British traffic signal lights
 

On TV news footage from London today I noticed something unusual about
the traffic lights. A couple times I saw the lights change from red
and yellow (both illuminated) to green. I have never seen such a thing
here in the States. What does simultaneous red and yellow mean in
Britain?

--
Paul Hirose >
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"Paul Hirose" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> On TV news footage from London today I noticed something unusual about the
> traffic lights. A couple times I saw the lights change from red and yellow
> (both illuminated) to green. I have never seen such a thing here in the
> States. What does simultaneous red and yellow mean in Britain?
>

>

It's the opposite of a yellow light in the US, I believe. In other words,
it's saying that green is coming soon. Keep in mind that most cars over
there are supposedly manual transmissions, and parking brakes must be set at
traffic lights. -Dave

"Paul Hirose" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> On TV news footage from London today I noticed something unusual about the
> traffic lights. A couple times I saw the lights change from red and yellow
> (both illuminated) to green. I have never seen such a thing here in the
> States. What does simultaneous red and yellow mean in Britain?

When I was very young (cica 1959) the traffic lights in my home town worked
like that. The yellow light came on on both the green and red sides of the
light at the same time. Back then it did not casue any problems. However,
given the way people drive today, I think giving them to much warning of an
impending green would increase the frequency of accidents. Between the
people trying to beat the red, and the people trying to burn out as soon as
the light turns green, I am guessing there would be more collisions. As it
is, most of the lights I encounter have a pause between the light turning
red on one side and the light turning green in the cross direction. I assume
this to allow for people trying to beat the red to clear the intersection.
Things would work better if people would show a little patience and just be
ready to go after the light turns green, and not try to beat the red.

Ed

Ed

In article <PATDe.192893$nG6.404@attbi_s22>,
C. E. White > wrote:
>Things would work better if people would show a little patience and just be
>ready to go after the light turns green, and not try to beat the red.

An attentive driver waiting at a red light at a familiar intersection
will notice when the previous phase is going, and may be in a position
to notice whether that phase's light has turned yellow. In that case,
s/he can (a) check for likely red light runners, and (b) prepare to go
immediately on green if there are no red light runners or others who are
slow in clearing the intersection.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Lee
Unsolicited bulk or commercial email is not welcome.
No warranty of any kind is provided with this message.

Hi,

Yes, red-yellow means green-imminent. Generally: if you're on pole,
raise revs to over 5k and get ready to dump the clutch!

Cheers, John.

On Thu, 21 Jul 2005, Paul Hirose wrote:

> Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 18:55:37 GMT
> From: Paul Hirose >
> Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
> Subject: British traffic signal lights
>
> On TV news footage from London today I noticed something unusual about the
> traffic lights. A couple times I saw the lights change from red and yellow
> (both illuminated) to green. I have never seen such a thing here in the
> States. What does simultaneous red and yellow mean in Britain?
>
>

--
************************************************** ****************

Helsinki Institute of Physics
Technology Program
CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.

tel. +41 (0)22 767-7543

************************************************** ****************

so it's like a yellow light on a heads-up christmas tree then :)

nate

wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Yes, red-yellow means green-imminent. Generally: if you're on pole,
> raise revs to over 5k and get ready to dump the clutch!
>
> Cheers, John.
>
> On Thu, 21 Jul 2005, Paul Hirose wrote:
>
> > Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 18:55:37 GMT
> > From: Paul Hirose >
> > Newsgroups: rec.autos.driving
> > Subject: British traffic signal lights
> >
> > On TV news footage from London today I noticed something unusual about the
> > traffic lights. A couple times I saw the lights change from red and yellow
> > (both illuminated) to green. I have never seen such a thing here in the
> > States. What does simultaneous red and yellow mean in Britain?
> >
> >
>
> --
> ************************************************** ****************
>
> Helsinki Institute of Physics
> Technology Program
> CERN, Geneva, Switzerland.
>
> tel. +41 (0)22 767-7543
>
> ************************************************** ****************

Timothy J. Lee wrote:
> In article <PATDe.192893$nG6.404@attbi_s22>,
> C. E. White > wrote:
> >Things would work better if people would show a little patience and just be
> >ready to go after the light turns green, and not try to beat the red.
>
> An attentive driver waiting at a red light at a familiar intersection
> will notice when the previous phase is going, and may be in a position
> to notice whether that phase's light has turned yellow. In that case,
> s/he can (a) check for likely red light runners, and (b) prepare to go
> immediately on green if there are no red light runners or others who are
> slow in clearing the intersection.
>

I bet if the red-yellow were implemented here, we'd see less red light
running, reason being that people will get more ****ed off and honk
more often at RLRs because they're already ready to go when the RLR
flies in front of their nose...

'course a few of them might get creamed in the process, but such is
life...

nate

(they deserve it)

N8N wrote:

> Timothy J. Lee wrote:
> > In article <PATDe.192893$nG6.404@attbi_s22>,
> > C. E. White > wrote:
> > >Things would work better if people would show a little patience and just be
> > >ready to go after the light turns green, and not try to beat the red.
> >
> > An attentive driver waiting at a red light at a familiar intersection
> > will notice when the previous phase is going, and may be in a position
> > to notice whether that phase's light has turned yellow. In that case,
> > s/he can (a) check for likely red light runners, and (b) prepare to go
> > immediately on green if there are no red light runners or others who are
> > slow in clearing the intersection.
> >
>
> I bet if the red-yellow were implemented here, we'd see less red light
> running, reason being that people will get more ****ed off and honk
> more often at RLRs because they're already ready to go when the RLR
> flies in front of their nose...
>
> 'course a few of them might get creamed in the process, but such is
> life...

There is actually several seconds pause when all lights are red to allow the
junction to clear in the UK.

The red+amber is indeed intended to allow you to slip the car into gear again and
release the handbrake before setting off on green.

Graham

I does mean get ready to go and once you have passed your test there is no
need to have the emergency brake while seating at traffic lights and 99% of
people do not do this.

I loved the comment about since most cars are manual, it amazes how many
america drivers take forever to move when the light turns green and the
intersection is clear and I know that they are driving an automatic. I
think this why it takes two tries to get through traffic lights and it does
not help that 99% of the roadways use traffic lights and stop signs.


"Paul Hirose" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> On TV news footage from London today I noticed something unusual about the
> traffic lights. A couple times I saw the lights change from red and yellow
> (both illuminated) to green. I have never seen such a thing here in the
> States. What does simultaneous red and yellow mean in Britain?
>
> --
> Paul Hirose >
> To reply by email remove INVALID
>

wrote:

> I does mean get ready to go and once you have passed your test there is no
> need to have the emergency brake while seating at traffic lights and 99% of
> people do not do this.

I'd disagree with your 99% figure. Somewhere either side of 50% depending on
situation and driver preference.

If you're waiting on a hill, setting the handbrake is virtually essential. If
the lights have just turned red, it's normally more comfortable to select
neutral and set the brake than wait in gear with both clutch and footbake
depressed.

Both styles are used.

> I loved the comment about since most cars are manual, it amazes how many
> america drivers take forever to move when the light turns green and the
> intersection is clear and I know that they are driving an automatic. I
> think this why it takes two tries to get through traffic lights and it does
> not help that 99% of the roadways use traffic lights and stop signs.

No-one round here is slow to move off and manual gearbox equipped cars pull away
much faster than any automatic I've been in.

Graham