Why no amber?

Hamsterchops

Always wondered why we don't have an amber light on our traffic lights (( before green for go ))!

Have recently come across two sets of roadworks with temporary traffic lights, which actually have the amber light working before go . . . Very impressive, as everybody is ready to take off the second the lights turn green . . . .

I like the amber light as it gives more time on the green, this would be really helpful on some junctions that only give about ten or twelve seconds green before going red again :mad:

People checking their mirrors, hesitating, and then finally releasing their handbrake only to find that the blasted lights have gone red.

Thumbs up for the amber, as it gives more time for green = more cars through lights, shame we can't have it permanently on all traffic lights, I wonder did we ever have it here in the past, or was it always disconnected?

Anyway, our roadworks will soon be over, but it was good to see the (pre green) amber light in operation, even if it was for a few weeks

colm_mcm

We treat amber as green here, so it’s a waste of time.

sumo12

We just wanted to be different from UK...

893bet

Amber is a safety warning to tell you stop. And we know that means speed up to some people.

Last you want it amber lads speeding up in one direction and flying through a second after it red and lads in the other direction primed to take off at green in the other direction.

KildareP

Lot of the construction kit coming in at the moment is from the UK so it's programmed for their setup which has amber before green.

Something I think would work much better that I've seen on other roadworks and also increasingly throughout fixed light setups in Europe as they switch to LED arrays is a seconds countdown in the amber light to when the light will go green. No excuse for not being ready and should (hopefully) reduce the UK-tendency to take off as soon as the amber shows (while opposing traffic ignore the amber-to-red on their side).

Of course, you could also look at the way the USA handle it, their pre-red-amber can show for up to 10 seconds before red and an increasing amount of their junctions have red light cameras installed. If you've passed the stop line but not cleared the junction when red shows on your side, it's an automatic ticket because you'll have blatantly driven through an amber.

Hamsterchops

KildareP wrote: »

Lot of the construction kit coming in at the moment is from the UK so it's programmed for their setup which has amber before green.

Yep, and it works a treat ✓

Sounds like everybody's not a fan though, with the suggestion that it encourages jumping the lights before they go green. If this is the case then surely there is a very high accident rate in the UK involving the (pre green) amber light? I don't know, but it certainly seems to give more time on the green

ted1

colm_mcm wrote: »

We treat amber as green here, so it’s a waste of time.

Amber and red is different.

bazz26

There seems to be a boner for traffic lights on boards this week.

RosieJoe

ted1 wrote: »

Amber and red is different.

Yes they are, Amber is go through. Red is go through faster :pac:

CoBo55

tphase wrote: »

I'm going through roadworks every day that have a countdown timer on the lights so you would think the car at the head of the queue would be ready to go before the light turns green ... it frequently happens that the engine is restarted and put into gear only after it goes green

Must be that new fangled start stop...

mgbgt1978

Why no Amber ?

It's so the British can come over here and go,"ooh look, they have different Traffic Lights".

cml387

I'd quite like the continental version where the amber and red illuminate together before green.

Samuel T. Cogley

cml387 wrote: »

I'd quite like the continental version where the amber and red illuminate together before green.

That's how it works in the UK too.

Feisar

tphase wrote: »

I'm going through roadworks every day that have a countdown timer on the lights so you would think the car at the head of the queue would be ready to go before the light turns green ... it frequently happens that the engine is restarted and put into gear only after it goes green

One does wonder about the mentality of some people. Same people probably get to the head of the queue for whatever in the shop/ATM and then go rooting to find their card.

athlone573

Can I be pedantic and point out that there's no such colour as Amber here, it's called Orange.

mgbgt1978

Or maybe you could be even more pedantic and read the Rules of the Road....where the colour in question is always referred to as Amber.

athlone573

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Or maybe you could be even more pedantic and read the Rules of the Road....where the colour in question is always referred to as Amber.

I don't remember that from my driving test but I'm sure you're right!

CoBo55

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Or maybe you could be even more pedantic and read the Rules of the Road....where the colour in question is always referred to as Amber.

You obviously don't remember the slogan, don't be an amber gambler.

tDw6u1bj

It's far from the norm but I've seen flashing amber before green in plenty of lights here going back over 15 years, though it means "proceed if clear" rather than "prepare to go"

However, almost every time I've seen it when there was someone still crossing I've seen drivers edge up on people and aggressively hurry them on (including honking at little old ladies).

I like the idea of the countdown timer though.

colm_mcm

tDw6u1bj wrote: »

I like the idea of the countdown timer though.

I can guarantee you that widespread adoption of countdown timers would lead to people going before green.
Coupled with the other crowd who break red lights, it would at least be entertaining to watch.

Melodeon

The whole amber-before-green thing is a relic from a bygone age in the UK; it was there to give Land-Rover drivers a chance to take up the slack...

mgbgt1978

CoBo55 wrote: »

You obviously don't remember the slogan, don't be an amber gambler.

I think I obviously do......;)

Maybe you're referring to the poster above me

Darc19

Melodeon wrote: »

The whole amber-before-green thing is a relic from a bygone age in the UK; it was there to give Land-Rover drivers a chance to take up the slack...

Maybe it should be brought in here for Dacia Duster drivers

Hamsterchops

Melodeon wrote: »

The whole amber-before-green thing is a relic from a bygone age in the UK; it was there to give Land-Rover drivers a chance to take up the slack...

Ha ha, presumably Robin Reliant drivers also benefitted

MrMusician18

If I remember correctly from my traffic school days amber before green is only slightly more efficient than not doing it. We adjust our all red time to account for its absence.

I guess the reason for not doing it was that it made the lights controller more complex. And to be different.

dickdasr1234

I Heard it was meant to politely suggest that it was now safe to put down your phone.

Isambard

i think we'd call it anything at all rather than Orange.

Red+amber is unnecessary. Technically it means you can't go quite yet, get ready, if you notice it. A bit pointless.

Smee_Again

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

I Heard it was meant to politely suggest that it was now safe to put down your phone.

Should be a siren or audible warning of some sort then.

Spook_ie

893bet wrote: »

Amber is a safety warning to tell you stop. And we know that means speed up to some people.

Last you want it amber lads speeding up in one direction and flying through a second after it red and lads in the other direction primed to take off at green in the other direction.

But after a few months of carnage wouldn't it cut down on the RLJs?

callaway92

People don't even treat Amber/Orange correctly at a lot of city traffic lights from what I see.

When Amber/Orange starts flashing it means go unless unsafe to do so (ie a Pedestrian crossing at their Green light). Have seen so many times drivers just ploughing through the second it starts flashing.

jimmycrackcorm

Having Amber before green doesn't actually change anything. People are still doing the same things during the amber as they are if it's green. It's just a perception that they are getting ready when in both cases they still have to release the handbrake etc.

The flaw is in assuming that using amber is going to show a few seconds before Green when it doesn't in practice.

zg3409

I spoke to an Irish traffic engineer on the matter. He said they compared the UK and Irish systems and in reality the Irish system is better and gets more cars through a junction per hour than in the UK.

Why is this? Well it's complicated and based on people. In the UK red and amber does not mean go, but some people do go early. As a result the green time in reality is shorter in uk, and overall non go time is longer.

In uk they can't really have the red amber light come on when other direction is green, or even going amber . This is done to prevent collisions with those rushing through on red, and those moving forward on red and amber. Motorbikes are a particular casualty of jumping out on green to find final cars crossing and wiping them out.

So the amber and red does nothing to speed up traffic and the Irish system is better.

colm_mcm

Maybe we could bring it in when we start driving on the right.

Hamsterchops

colm_mcm wrote: »

Maybe we could bring it in when we start driving on the right.

:eek:

That could open a 'right' can of worms.

Imagine the infrastructure on the border for switching sides, it's never goin to happen anyway. Beep beep.

It's a good system. Can we be trusted with it though? Light jumpers are far too common as it is.