Friday 21 September 2007

Traffic lights (4)

Hats off to the Israelis and everything, but does this idea of replacing/supplementing traffic lights with 'smart' traffic lights appeal to anybody?

Please, can't we just try turning the f***ing traffic lights off, even if only from 6 0'clock Saturday afternoon until 6 o'clock Monday morning, or something?

And declare every inch of every suburban road to be a zebra crossing, with an automatic 12-month ban for every driver who doesn't stop for a pedestrian who wants to cross the road?

Just for a few weekends at least?

What's the worst that can happen?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are some peak-flow traffic lights on complicated roundabout/slip road combination joining the A10 and A14.

At exactly the time you would expect, the lights batch traffic on to the roundabout so that it can clear off down a series of slips, some of which have lights of their own as it leads in to various trading estates.

In that location it works pretty well to prevent the intersection becoming jammed but it relies on having the A10 as a 'holding pen' as the larger road, the A14, cannot be stopped.

There is only one minor problem and that is that drivers tend to sit there like lemons when the lights are not working. Guess how I know. But that generally works itself out in a few seconds, or until somebody beeps, which ever happens first.

Mark Wadsworth said...

That is why I suggested turning them off at the weekends, just to see how it goes.

Anonymous said...

Surely the whole point of traffic lights in the UK is to obstruct and inconvenience the motorist?

Note, as justification, the number of completely unnecessary sets of lights that have recently appeared at junctions where there was never a jam - until the lights were installed.

So all these good ideas to keep the traffic flowing will never be adopted here - because that is not the objective.

Mark Wadsworth said...

to obstruct and inconvenience the motorist

But it's not just 'the motorist' who is politically an easy target (despite most people have cars), it's people on buses as well (like me).

Henry North London 2.0 said...

In Canada the pedestrian has the right of way. Ie if you step in front of a car its your right to stop the car It has to stop

Mark Wadsworth said...

HNL, that is very helpful. So this sort of system can work.