Potentially Dangerous Pedestrian Lights/Sounds

Neil3030

I was crossing the Merrion Road in Ballsbridge there today at the pedestrian lights where "Cellular Connection" is situated on the corner. I got across to the traffic island and pressed the button for the other lane. Now I wasn't really paying attention so when I heard what I thought was the buzzer I started to step out on the road, only to look up and see an oncoming taxi (it's always a f*ckin taxi...) so I jumped back in onto the path. Now had I not of looked up, I would have been splattered as he was going quite fast. The noise I had heard which I thought was my signal was actually that of the lane I had just crossed. Got me thinking about the potential use of the buzzer on pedestrian lights, which are presumably there for the benefit of the visually impaired, but ironically would have been the reason for the death of someone who had not seen the car coming.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

d22ontour

i think all pedestrian lights are potentially dangerous almost everytime i see the green man for go there is always some plonker who will drive through just to get caught up in traffic 10 seconds later and thats not to mention the heated debates with the clowns who get out of their cars like its my fault for trying to cross the road :mad: :mad: :mad:

Blub2k4

Irish drivers are pretty bad to be honest, I blame it on the provisional license, they should all be revoked and a proper system implemented.

Evilution

I never use pedestrian lights, they're a waste of time. I'll just cross whenever I can basically.

Sarn

Blub2k4 wrote:

Irish drivers are pretty bad to be honest, I blame it on the provisional license, they should all be revoked and a proper system implemented.

If anything I'd say skilled provisional drivers are safer than those people who have been driving a while. But we do have a ridiculous system, allowing someone who has just failed their test to drive off is crazy. There should also be a system implemented where bad drivers can have their licenses downgraded to provisional status. Of course with the number of bad drivers on the road this would make the average waiting time for a driving test approach about 5 years.

Back on topic, I've also noticed when crossing at a series of pedestrian lights that the noise is very misleading. There are some killer pedestrian crossings around the place that drivers seem to ignore/miss, when the light has been red for a good 10 secs people should stop :mad: . As a result I either cross when the road is clear or wait until all the cars have stopped (checking for bikes & motorbikes).

At this point the safe cross code song is running through my head. 1 look for a safe place, 2 don't hurry, stop and wait, 3 look all around you, before you cross the road.........

ferdi

Evilution wrote:

I never use pedestrian lights, they're a waste of time. I'll just cross whenever I can basically.

me too, unless the road is insanely busy with fast moving traffic....its like that game where you had to help the frog cross the road and dodge the traffic....anyone else remember that game - very old.

kdouglas

Sarn wrote:

....At this point the safe cross code song is running through my head. 1 look for a safe place, 2 don't hurry, stop and wait, 3 look all around you, before you cross the road.........

On a slight side note, i wonder do schools teach children the safe cross code anymore?

i'm always surprised at the number of children who have a complete disregard for vehicles, i was brought up knowing a car can and will kill you if you step out in front if it, these days, kids seem to think that the car will stop regardless of how close it is when they step out in front of it, and thats if they even bother to look for oncoming traffic first.

pickarooney

ferdi wrote:

me too, unless the road is insanely busy with fast moving traffic....its like that game where you had to help the frog cross the road and dodge the traffic....anyone else remember that game - very old.

Play Frogger (on speed).

Blub2k4

kdouglas wrote:

On a slight side note, i wonder do schools teach children the safe cross code anymore?

i'm always surprised at the number of children who have a complete disregard for vehicles, i was brought up knowing a car can and will kill you if you step out in front if it, these days, kids seem to think that the car will stop regardless of how close it is when they step out in front of it, and thats if they even bother to look for oncoming traffic first.

The kids aren't stupid you know, they know about the invention of ABS brakes, wasn't around in your day obviously.

ageary2003

Blub2k4 wrote:

Irish drivers are pretty bad to be honest, I blame it on the provisional license, they should all be revoked and a proper system implemented.

I dont see how revoking provisional licenses can change the bad attitude and skills of many drivers who have full licenses, while there are plenty of gobsh!tes with provisional licenses out there, there are also plenty with full licenses. The system could do with improvement, but i think that letting people who get a full license drive without another test ever again is bad idea, maybe a test every 10 years might stop people from settling into bad habits.

Evilution

Blub2k4 wrote:

Irish drivers are pretty bad to be honest, I blame it on the provisional license, they should all be revoked and a proper system implemented.

That'd certainly lighten the irish roads of boyracers significantly.I'm for it.

monkeyfudge

The pedestrian traffic lights with the big buttons in the city centre actually vibrate when it is time to cross. The idea is that someone who is visually impaired should have their hand on the unit.

But the sound is poor alright.. it can be very confusing if you aren't paying attention.

Those little counters that count down to when the lights will change are awful too as they simply don't work, they are more often than not completely out of sync with the actual traffic lights.

robbie1876

In the same way as the green man only indicates that to pedestrian traffic that vehicular traffic has been advised to stop, the sound doesn't mean that it is safe to cross, only that traffic coming the other way has been advised to stop. The junction at the corner of Wexford Street and Kevin Street nearly claimed me the other day for the same reasons as the original poster.

I wonder though, you know the way they say when somebody loses a sense their other senses are heightened? So would a blind person be able to tell the directionality of the sound better than a sighted person? I'm sure the sound they use was picked for a reason, which could be that it is a very directional sound, and is therefore easy to tell if it's your lights that are blipping, or the lights behind you.

tSubh Dearg

robbie1876 wrote:

I wonder though, you know the way they say when somebody loses a sense their other senses are heightened? So would a blind person be able to tell the directionality of the sound better than a sighted person?

Probably....but if a sound is coming from directly in front or behind you it's almost impossible to tell the difference as the sound is exactly balanced in both ears.

Try it some time, close your eyes and get someone to clap in front of you and behind you and try and tell the difference.

IMO The Ha'Penny bridge pedestrian lights are THE worst for cars not stopping once the lights have changed.