Safe Speed Forums

The campaign for genuine road safety
It is currently Thu Apr 30, 2026 19:35

All times are UTC [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 81 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 12:07 
Offline
Life Member
Life Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 21:17
Posts: 3734
Location: Dorset/Somerset border
Thought you'd say something along those lines...


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 17:11 
Offline
Life Member
Life Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 21:17
Posts: 3734
Location: Dorset/Somerset border
A thought's occurred to me: as my new car weighs 50% more than the old one, is my maximum permissible anger level reduced by 33%?

:lol:


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 20:27 
Offline
Gold Member
Gold Member

Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2004 14:47
Posts: 1659
Location: A Dark Desert Highway
Johnnytheboy wrote:
A thought's occurred to me: as my new car weighs 50% more than the old one, is my maximum permissible anger level reduced by 33%?

:lol:


:scratchchin: hmm, as I don't weigh much, does that mean when I run I can be twice as angry as a fat person, or does my extra speed mean I can only be the same amount of angry because I am going twice as fast???


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 20:48 
Offline
User

Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2008 16:06
Posts: 33
Location: Blackpool
dcbwhaley wrote:
Mind Driver wrote:
county councils have to put the exact positioning, layout and junction, timing and reason for them into law in Ireland so I'm guessing temporary traffic lights have no legal basis. I imagine a dangerous driving charge is in order though for failing to stop at for a hazard


Yes. My driving instructor taught me that temporary traffic lights were advisory but if an accident occured because of ignoring the red light you could be guilty of dangerous driving. But some cursory research suggests that this changed in 1994.
Telegraph Article
I was also under the impression that you could legally pass a stuck-on-red light but that isn't so either.


Quite correct.

Temporary signals have the same legal status as permenant signals and no-one except a constable in uniform who is on site can instruct you to pass the signal on red. I would be surprised if temporary signals ever had "advisory" status though.

For temporary signals to be erected they must comply with TR-whateveritis, be erected by NRSWA accredited operatives, must work on VA unless under manual control or approved by the local authority and the layout must be approved by the local authority under the streetworks license issued for the works. If there isnt an emergency contact board on site, report the matter to the local authority as the site will be non compliant.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 21:38 
Offline
Life Member
Life Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 21:17
Posts: 3734
Location: Dorset/Somerset border
adam.L wrote:
Johnnytheboy wrote:
A thought's occurred to me: as my new car weighs 50% more than the old one, is my maximum permissible anger level reduced by 33%?

:lol:


:scratchchin: hmm, as I don't weigh much, does that mean when I run I can be twice as angry as a fat person, or does my extra speed mean I can only be the same amount of angry because I am going twice as fast???


:P

And as you lose more weight through running you earn the right to be even angrier!!!


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 06:39 
Offline
Supporter
Supporter
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 13:45
Posts: 4042
Location: Near Buxton, Derbyshire
Quote:
And as you lose more weight through running you earn the right to be even angrier!!!


That would be the best incentive to loosing weight I could think of :D

_________________
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:57 
Offline
User

Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 13:00
Posts: 919
dcbwhaley wrote:
Abercrombie wrote:
I put it with it for a few of minutes, but then I assume they are broken. They are too keen on putting lights around piddly little holes in the road. Whatsamatterwithem?


There was a set of tempry traffic lights I saw last week which appeared to be protecting nothing else but the generator set which ran the traffic lights :o


Yes. I often see cones protecting lanes that have been closed because they are full of other cones. The problem is that our MPs are each attached to a locality, so no-one governs the road domain (but QUANGOs). Each set of roads should have it's own MP; i.e. the Right Honourable Gordon Brown should be told to patrol the A838 on a bicycle.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 07:54 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 00:01
Posts: 2258
Location: South Wales
Related question, but is there anything in law that states if a light remains on red for a certain ridiculous length of time (I've been told 10 minutes) then you can assume they're broken and proceed with caution.

I've had to do this a couple of times in the past. Once on a pushbike that failed to trigger the inductive loops controling the lights from a minor -> major road and once more recently at a set of temporary lights.

It was a sunday afternoon on a rural road that only sees moderate use, yet I'd been waiting about 15 minutes and about 10 cars had got there before me. The queue was backed up about half a mile. I know the set of lights on the other side of the roadworks were working as a group of about 10 or so cars would come through, then none for a bit, then the next group and so on.

Eventually the guy at the front got fed up of this and after the next group came through, he just went through anyway. The entire queue then followed. I was stopping just afterwards anyway so watched and it took about 6 or 7 phases of the lights to get everyone through.

Should we have just waited there until Monday morning for someone to come and fix the lights?


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:19 
Offline
Supporter
Supporter
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 13:45
Posts: 4042
Location: Near Buxton, Derbyshire
Quote:
Related question, but is there anything in law that states if a light remains on red for a certain ridiculous length of time (I've been told 10 minutes) then you can assume they're broken and proceed with caution.


No, a red light is an absolute and can only be passed on the instructions of a police officer.

Quote:
Should we have just waited there until Monday morning for someone to come and fix the lights?
. No you should have telephoned the police (from outside you car of course) and accepted their instructions.

Personally I would have covered my number plates and crossed passed the lights with great caution

_________________
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:06 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 00:01
Posts: 2258
Location: South Wales
dcbwhaley wrote:
No you should have telephoned the police (from outside you car of course) and accepted their instructions.


This being Gwent Police, the instructions would've been along the lines of "**** off, I'm busy"


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:07 
Offline
Supporter
Supporter
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 13:45
Posts: 4042
Location: Near Buxton, Derbyshire
Lum wrote:
dcbwhaley wrote:
No you should have telephoned the police (from outside you car of course) and accepted their instructions.


This being Gwent Police, the instructions would've been along the lines of "**** off, I'm busy"


But that is an instruction to pass the red light :evil:

_________________
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 18:01 
Offline
Life Member
Life Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 21:17
Posts: 3734
Location: Dorset/Somerset border
It would be if you phoned a policeman somewhere behind you.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 22:56 
Offline
Member
Member

Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 19:08
Posts: 3434
Drifting slightly. Some local lights to me were out of action today,...bliss, no queues at all, where there would normally be between 8 and 30 cars waiting at different times of the day.

These lights are particularly annoying as, even at midnight, they have a habit of turning red against the main road traffic as you approach ,to give priority to a side road that is only ever busy when schools come out and at midnight probably sees one car every twenty minutes, if that.

This junction has had the same layout since mid seventies and lights on it for probably ten years now.....why oh why?????

http://www.multimap.com/maps/#map=52.66 ... %20TF4%203

_________________
My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 02:52 
Offline
Member
Member

Joined: Thu Jun 23, 2005 02:50
Posts: 2868
Location: Dorset
graball wrote:
These lights are particularly annoying as, even at midnight, they have a habit of turning red against the main road traffic as you approach ,to give priority to a side road that is only ever busy when schools come out and at midnight probably sees one car every twenty minutes, if that.

That happened at a junction in poole. I reported it as a possible sensor fault and apparently I was right. They replaced the sensor. Then by the time I got there again they replaced the entire set of lights. But anyway... Might be worth reporting it.

_________________
Andrew.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 07:44 
Offline
Supporter
Supporter
User avatar

Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2008 13:45
Posts: 4042
Location: Near Buxton, Derbyshire
graball wrote:
Drifting slightly. Some local lights to me were out of action today,...bliss, no queues at all, where there would normally be between 8 and 30 cars waiting at different times of the day.


OTHO. All the traffic lights in a small town neae here failed a few weeks ago. And , indeed, the traffic flowed more freely but it became very difficult for pedestrians to cross the roads.

[quote[These lights are particularly annoying as, even at midnight, they have a habit of turning red against the main road traffic as you approach ,to give priority to a side road that is only ever busy when schools come out and at midnight probably sees one car every twenty minutes, if that.[/quote]

I think that traffic detecting lights have to give a green light to each road occasionally, even if they don't detect any vehicles. The sensors sometime miss a vehicle.

_________________
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 09:47 
Offline
Friend of Safe Speed
Friend of Safe Speed
User avatar

Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:16
Posts: 7986
Location: Moved to London
dcbwhaley wrote:
graball wrote:
Drifting slightly. Some local lights to me were out of action today,...bliss, no queues at all, where there would normally be between 8 and 30 cars waiting at different times of the day.


OTHO. All the traffic lights in a small town neae here failed a few weeks ago. And , indeed, the traffic flowed more freely but it became very difficult for pedestrians to cross the roads.

Replace full-time lights with pedestrian Pelican or Puffin crossings. On roundabouts, phase them so only one or two phases at any time gives priority to pedestrians and have the lights set back from the entry point.

I've seen many combination traffic control/Pelican crossings that regularly have a full pedestrian priority phase, even if no one is at the crossing and the button hasn't been pushed. :(

_________________
Views expressed are personal opinions and are not necessarily shared by the Safe Speed campaign


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:02 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 23:28
Posts: 1940
adam.L wrote:
anton wrote:

If you ignore my mates lights you could find he has but them both to red for 5 min to work safely and a bloody great wooden pole through your windscreen!


why does having to wait for 5 minutes make him any safer??

you will still have the same amount of traffic going past, only there will be rightly irate and want to run down the people that set the lights up.



To be fair though..

If the works are LONG -then there may have to be a delay in the Green set for each end to allow the last cars to clear the area. (I am talking of ones which extend for say - 300 yards und more in length here :popcorn:

Also .. if the workers need to manoueuvre their cranes/diggers/JCB /forklifts whatever ... then they may need to halt both sides for a few extra minutes whilst they do so. I think this ist what liebster anton mean. :wink:

_________________
Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien
!


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:46 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 23:28
Posts: 1940
Lum wrote:
Related question, but is there anything in law that states if a light remains on red for a certain ridiculous length of time (I've been told 10 minutes) then you can assume they're broken and proceed with caution.

I've had to do this a couple of times in the past. Once on a pushbike that failed to trigger the inductive loops controling the lights from a minor -> major road and once more recently at a set of temporary lights.

It was a sunday afternoon on a rural road that only sees moderate use, yet I'd been waiting about 15 minutes and about 10 cars had got there before me. The queue was backed up about half a mile. I know the set of lights on the other side of the roadworks were working as a group of about 10 or so cars would come through, then none for a bit, then the next group and so on.

Eventually the guy at the front got fed up of this and after the next group came through, he just went through anyway. The entire queue then followed. I was stopping just afterwards anyway so watched and it took about 6 or 7 phases of the lights to get everyone through.

Should we have just waited there until Monday morning for someone to come and fix the lights?



I am sure IG covered this back in 2004. In 2005 - I then established mit Strassen :stop: the same information - back in 2005 -ish that all the tempo lights have a phone number. If they are stuck - you dial this number. Once you have done so - you have reported the fault und then have the authority under instruction to ignore the red light.


We never got around to establishing how those coming across the faulty lights later in the day proceeded - but perhaps as Street cop commented at the time - they would get so sick of the complaints that they would probably fix the lights as a priority :hehe: :roll: :bunker:

I think that ist the real gripe over these horrid lights when they fail. I recall one little old lady in a cottage around here - directing the traffic. The road works were directly outside her house. I have to say she did a marvellous job :bow: She was in her 80s und she kept phoning to tell these fools that the lights were not working - so she donned a brightly coloured pinny und armed herself with a rolling pin und directed the traffic :lol: What a star! :bounce1: :clap: :drink:

SO! the debate should be - how the hell do we get these lights fixed quickly? :scratchchin:


Streetcop for info und I am sure he will not mind my refering to his advice on the PH site of around 2005 as posted on PH was a prolific poster. No . we did not see eye to eye on speed cameras: he did support the vans and he was rightly scathing about the antics he saw around schools around his patch at the time. But there was a big difference with old Strassen in that like IG - he tried to talk about good driving practice as well as give some insight into what his job required of him.

=============================
Background to Streetcop on PH once upon a time (Streetcop - trafpol for S Yorks who gave up on PH after various posters posted nasty comments (never banned by the way as the site allowed "free speech" in those days :wink: or was not moderated by a clique of fairly bigoted party line cops who have chosen not to do paid overtime but offer their services for free :popcorn: ) because he did a stint - as required by his guvs at the time) in a cam van or something :roll: Anyway - Streetcop later tell me in private phone chat after exchange of e-mail that he loved bantering with me und even said he thought I should have joined the police "because of my sharp mind - never mind the claws :rotfl: - und sensible appproach to driving - which he meant as a compliment :shock:)

_________________
Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien
!


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 18:38 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 00:01
Posts: 2258
Location: South Wales
I never noticed a phone number on them, but I wasn't at the front of the queue, so I wouldn't have done.

Problem is if you have to get out and leave your car to read the number, they could change which would cause problems, and it's illegal to use your phone in the car anyway.

Another thing I've noticed locals doing at temp lights around this area, at night is when someone is approaching a light and they change to red, as soon as the cars ahead of them have cleared the junction, the person stopped will flash their lights a few times to the person waiting at the other end who will often then go even if the lights on that end haven't changed to green yet.

Illegal? Absolutely, but it helps the traffic flow if the all red phase is overly long.


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 20:09 
Offline
User
User avatar

Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 23:28
Posts: 1940
Lum wrote:
I never noticed a phone number on them, but I wasn't at the front of the queue, so I wouldn't have done.

Problem is if you have to get out and leave your car to read the number, they could change which would cause problems, and it's illegal to use your phone in the car anyway.



JA ..I know .. I think you might say "Catch 22" on this one :roll:

If they are obviously stuck .. per IG und later Streetcop :bow: on PH (und he had sense of humour.. und honour. He was quite a nice bloke und despite the on line banter - we gealong fine off line :lol:) But f the lights are obviously STUCK - get out of car. You can only see this number if out of car. Tell them you have had to park up car to make the call. If they change whilst you are reporting the perceived "fault" - then tell them that the sequencing ist confusing to road users given the lengthy waits here. You have to cover self for decision to "run the red" :wink:

Lum wrote:
Another thing I've noticed locals doing at temp lights around this area, at night is when someone is approaching a light and they change to red, as soon as the cars ahead of them have cleared the junction, the person stopped will flash their lights a few times to the person waiting at the other end who will often then go even if the lights on that end haven't changed to green yet.

Illegal? Absolutely, but it helps the traffic flow if the all red phase is overly long.



Well maybe.. but who ist gonna be a "tell tale tit whose tongue wlll split" :wink: on this one? :) Locals know a thing or two :hehe: That old lady I mention earlier? She ist one savvy cool dude despite her age :bow: Ja// I know her und I "love her to bits" as kindred spirit of sassy fair play :bow:

Never underestimatethe local "nous". They know the law.. the layout ..the law und the lore :wink:

I find this on recce recent to Arizona :lol:

_________________
Nicht ganz im Lot!
Ich setze mich immer wieder in die Nesseln! Der Mad Doc ist mein Mann! Und ich benutzte seinen PC!

UND OUR SMILEYS? Smile ... und the the world smiles with you.
Smiley guy seen when you read
Fine me for Safe Speed
(& other good causes..)

Greatest love & Greatest Achievements Require Greatest Risk
But if you lose the driving plan - don't lose the COAST lesson.
Me?
Je ne regrette rien
!


Top
 Profile Send private message  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 81 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

All times are UTC [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 75 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You can post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
[ Time : 0.093s | 11 Queries | GZIP : Off ]