Should we get rid off all Traffic Lights?

Freakbro

Freakbro

Freakbro

Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2010
Posts
24,203
Location
Lincs
I know this may seem like a counterintuative position, but in the few studies done it does seem traffic lights end up causing more congestion than they alleviate, with maybe no increase in safety.

A good case for this is put forward in this article.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18072259

The general gist being that traffic lights, being an artificial intervention in your journey, are a distraction. As you approach them are are concentrating on them rather than the road in general. If they go amber as you are just at that wrong distance away, you have the split decision of whether you brake harder than normal to stop or speed up to make it through in time, neither generally safe actions.

They also cause congestion and unnecessary delay with the time wasted while you are sat at a red light while the road is clear.

Now, without any traffic lights you would have to approach a junction/crossroads slower and being far more alert and aware of what the other traffic was doing and filter through with it, which by definition, is a safer form of driving. And the traffic would just flow, rather than the artificial start/stop we have now.

It's a thought provoking article and link to the full podcast of the radio 4 programme.
 
Now, without any traffic lights you would have to approach a junction/crossroads slower and being far more alert and aware of what the other traffic was doing and filter through with it, which by definition, is a safer form of driving. And the traffic would just flow, rather than the artificial start/stop we have now.
Click to expand...
I totally disagree with this! In fact it borders on sounding ridiculous - sorry!
I would rather people rely on something definitive to aid them, rather than use their own judgement. I imagine there are some people out there who would always make the correct assumption when approaching an interchange. But, without controls in place, too many would be encouraged to take risks.
 
you just have to see what utter chaos it brings when sometimes traffic lights are faulty/not in operation, to know this is a bad idea... 95% of the public are idiotic morons
 
I agree with removing some, but not others. For instance, near where I live is the Huntingdon Ring Road, scene of a major jam every morning and evening due to bad design (rumour has it that town Councillors come from all over Europe to see how not to do such things). Every now and again the lights controlling it break down, and on those occasions it flows beautifully, with no hold-ups at all. But it's a special case: a road where the main carriageway has a lot of roads on and off, plus pedestrian crossing, and thus the lights interrupt the flow of the vast majority of the traffic which wants to stay on the main road. Conversely, just up the road in Cambridge is Elizabeth Way Roundabout, where adding the lights to a roundabout eased the congestion no end. Because the problem there was completely different: vast differences in the amount of traffic coming from each feed road, but resulting in small but constant feeding from one road blocking off a much more popular one.

And that's the reason for most lights: to balance priorities. In some case, they really are needed, but in other cases are not. But a scheme being proposed, which relies on motorists behaving in a sensible, safe and considerate manner, is not one I want to be anywhere near. Because they don't behave like that.


M
 
This is why I said it seems counterintuative, that doesn't mean it's wrong.

Another article about Coventry trying the 'shared space' junction with no lights.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-16598276

And they found they had less accidents, 1 in 14 weeks compared to on average 1 in 6 weeks with the lights (admittedly this is too small a time frame to make real extrapolations), average speed in the city centre was slower and traffic flowed faster.

Seems to point against what you think you 'know' - as do other examples where they have tried it.

you just have to see what utter chaos it brings when sometimes traffic lights are faulty/not in operation, to know this is a bad idea... 95% of the public are idiotic morons
Click to expand...

Actually, every time I have come to junctions without working lights it has been fine. And No, 95% of the public are completely sensible and curteous drivers, 5% are idiots.

and 63% of all statistics are made up on the spot ;)
 
Last edited:
I think getting rid of traffic lights on roundabouts would make a fair amount of sense. The town centre here clogs up totally when they put in a round about then added traffic lights, when the lights are out the traffic flows considerably better.

I think a targeted approach to turning them off would work but turning all off would be insane.
 
Pedestrians would not be able to cross safely at juctions. Drivers would panick at certain blind junctions and busy juctions. More power-rangers would be deaded as well as a load of drivers.

Traffic lights help conjestion. They make it fair, stop a few to let a few go. I know plenty of road where if there wasn't traffic light, you would be there all day.

If anything we need more traffic lights.

I dont understand how anyone with a braincell would agree with the op link, sorry....
 
Domo said:
But, without controls in place, too many would be encouraged to take risks.
Click to expand...

I think you have hit the nail on the head there. This is the instinctive thought we have that would happen, but it seems the opposite actually happens.

Because you are now 'in charge' and responsible for your own actions and how they interact with others, you end up taking more care and attention of what you are doing than when you are just being told what to do.
 
Last edited:
Rybo89 said:
Traffic lights help conjestion. They make it fair, stop a few to let a few go. I know plenty of road where if there wasn't traffic light, you would be there all day.
Click to expand...

That's where you are missing the point about the priority system and how that should go as well. If all roads had equal priority, then you would not get the result of 1 lane of traffic trundling through stopping all others.

I dont understand how anyone with a braincell would agree with the op link, sorry....
Click to expand...

No need to apologise, it's just a discussion and you can put forward your opinion :)

But like I say studies and practice seem to be saying the opposite of what you are...maybe there is more information out there, I dont know
 
In some cases it can be a good step. In my town of Boston they got rid of the traffic lights on the main roundabout going into the center of town and it has improved things massively. Yet the far biggest and best solution that everyone has been campaigning for a long time is a bypass.

I wouldn't want to drive through a major city without traffic lights, Sheffield and London Especially.
 
Tbh, most of the to.e traffic lights are simply not requires. Most traffic lights should be part time lights. I.e there is a set of lights on The roundabout underneath which traffic lights were added as rush hour is a nightmare for other cars. Howe er, they are on through the night and when traffic flow is light enough not to need it.

Think of how much co2 and electricity could be saved by just using them when required.
 
2 roundabouts in Chesterfield had traffic lights put on them in the last few years, since the lights have been put in accidents have increased, I want to say doubled, or tripled, but I just don't know the official statistics, I just know that I've noticed a lot more accidents happen on the roundabouts than there used to be.

It's great when the traffic lights are broke, means there are no traffic jams as traffic flows freely.

It's like they don't even trust people to drive their car by themselves anymore (yeah yeah, I know following a sat-nav into a river doesn't exactly provide evidence to support this) but come on, isn't whacking traffic lights on every roundabout just defeating the point of having a roundabout there in the first place? not to mention wasting a ton of money that should be spent fixing the roads properly?

(I'll save that rant about a pot hole near me that has been fixed twice in 4 months....do it properly, spend more money buying better quality materials and then you won't have to spend even more money paying 4 guys to stand around bodging it every 2 months
 
When I was driving in Texas last month, I noticed that there was lots of stop junctions, with some being crossroad junctions (four directions). You are supposed to let others go before you if you saw them at the junction before you arrived, and everyone did just that so it was smooth and pleasant. With that said, I still saw a lot of traffic lights.
 
Some roundabouts need traffic lights, some don't.

http://g.co/maps/nfzuj

This one for example at 5pm is absolutely horrible and badly needs traffic lights.

Traffic can stretch most of the way down from the direction you are heading and it's a **** to get out as the traffic coming from the A174 and B1380 generally have no interruption and it's just free flowing meaning you are ****ed :(
 
Freakbro said:
No need to apologise, it's just a discussion and you can put forward your opinion :)
Click to expand...

Grumpy morning mood :p

Traffic light have there advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, its better to have them there than it would be to not have them there.

Jay, you will be talking about the Tesco roundabout and the A61 roundabout. They both have loads of accidents because muppets run the red lights and lorries take the A61 roundabout to quick and end up on there side.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom