Safe Speed Forums

Well I never thought I would be making one of these threads, but today I ran a stop light. The incident in question was because I am far too used to the kind of pedestrian crossing lights which flash yellow after the red light. The set that I ran was the kind which goes red and yellow after the red phase and seems to stay on red was a hell of a lot longer than it takes for the other kind to go flashing yellow. So what happened was, approaching a set of lights I saw them change to red, all fine, came to a smooth stop. All pedestrians go, I do my habitual check of each side of the pavement, then, without checking the traffic lights, I start to move. When I realised they were red I came to an immediate halt half way over the line. Being a trainee advanced driver I should know better. I looked up at the traffic light set and saw the dreaded red light camera sitting ontop of the lights for each way. They look like miniture square floodlights. Why I am posting this is just to say "be careful" basically. It only takes 1 mistake...

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

Do not beat yourself up over this. Keep calm. Did that scam flash you? You may have been beyond the trig loop.. . ,. you know that black rubbery looking stuff abut a car length before the lights. Stay calm here as best you can Flynn - mein Liebster. If you do get NIP.. go back with video. Then decide next move based on this colder und calmer observation. Did you see any flash? Keep calm und chalk to learning curve anyway ist best I can suggest right now to help you here.

It may not have registered your movement. I would not like to give false hope . but are you sure it pinged you here?

Seek legal advice. There are free half hour sessions if you shop around .. I suggest in case of worst scenario which I hope not happen ..it would be roughest justice to contest based on your post .. I wish you well.. with all my heart.

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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!

Awww, thanks There was no flash or anything, I think such cameras are infra red so they don't make flashes I don't recall any rubber thing in the road-I was too busy looking at my executioner (the camera) and feeling a bit stupid, which, admittedly, I was. There was a thick white line in the road for the stop sign as always. Apparently lots of them are underground sensors. The irony is that I had just used this crossing to get to the parking lot. It makes me wish I had a good look at the site now Normally if there is anything out of the ordinary then I'll make a mental note of it. Like you said I'll try to learn from this and I'll keeping trying to drive better.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

Miniature things like CCTV atop the lights are not cameras.

Yes, they're just traffic sensors.

I've never read of a red light camera at a Pelican/Puffin crossing.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

That does seem to be a good way to deal with puffin crossings, wait for pedestrians to cross, check around for police, ignore red light because it's safe to continue.

As pointed out the things atop traffic lights aren't cameras, they are (usually/always?) radar heads, to detect traffic. Puffins also have other (often radar) heads to detect pedestrians too. Very intelligent. (That's why they cost so much.) More intelligent than your eyes. You can't be trusted. Council knows best.

All red light cameras I have read about so far are mounted behind the lights, to get the red light in the photo.


I think I have heard of one. I believe it was in london. They appear to be rare though - probably not profitable enough.

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Andrew.

Is that a joke?

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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

I see...I will not be convinced until 13 days from now. Besides, there might have been other cameras as well as those, I was focusing on the crossings not what was before/after it. Either way I hope to not make that mistake again.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

The crossings are a joke.


If you can get back to the crossing have a close look at the sensor, it'll probably have a make and model number if it doesn't say "Radar" on the side.

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Andrew.

Ziltro, it was a Siemens one.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

I don't think they have anything which is type approved as a red light camera.

You also might want to check your local SCP's web site for a listing of all red light camera sites, if they have one.

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Andrew.

Cheers Ziltro. I was orbiting the shopping centre: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sourc ... earch+Maps

There are cams scarily close:

http://www.kmscp.org/site_information.htm#f_medway

I don't know exactly which road I was on.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

Well it is exactly 14 days after and I didn't get any nasty surprises in the post. I still regret the incident as much as if I had though. It was a serious mistake and I made myself vulnerable to a ticket. Not to mention that would have been half my license until May. How can I be an advanced driver if I make such a serious error of observation? Rhetorical question, btw.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

Not certain of type of crossing ,but somewhere on the Gotham (yes there is such a place)village to Clifton there is at least one pedestrian crossing with red light cameras ( similar to the smaller version of Gatso).

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Yes but as I understand it they are mounted away from the lights and are by no means fixed on top of them.

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Currently undergoing training with the I.A.M.

You are one because you were aware of the error almost as soon as you made it. Youhave tried to evaluate WHY you made it.. und feel horrified that you missed something. Thus.. you have thought about it.. und now make conscious effort never to repeat to best of ability.




Which makes you an advanced driver .. und worthy of calling yourself one

_________________
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!

The fact that you have analysed the problem and aware that you made a mistake will no doubt make you more aware of the hazard in the future and make you a safer driver. Be thankful you dont work on the railways - you got away with this one; if you were a train driver it would be on your record for the duration of your career!

However, it is an easy mistake to make, especially when the crossing period is extended artificially by either faulty on-crossing detectors or inappropriate timings set by the local authority, which in general gives puffins the bad name that they have. I must admit that some of my crossings dont work as well as they should, however I just have not had time to go around and give them the attention that they need... but at least the new ones I have installed work correctly and change as soon as the peds are nearly off the crossing.

I fully endorse both Wildy's and Boing's comments.

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

Flynn - the fact that you castigate you're self for missing a pedestrian light means that you expect you're self to drive to high standards .By punishing yourself you could be missing out on vital road information and looking for other things that possibly might not be there . You've seen the light ( red/yellow/green) -pass by and start driving again -that way you will get the confidence to be an excellent driver back .Stop dwelling on the mistakes - analyse them ,learn from them and apply the knowledge to become a better driver .I've been driving for 43(ten years on the only single track A road in the uk) and still am looking for ways to become a better driver (apart from taking on board tips from IG-)-so sit back and listen to one of the few sources of FREE driver education --IG inc .I can heartily recommend it .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Flynn,

No one got hurt. Nothing was damaged. No one got caught.
That means it's up to you to decide what to learn from this situation.

To be brief, I'll leave it at this:
What assumption did you make? How did that assumption fail you? What could you do differently next time to enhance your performance next time?

Being a trainee advanced driver who should know better, you made a relatively mild mistake - in terms of the potential consequences - and now you do know better. Had a less advanced driver made that mistake, it

a) could've been accompanied by graver consequences
b) might not have resulted in as valuable a lesson.

Luck is the residue of design. Good luck.

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The Rules for ALL ROAD USERS:
1) No one gets hurt
2) Nothing gets hit, except to protect others; see Rule#1
3) The Laws of Physics are invincible and immutable - so-called 'laws' of men are not
4) You are always immediately and ultimately responsible for your safety first, then proximately responsible for everyone's
Do not let other road users' mistakes become yours, nor yours become others
5) The rest, including laws of the land, is thoughtful observation, prescience, etiquette, decorum, and cooperation