Irish Traffic Light Sequence ...

Andy From Sligo

OK -the Irish Traffic lights. why are they sort of part UK'ish but not the full monty? - what I mean is they look exactly like the UK ones, but that why do they go directly from Red to Green and no amber (get ready to go) like the UK ones? - what is the idea ... I mean why?

Here's a few apologies in advance:

1.) Sorry (if) this has been done to death before
2.) Sorry if it sounds like I am saying the UK Traffic light operating system is superior to the Irish traffic light sequence and that the UK things are better than the Irish things, I'm not saying that at all and am not insinuating that it is.
3.) sorry if it sounds a very 'nerdy' and pointless thing to be posting about!

artanevilla

Flashing orange means get ready to go/go if safe, solid orange means prepare to stop.

I think it's just pedestrian crossing that flash orange though.

kneemos

Saw one the other day at roadworks with a countdown timer,thought it was a great idea.

artanevilla

Another idea would be to post on the Facebook of the driver that the light has changed, as they tend to be paying more attention to that when stopped at the lights anyway.

Andy From Sligo

er I think your talking about pedestrians - I am talking about when your driving

Wacker The Attacker

red means crash into a luas


http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0604/705711-dublin-traffic/

artanevilla

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

er I think your talking about pedestrians - I am talking about when your driving

No I'm talking about driving.

Andy From Sligo

artanevilla wrote: »

No I'm talking about driving.

oh right, havent seen that - and this is your normal run of the mill traffic lights yeah ? - or roadwork lights ye talking about?

ctrl-alt-delete

Saves money.

artanevilla

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

oh right, havent seen that - and this is your normal run of the mill traffic lights yeah ? - or roadwork lights ye talking about?

Pedestrian crossing lights, ie, not at a junction, their only sole purpose is to allow someone to cross. The orange starts flashing at the same time as the green man does, if no one is crossing, you can move off.

Tony Beetroot

Safer to break red lights sure.

Andy From Sligo

judging the way some people seem unaware the lights have changed to green and are still sitting there to the point you have to 'toot' them , maybe an amber 'get ready to move' and then green would be the way to go!

artanevilla

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

judging the way some people seem unaware the lights have changed to green and are still sitting there to the point you have to 'toot' them , maybe an amber 'get ready to move' and then green would be the way to go!

The problem in Ireland is that a lot of drivers would see the amber as put the foot down and accelerate off as fast as possible, like the orange before the red light means drive as fast as possible through the junction before it turns red.

Connemara Farmer

Countdown timers are great yokes, I'd also agree with the OP, there should be an amber in the Red (amber) Green sequence. It's silly not to have it, don't agree people would just take off on amber.

DareGod

Because Ireland simply does not possess the ability to do anything in a non-arseways manner.

There, I said it.

But it does do some things better than other countries so we shouldn't complain. [sarcasm detector explodes.]

Tony Beetroot

The amber before green works well in the UK.

dxhound2005

artanevilla wrote: »

Another idea would be to post on the Facebook of the driver that the light has changed, as they tend to be paying more attention to that when stopped at the lights anyway.

Send them a message saying Please move along, they are not going to get any greener.

Gringo180

Whats the point in having the bulb in between of red and green if there not going to use it?

Sunnyisland

I think the traffic lights should be green,white. And orange :-)

Andy From Sligo

Gringo180 wrote: »

Whats the point in having the bulb in between of red and green if there not going to use it?

well they do use it - it goes 'green' - 'Amber' then 'Red' but then it goes 'Red' straight to 'Green' in Ireland.

I think in UK it goes 'Green' then 'Amber' then 'Red' then goes 'Red & Amber together' (i believe I have that correct) and then 'Green'

Andy From Sligo

wonder why when traffic lights were invented they didnt make the Red stop light flash? .... mind you maybe it would give some motorists an epileptic fit! :eek:

Andy From Sligo

realies wrote: »

I think the traffic lights should be green,white. And orange :-)

Early Irish traffic lights ran on Spuds

jay-me

Another annoying thing about the traffic lights system is that you would think they would allow time for cars to get through a couple of sets without waiting at one only for the other one 100m up the road to go red and the next after that! Blackrock and North Circular Road I am looking at you! :mad:

Andy From Sligo

jay-me wrote: »

Another annoying thing about the traffic lights system is that you would think they would allow time for cars to get through a couple of sets without waiting at one only for the other one 100m up the road to go red and the next after that! Blackrock and North Circular Road I am looking at you! :mad:

got that in Sligo too on the inner 'relief??' road

dxhound2005

jay-me wrote: »

Another annoying thing about the traffic lights system is that you would think they would allow time for cars to get through a couple of sets without waiting at one only for the other one 100m up the road to go red and the next after that! Blackrock and North Circular Road I am looking at you! :mad:

Would that not depend on how many cars there are, and at what speed they are travelling?

Grayson

Random fact (that's kinda relevant)

I heard that most pedestrian lights change green for something something like 4.7 seconds and then amber for 1.7 seconds per metre width of the road.

That's why when you're walking across a pedestrian crossing the little green man disappears so quickly.

Andy From Sligo

Grayson wrote: »

Random fact (that's kinda relevant)

I heard that most pedestrian lights change green for something something like 4.7 seconds and then amber for 1.7 seconds per metre width of the road.

That's why when you're walking across a pedestrian crossing the little green man disappears so quickly.

#learnsomethingneweveryday ....

dxhound2005

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

OK -the Irish Traffic lights. why are they sort of part UK'ish but not the full monty? - what I mean is they look exactly like the UK ones, but that why do they go directly from Red to Green and no amber (get ready to go) like the UK ones? - what is the idea ... I mean why?

Here's a few apologies in advance:

1.) Sorry (if) this has been done to death before
2.) Sorry if it sounds like I am saying the UK Traffic light operating system is superior to the Irish traffic light sequence and that the UK things are better than the Irish things, I'm not saying that at all and am not insinuating that it is.
3.) sorry if it sounds a very 'nerdy' and pointless thing to be posting about!

In the North every time I was second at the lights the first driver always, always took off at amber. Nobody ever waited for green.

the groutch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR10t-B9nYY

Andy From Sligo

dxhound2005 wrote: »

In the North every time I was second at the lights the first driver always, always took off at amber. Nobody ever waited for green.

true there is that too - i always used to think that red & amber before going green meant 'off you drive if its safe to do so because its going to change to green in a second anyway' when i used to drive in the UK.

Yeah, the Irish traffic light sequence must feel weird going straight from red to green with no amber in between for some drivers down from the North and UK.

YFlyer

What colour comes after green?