Is red the new orange?

badabing106

It used to be only bmws and audis that disregarded red lights, but now I see most cars do it

When a traffic light goes red, cars will treat it as if it was an orange light. This is not just at rush hour in the morning, it's anytime? I've seen mommy's with kids in the back follow others cars through red lights at speed, rushing to the shops?

Has anyone else noticed this in your area?

Seth Brundle

Red light cameras would sort out a lot of that behaviour

DelBoy Trotter

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Red light cameras would sort out a lot of that behaviour

Agreed. I'd like to see them brought in, as the amount of cars/motorbikes/vans/bicycles going through red lights in the last year has shot up from what I've seen

zubair

Certainly seems like it. I wonder if increased congestion causing frustration to commuters is a factor.

What Username Guidelines

Definitely appears to be on the rise. A recent-ish thread on it over in Commuting and Transport.

Probably down to enforcement or lack thereof, really need red light cameras asap.

Blazer

Its been going on for years.
I've seen Audis,BMW, Mercs,Toyota, Fords, Hyundais etc etc.
Only common thing is the asshole behind the wheel.

Lord Nikon

In some cases the orange light doesn't stay orange for long enough. Plenty of times I've been coming up to a junction at the speed limit, only for the light to turn orange, but not allowing me time to stop safely, and I end up just passing the light as it turns red.

Red light cameras are needed, however, the orange light must stay on for a period to allow for safe stopping. The speed limit should be taken into account for properly calculate the length of time it should stay on for.

zubair

Lord Nikon wrote: »

In some cases the orange light doesn't stay orange for long enough. Plenty of times I've been coming up to a junction at the speed limit, only for the light to turn orange, but not allowing me time to stop safely, and I end up just passing the light as it turns red.

Red light cameras are needed, however, the orange light must stay on for a period to allow for safe stopping. The speed limit should be taken into account for properly calculate the length of time it should stay on for.

Your scenario is slightly different to what I have in mind. A nearly orange/ red wouldn't really bother me. It's the blatant red light breakers that bother me, where the next light is green and cars are still continuing to drive through their red with plenty of time to stop.

jelutong

There's a pedestrian crossing at a church near where I live which goes red about 3 seconds from the time the button is hit. Mad.

Del2005

Lord Nikon wrote: »

In some cases the orange light doesn't stay orange for long enough. Plenty of times I've been coming up to a junction at the speed limit, only for the light to turn orange, but not allowing me time to stop safely, and I end up just passing the light as it turns red.

Red light cameras are needed, however, the orange light must stay on for a period to allow for safe stopping. The speed limit should be taken into account for properly calculate the length of time it should stay on for.

If the light has been green for a long time you should be slowing down in case the lights change. But this is not the issue it is people going through long after the light has changed. It's got so bad around Tallaght that I have to seriously consider breaking when the lights go amber

Xodar

Del2005 wrote: »

If the light has been green for a long time you should be slowing down in case the lights change. But this is not the issue it is people going through long after the light has changed. It's got so bad around Tallaght that I have to seriously consider breaking when the lights go amber

Disagree with this...there are too many factors to make this a valid statement

mikeecho

Xodar wrote: »

Disagree with this...there are too many factors to make this a valid statement

If you are approaching a green light, you can presume that it is a stale green, and is about to change.

It's all about the road craft.

What Username Guidelines

jelutong wrote: »

There's a pedestrian crossing at a church near where I live which goes red about 3 seconds from the time the button is hit. Mad.

There's a pedestrian crossing near where I live which goes red about 10 miuntes from the time the button is hit. Mad.

Seth Brundle

What Username Guidelines wrote: »

There's a pedestrian crossing near where I live which goes red about 10 miuntes from the time the button is hit. Mad.

Mention it to your prospective councillors who are currently busy traipsing door to door making promises to the electorate

Lack of enforcement and the crazy timings of lights I would imagine.

Some evening light sequences are crazy, stuck waiting for a green for several minutes, with not a car going through the alternate green. Also on main roads and you end up starting off on a green, accelerate normally up to the limit and you can guarantee that the next light will JUST be going red, as you arrive.

mikeecho

I regularly hit a red light during the early hours, and this particular light will stay red for 4 minutes (I've timed it).

Do I obey it .?

We'll, let's just say I proceed with caution.

Dravokivich

mikeecho wrote: »

I regularly hit a red light during the early hours, and this particular light will stay red for 4 minutes (I've timed it).

Do I obey it .?

We'll, let's just say I proceed with caution.

mikeecho wrote: »

It's all about the road craft.

I s'pose so...

Infini

Theres another light when you come down Popular Row to come out onto Annesly Bridge road which will only go green for 6 seconds and thats with multiple cars waiting before changing and thats with traffic its ridiculous it should be green for at least 10 to 15 seconds.

Also the lights in late hours and early morning at the jct of Gardiner st and mountjoy sq north are also ridiculous they give way to the side street for 2-3min with no traffic over Gardiner st with cars.

Infini

Infini wrote: »

Theres another light when you come down Popular Row to come out onto Annesly Bridge road which will only go green for 6 seconds and thats with multiple cars waiting before changing and thats with traffic its ridiculous it should be green for at least 10 to 15 seconds.

Also the lights in late hours and early morning at the jct of Gardiner st and mountjoy sq north are also ridiculous they give way to the side street for 2-3min with no traffic over Gardiner st with cars.

And you get the muppet looking around taking 5 seconds to start to move

Dravokivich

Deleted User wrote: »

And you get the muppet looking around taking 5 seconds to start to move

It's not a launcher. If you expect someone to shoot off from the line the second a green light hits, what would you think of them if they hit something?

Dravokivich

Dravokivich wrote: »

It's not a launcher. If you expect someone to shoot off from the line the second a green light hits, what would you think of them if they hit something?

I'm not talking about moving on carefully. I am talking about the person looking at their phone/doing makeup/chatting (not paying attention to the lights)

5 seconds to even start the moving process - looking around, checking path etc - not 5 second to complete the move

Lord Nikon

The Stillorgan bypass heading towards City Centre :
At night, if you don't go faster than the limit, you are sure to hit every red light until you get to Donnybrook. Boo Urns.

Chris_Heilong

I dont like the idea of red light cameras at all, as long as it just turns red as you pass it no harm done.

H3llR4iser

Well, red light cameras did work wonders even in Italy - you hardly get any red light gamblers anymore.

Here, it's surely the combination of lack of enforcement + stupid light timings + people being morons and taking forever to start.

Plenty of lights have the green lasting mere seconds while the red stays on for minutes to end; If the first / second car in the queue are a bit slow moving, only 2-3 cars will go through each cycle.

A few evenings ago I met the "King of Nonsense": red light, two cars stopped, yellow box in front of the exit of a car park, one other car then me. Light goes green (it's a short one lasting 10 seconds max), cars 1 and 2 start...what does car 3 do? Remains stationary and allows a stream of other cars to exit the car park...the he bolts away with the yellow light and crosses the junction with the red already on.

mea_k

No joke oul one went streight thru red as my green one was on for lil bit before I reached it and nearly crashed in to me.. I don't understand how these old people are still on road never mind going thru reds....

Seth Brundle

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

I dont like the idea of red light cameras at all, as long as it just turns red as you pass it no harm done.

I assume that you're trolling but I'll bite.
Red means stop.
Amber means stop or proceed to stop if it is safe to do so.
Green does not mean go. It means proceed if it is safe to do so.
The light that just turned red as you passed it was amber as you approached it and you chose to continue and to break the law. If you felt that you didn't have sufficient time then the likelihood was that you were speeding.

MrMusician18

mikeecho wrote: »

I regularly hit a red light during the early hours, and this particular light will stay red for 4 minutes (I've timed it).

Do I obey it .?

We'll, let's just say I proceed with caution.

Three minutes is the maximum red time used by good traffic engineers. It's considered in the industry the longest time you can have a red before compliance starts to break down

Xodar

mikeecho wrote: »

If you are approaching a green light, you can presume that it is a stale green, and is about to change.

It's all about the road craft.

Why would you assume it's 'stale' and about to change?

It depends in the road you are on and the road that it intersects with - the classification will determine priority and the traffic (if any waiting at the lights of the other road) light.

Also, if you have no traffic on the other road why would you assume the light would change?

On roads I regularly travel I see lights remaining green for many, seconds and I can see the lights 400m ahead, why would I assume it will change?

Further to this , a number of traffic lights have pressure sensors that assist with sequencing. Again, if I have a green light and there is no traffic on an intersecting road and I pass over a pressure sensor it may actually mean that the light will stay green longer....the same as when cars are stopped at lights but not in the correct position to effect the sensor and therefore not influencing the light sequence...but I suppose it's all about the road craft. :rolleyes:

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Seth Brundle wrote: »

The light that just turned red as you passed it was amber as you approached it and you chose to continue and to break the law.

:rolleyes:

Orange is not the same length at every set of lights.

Where red light cameras are set up on the continent, they have a timer, the camera is activated X amount of time after the light turns red. It's not trying to get those who just barely made it, for whatever reason, but those who really take the piss.