

LordSutch wrote: »

Great idea, and I say this as somebody who has driven in Britain a lot. The main advantage would be extra 'Green time', as currently the green time is greatly reduced by people taking off their handbrakes, getting into gear, and just thinking about moving, while slowly moving off )

I wonder when did we got rid of the extra Amber? or was it never part of our traffic light sequence in the ROI?

I'd like to know that too. Did we really have the extra amber here and if so, when? It's real interesting, if we did have it, that it was decided to get rid of. Kind of along the same lines as: clocks go back, clocks go forward thing.