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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!

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InTheTrees

The question is why the UK feels the need to have an amber warning before the green.

How many other countries do it that way, I dont think its very many?

Andy From Sligo

I wonder how hard it would be for them to re-programme lights in Ireland to the sequence of NI/UK sequence? - cant be no more harder than what they are doing with speed signs lately changing them at the moment. Mind u the Irish rules of the road book would have to be changed too.

dxhound2005

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

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.

I don't see the issue. The amber/red lights controlling the traffic with which you could collide hold them back for a sufficient time to make it safe to go on green. And the green/red man is similarly timed for pedestrians.

Andy From Sligo

YFlyer wrote: »

What colour comes after green?

er goes amber then red - then red and amber together then green, according to this:

http://www.drivingtesttips.biz/uk-traffic-lights.html

Andy From Sligo

when the lights are Red & Amber together it gives the 'boy racers' a signal to rev up their cars because green it will be in seconds and then let rip! :eek: - they wouldnt be able to cope with going straight from Red to Green!

Andy From Sligo

InTheTrees wrote: »

The question is why the UK feels the need to have an amber warning before the green.

How many other countries do it that way, I dont think its very many?

in no way saying that UK is superior to other countries but im sure that if it didnt work well or no reasoning for it , then it would have been changed by now. I think they have had those sequences ever since traffic lights were brought to the UK (invented by Americans I think)

InTheTrees

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

in no way saying that UK is superior to other countries but im sure that if it didnt work well or no reasoning for it , then it would have been changed by now. I think they have had those sequences ever since traffic lights were brought to the UK (invented by Americans I think)

I understand. I lived in the UK for years and it never bothered me. I'm curious wy they do it though. Some sort of motorsport heritage thing?

I lived in the USA for years too and most (all?) states use the irish sequence, red straight to green.

Andy From Sligo

InTheTrees wrote: »

I understand. I lived in the UK for years and it never bothered me. I'm curious wy they do it though. Some sort of motorsport heritage thing?

I lived in the USA for years too and most (all?) states use the irish sequence, red straight to green.

yes strange, and if its correct that they were actually invented in the US and brought over to UK you would think they would go from red straight to green

jimgoose

It's very simple. In Ireland, the traffic light sequence goes like this:

1) Grand, bah.
2) Focking floor it, Fintan!
3) Take it hawndy, noy!

Andy From Sligo

you aint half got to have your wits about ye though at traffic lights - even the other week as i was going to go through green and a woman jumped a red light. Just as I was approaching the lights I thought to myself 'she's not gonna stop' - I just let her go even though my light was green. I know in an accident it would have been her fault for running a red light but even so to avoid all time and hassle of an 'accident' if you have enough time and can safely do so if it looks like someone is not concentrating and it looks like they are gonna run a red light then let em get on with it - one day they will get caught out (if they are repeat offenders) ... hopefully!

jimgoose

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

you aint half got to have your wits about ye though at traffic lights - even the other week as i was going to go through green and a woman jumped a red light. Just as I was approaching the lights I thought to myself 'she's not gonna stop' - I just let her go even though my light was green. I know in an accident it would have been her fault for running a red light but even so to avoid all time and hassle of an 'accident' if you have enough time and can safely do so if it looks like someone is not concentrating and it looks like they are gonna run a red light then let em get on with it - one day they will get caught out (if they are repeat offenders) ... hopefully!

Did you read my post? Are you a-frum aroun' here, boy??

theteal

I'm gonna be honest, I'm driving in the UK just over 4 years. I don't know the official rules but I push off when it turns amber. . .no issues yet

Andy From Sligo

theteal wrote: »

I'm gonna be honest, I'm driving in the UK just over 4 years. I don't know the official rules but I push off when it turns amber. . .no issues yet

i suppose thats the unwritten rule - but i dunno how it would hold up in court if you was found to drive off under amber and not green - are people over there who go through amber light still called 'amber chasers' - or whatever it used to be called?

jay-me

dxhound2005 wrote: »

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

No, I am talking about the first car in the line!

DareGod

Where are ya from OP anyway?

Tony Beetroot

Gringo180 wrote: »

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

cerastes

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Saves money.

Would save money and time if the sequence alerted people that it was about to go green, especially for the idiots that wait half the day to notice before moving off and worse still on lights with a short time for the sequence.

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!

Be good if they could do this, but knowing most people dont seem to give rats arse and can hardly understand the systems we have, it probably would just confuse morons even more.

Id be happy enough if they got rid of being shown a red when there is a green also, that has got to be a big waste of time, money, energy as people will spot the red first upon approaching it and start braking, I cant even blame them, especially in the dark or wet when its duller as the red is much more visible, especially from a distance than a small green filter. Ive even been caught out myself but usually either have to brake because someone in front of me is caught out or let off the acclelerator and then realise, there is a green.

I see it fairly regular, red to not allow you go in one direction and usually a filter to denote the way you can go.
The thing is the filter denotes the only direction option which allows a driver to proceed, in the UK a straight filter wont be beside a red light (ie unlike here where a red would be lit to disallow a right turn)

The mere fact that the straight filter light is on and the right (or turning filter is off) is enough information to tell a driver they are only allowed go straight (or in the direction of the filter arrow only).

Not really thought gone into it and a hodge podge of ideas cobbled together without any thought of how it all works integrated,
especially annoying is lights that dont allow you to make it to the next set even when no one else is around other than if you were to floor it, so you get an utter waste of stop starts, maybe its to discourage use though, likely the same kind of ill considered or inconsiderate thought processes to come to these decisions.
Just like the quays in Dublin, hadnt been down them in years, maybe only a few times since the 30kmh limit was introduced, even 50kmh would have been way more sensible, completely impractical if not unsafe as people need to drive at a ridiculously low gear where in the end no one observes it and it is not enforced, yet the limits for driving around housing estates are higher than this! or not even regulated for.
So same ill considered moronic decision makers at work.

Gringo180 wrote: »

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

Alerst driver lights are about to turn red!
Same reason it should be used to alert drivers its about to turn green.

Maybe just making it very brief before green comes on to limit accidents (even though synchronised with other junction lights), as even a brief warning would save wasted time at moving off.

InTheTrees wrote: »

The question is why the UK feels the need to have an amber warning before the green.

How many other countries do it that way, I dont think its very many?

To alert a driver the lights are changing, makes better use of the lights sequence so more cars can use the system more efficiently, likely saves energy, time.

InTheTrees

cerastes wrote: »

To alert a driver the lights are changing, makes better use of the lights sequence so more cars can use the system more efficiently, likely saves energy, time.

Why does having an extra light to warn you the light is going to change make the system more efficient?

cerastes

InTheTrees wrote: »

Why does having an extra light to warn you the light is going to change make the system more efficient?

If it alerts the first driver in a queue that the sequence is about to change and moves more cars from that queue along in an allotted time do you not think that is a more efficient use of the traffic light system?

that you cannot comprehend that or even come up with a reason suggests to me you might be one of those drivers going around in oblivion.

PowerToWait

theteal wrote: »

I don't know the official rules but I push off when it turns amber. . .no issues yet

Amber gambler. You're officially gonna have an accident I would say.

InTheTrees

cerastes wrote: »

If it alerts the first driver in a queue that the sequence is about to change and moves more cars from that queue along in an allotted time do you not think that is a more efficient use of the traffic light system?

that you cannot comprehend that or even come up with a reason suggests to me you might be one of those drivers going around in oblivion.

Ow!

I never said I didnt understand, I was asking why.

cerastes

InTheTrees wrote: »

Ow!

No, i'm the person watching the lights in the other direction and the pedestrian lights to get a better jump on when my lights are going to change.

In other words, I think there's plenty of other visual cues for that first driver in the line, without having to give a warning light that the other light is going to change.

I agree there can be plenty of visual cues, but at times they are not as easy to see, and some dont even seem to consider them, but they can be dependant on traffic light positioning or lack of in some cases, either due to no traffic lights being placed opposite or where there are no other lights and sun light, either directly on them or due to low angle at certain times of the year.
An amber light prior to green would eliminate all this need when those cues arent around

Shep_Dog

artanevilla wrote: »

solid orange means prepare to stop.

Solid orange (amber) means 'STOP' unless you're so close to the stop line that it would be unsafe to do so. Given the widespread abuse of amber signals, I don't think we need more of them unless they come equipped with cameras.

theteal

PowerToWait wrote: »

Amber gambler. You're officially gonna have an accident I would say.

Officially? Do I need to sign something?

[Deleted User]

Shep_Dog wrote: »

Solid orange (amber) means 'STOP' unless you're so close to the stop line that it would be unsafe to do so. Given the widespread abuse of amber signals, I don't think we need more of them unless they come equipped with cameras.

Widespread abuse of amber signals? I would say the red is more abused. This is obviously subjective, but based on the driving I've done for 20 years in NZ, UK and Ireland, the red light actually means nothing here. I've run a red many a time where I couldn't stop safely on an orange, and have noticed 2 or 3 cars follow me through. Maybe it's the lack of red light cameras here.

This, combined with people jumping a green if there is some kind of pre-warning that they are about to change, would definitely lead to quite a few intersection crashes.

stefanovich

I think the Red/Amber system is good. Gives the first driver time to put the car in gear and disengage the handbrake. You can then move off on green.

You do not want red/amber when the other road has amber, it should be red.

triggermortis

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

i suppose thats the unwritten rule - but i dunno how it would hold up in court if you was found to drive off under amber and not green - are people over there who go through amber light still called 'amber chasers' - or whatever it used to be called?

It's called Amber Gambler. The reason being, it's a gamble if you make it through or not as you are supposed to stop (if safe to do so).
Lights here in Switzerland are the same sequence as UK, but the difference is all sets have road sensors to allow traffic flow and a lot of the ones in the city also have cameras to catch RLJ'ers and amber gamblers.

CramCycle

dxhound2005 wrote: »

I don't see the issue. The amber/red lights controlling the traffic with which you could collide hold them back for a sufficient time to make it safe to go on green. And the green/red man is similarly timed for pedestrians.

All you will get is people running reds for longer, it's bad enough as it is with slime delays between lights already encouraging asshats to run reds.
I would be of the opinion that the time delay should be removed altogether.

Basil3 wrote: »

I've run a red many a time where I couldn't stop safely on an orange, and have noticed 2 or 3 cars follow me through. Maybe it's the lack of red light cameras here.

I presume you mean you went through on amber. I see it all the time where I see the light flick amber as I am through but yes somehow another 5 or 7 cars make it through, with the last two stuck on the junction starting the traffic jam up side roads.

Shep_Dog

Basil3 wrote: »

Widespread abuse of amber signals? I would say the red is more abused. I've run a red many a time where I couldn't stop safely on an orange, and have noticed 2 or 3 cars follow me through. Maybe it's the lack of red light cameras here.

If one is unable to stop on amber, it could be that you're very close to it or it could be that on approaching the traffic signals you were not prepared to slow down and stop should it change to amber. Traffic signals merely indicate that you have priority, not that it's actually safe to proceed. All junctions should be approached with due care.

Speeding is a factor and it's documented by the RSA that some 87% of motorists break urban speed limits. This could explain why drivers who would stop on amber, as required by the RoTR, are intimidated by others into breaking the law.

The last thing we need is to encourage faster driving.

I you really want improve traffic flow, get rid of traffic lights and put stop signs and cameras on all junctions.

old_aussie

Red.
Orange.
Green.
Drop clutch, massive wheel spin, fish tail, smell of rubber

Sounds like the everyday guy taking off at the lights in Oz

Sadly no "christmas tree" lights in Oz, it's Red, Green on take off and Green, Orange, Red on stopping.

Orange meaning go like the feck or you'll get caught on the Red.