Temporary traffic lights - most pointless

[Squaredy]

Do temporary traffic lights wind you up when there is just no need?

 

I saw my favourite of the year so far yesterday, and still there today.

 

Have a look at the vid - there is just a bit of empty road with lights around it.  Nothing just finished, no big tree on the verge being worked on.  Maybe some work scheduled but no sign of it starting yet.  And this is a very busy A road.  If the motorway gets blocked (as the South Wales M4 often does) this road handles continuous traffic in both directions.

 

Anyone better that?

[Billhook]

Definitely a big wind up for me also.  Outrageous the lights in your video but there are plenty of examples of a tiny hole in the side of the road that could easily be coned off with just warning signs.  Cannot be more difficult than coming across a parked car or a cyclist, both without any warning.

There are many where they have been working all day cutting the verge with no potholes where thay just cannot be bothered to take them down after work

I have seen a pair of lights about ten yards apart protecting a tiny hole on the side of a very straight road where you can see for a mile in both directions.  I presume that by crossing a red light in those circumstances you would have the same weight of law thrust at you as jumping a red light in the middle of London, unless anyone on here knows any better.  Are they ever advisory?

[Squaredy]

5 minutes ago, Billhook said:

Definitely a big wind up for me also.  Outrageous the lights in your video but there are plenty of examples of a tiny hole in the side of the road that could easily be coned off with just warning signs.  Cannot be more difficult than coming across a parked car or a cyclist, both without any warning.

There are many where they have been working all day cutting the verge with no potholes where thay just cannot be bothered to take them down after work

I have seen a pair of lights about ten yards apart protecting a tiny hole on the side of a very straight road where you can see for a mile in both directions.  I presume that by crossing a red light in those circumstances you would have the same weight of law thrust at you as jumping a red light in the middle of London, unless anyone on here knows any better.  Are they ever advisory?

I could be wrong but I am fairly certain the law does not distinguish between types of traffic light.

[Canal Navvy]

It's all arse covering, if the consequent accidents and incidents on the surrounding roads were included in their risk assessments it wouldn't be acceptable ?

[Billhook]

https://www.rac.co.uk/discuss/forum/driving/driving-discussion-aa/motoring-discussion/7799-traffic-light-frozen-on-red

 

 

Although the law seems clear that there are no circumstances when you can cross a red light, what about emergency vehicles and even civilian vehicles trying to make it to hospital for child birth or accidents.

[spuddog0507]

There was one set very much like the set in your video up here just north of preston a few months ago on the A6, lights up and working and a section of road coned off but nothing going on work wise, later in the morning there was a accident on the M6 that closed all 3 south bound lanes and 2 of the north bound lanes, all traffic of the M6 was diverted down the A6 but the said tempory traffic lights caused a 37 mile tail back after 4 hrs, all roads around us where choked up till near on midnight, and the amount of these sets of lights that are used nowadays are beyond belief,

[scbk]

This oil tanker went off the road and landed half in the field

 

 

 

 

The lorry was recovered, and traffic lights were put up to close off that side of the road (the stone wall was damaged)

 

2 months later, the traffic lights are still there. Work to repair the wall hasn't even started yet.

No doubt the insurance companies are dragging their heels?

 

I bet if there was a charge per hour for the being road closed off, they would pull their finger out.

[Billhook]

One other thought on the subject is something I bet that thousands do every day and  everyone of us has done at some time, and that it to follow the last cars in a queue at a roadworks past a red light.  There may be three or four cars in front and a couple behind doing it.   There is generally such a delay in the lights changing over that when you reach the other end they are still on red so that you gave not even inconvenienced anybody.

How can that receive the same punishment as somebody jumping the lights on a M25 roundabout or fast main road junction?

[Toad]

8 minutes ago, Billhook said:

One other thought on the subject is something I bet that thousands do every day and  everyone of us has done at some time, and that it to follow the last cars in a queue at a roadworks past a red light.  There may be three or four cars in front and a couple behind doing it.   There is generally such a delay in the lights changing over that when you reach the other end they are still on red so that you gave not even inconvenienced anybody.

How can that receive the same punishment as somebody jumping the lights on a M25 roundabout or fast main road junction?

Some temporary traffic lights will sense the cars passing after switching to red and will hold the all red phase for longer as a safety measure, therefore you're making the problem worse.

[Squaredy]

7 hours ago, Billhook said:

https://www.rac.co.uk/discuss/forum/driving/driving-discussion-aa/motoring-discussion/7799-traffic-light-frozen-on-red

 

 

Although the law seems clear that there are no circumstances when you can cross a red light, what about emergency vehicles and even civilian vehicles trying to make it to hospital for child birth or accidents.

Strictly speaking emergency vehicles also cannot pass a red light.  Every now and then there is a case where a driver of such a vehicle is prosecuted if it is felt the action is not justified by the emergency.