red light cameras

[Amazon 7]

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Although at intersections there is still the risk of a 90 degree impact, one of the worst impacts for damage and injury.
One way streets do nothing to deal with intersections.
They improve the flow of large volumes of traffic.

This looks like a fun intersection

[champu 1]

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Although at intersections there is still the risk of a 90 degree impact, one of the worst impacts for damage and injury. One way streets do nothing to deal with intersections. They improve the flow of large volumes of traffic.

Two one-ways interecting is inherently safer than an interection involving one or more two-way streets, but you're right, you can still get t-boned. Well thought out one-ways are the next best thing to roundabouts in cities though.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Two one-ways interecting is inherently safer than an interection involving one or more two-way streets, but you're right, you can still get t-boned. Well thought out one-ways are the next best thing to roundabouts in cities though.

You can still get tboned (or close to it) with a round about if the person entering doesn't bother to look.

you'd think self preservation would be motivation enough, but it sure as hell isn't.

Long Beach has one notable roundabout; local lore has it that the designer's daughter died traversing it.

[Radioahole 0]

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>That has to be worst idea I have EVER seen for traffic control.

I beg to differ.

When I lived in Boston, there was one way to get to the airport. You'd take the 93 to the Haymarket exit. At the end of the exit ramp, five streets converged. One was the exit. The second was one of the streets that went around Fanueil Hall, a major tourist attraction. The third was North St, a major urban thoroughfare. The fourth was the main entrance to the Haymarket, where traffic never moved. The fifth was the entrance to the Callahan Tunnel which went to the airport.

The traffic control here? A single blinking yellow light with a caution sign under it. I never figured out what that blinking yellow light meant, other than perhaps "drive like you've been pithed" which is the effect it seemed to have on people.

In addition, it should be mentioned that Haymarket, a big open air market, had almost no parking. So people would park nearby and cross that intersection to get to the market. There were, of course, no crossing signs or pedestrian paths, just traffic barriers that changed position semi-randomly, like chess pieces in a year-long game.

There were hour long discussions in the dorms on techniques to handle this intersection. The most commonly used trick was to get on the right of the exit (although the tunnel was to the left) just to the right of a tourist. The tourist would attempt to make the left but invariably be stopped by a taxi from the North End, who would get in front of said tourist then stop to scream at him. At that point the tourist would be screening the taxi (so the taxi driver couldn't see you) and the taxi would be blocking the traffic behind him. That would give you the opportunity to move ahead, make a fake to the right (as if you were going to Fanueil Hall) then make the left into the tunnel.

And this was the access to the airport in one of the busier cities in the US.

THAT was the worst idea I had ever seen for traffic control.

That is absolutely zero traffic control. Must be a Massachusetts thing.

[Radioahole 0]

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Hey if any of you think that normal roundabouts are retarded ... take a look at the Magic Roundabout in Swindon....

Magic Roundabout

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This is better..... NUTZ but better

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

[randompoints 0]

+1 on changing length of yellow's. One of our consumer groups have been timing them and the RLC are always way off.

There is a formula that is ran to determine how long a yellow should be. shorter for slower speed limits and longer for faster.

45 mph = about 5 seconds this gives u time to make the judgement call and stop safetly if ur not under the yellow.

In dallas all of the 45 mph RLC camera's on the last sweep had yellow's of 2.5-3.5 seconds. and you wonder why fender benders increase, everyone slamming on their breaks trying to avoid the ticket.

its about $$ that is all

[Radioahole 0]

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+1 on changing length of yellow's. One of our consumer groups have been timing them and the RLC are always way off.

There is a formula that is ran to determine how long a yellow should be. shorter for slower speed limits and longer for faster.

45 mph = about 5 seconds this gives u time to make the judgement call and stop safetly if ur not under the yellow.

In dallas all of the 45 mph RLC camera's on the last sweep had yellow's of 2.5-3.5 seconds. and you wonder why fender benders increase, everyone slamming on their breaks trying to avoid the ticket.

its about $$ that is all

You nailed it. I'm in Dallas myself. Seen the short yellows, been caught by it a time or two. Basturds.

[Bolas 5]

They solved 99% of the running red light issues that caused crashes years ago when they put in the pause before changing the next lights in the cycle to green. Next time at a light at night, you can easily see the pause in the lights.

These days you have to extremely blatantly run a red light to even have to worry about colliding with the next released group of cars.

It's all about $$$.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[champu 1]

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Two one-ways interecting is inherently safer than an interection involving one or more two-way streets, but you're right, you can still get t-boned. Well thought out one-ways are the next best thing to roundabouts in cities though.

You can still get tboned (or close to it) with a round about if the person entering doesn't bother to look.

you'd think self preservation would be motivation enough, but it sure as hell isn't.

Long Beach has one notable roundabout; local lore has it that the designer's daughter died traversing it.

Like I said in my earlier post, great idea, but too much yielding required for American drivers. Speaking of the Long Beach roundabout, let's take a look on street view to see how well th- oh, what a surprise, someone got run off the road.

[billvon 2,991]

>They solved 99% of the running red light issues that caused crashes years
>ago when they put in the pause before changing the next lights in the cycle
>to green.

That doesn't work here any more. People are now used to the pause, so they know they have another few seconds to run the light*. Basically it's Booth's Law applied to traffic lights.

(* - except the ones with red light cameras, that is.)

[Bolas 5]

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That doesn't work here any more. People are now used to the pause, so they know they have another few seconds to run the light

Which they can do safely...

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These days you have to extremely blatantly run a red light to even have to worry about colliding with the next released group of cars.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[billvon 2,991]

>Which they can do safely.

It's just as dangerous to run a red light with a two second delay after three seconds than it is to run a red light with no delay after one second. And at least here, people are figuring that out.

[NWFlyer 2]

Yep. About 7 years ago I was hit by a car (as a pedestrian) in Seattle after two cars collided in the intersection and one hit me (one had run the red light). A few months before that a pedestrian was killed at that intersection as a result of a similar accident, and a few months after, two cars collided but (fortunately) no pedestrians were involved even though one car ended up on the sidewalk.

After the third incident, my employer and other employers with offices at the intersection were particularly concerned about the safety of their people, who often traversed this intersection on foot going to/from lunch and to/from parking lots or buses.

They invited a traffic engineer from the city out to talk about the intersection and whether there was anything that could be done to make it safer, particularly for pedestrians. Since I was a party to one of the incidents, I was invited to tag along. It was interesting to talk to him - he said basically the same thing you're saying - statistically speaking there's a "sweet spot" of red-to-green delays, and if you go too long, it just encourages red light runners to continue to run the light.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[champu 1]

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>Which they can do safely.

It's just as dangerous to run a red light with a two second delay after three seconds than it is to run a red light with no delay after one second. And at least here, people are figuring that out.

It could actually be more dangerous if knowledge of the delay makes drivers even less cautious about entering an intersection when they get a green light (if that's even possible.)

[rehmwa 2]

In my work neighborhood - if you are at any local red light, you wait for it to turn green - then you wait for the three additional narcisistic yuppies to run the cross street red light - then you cautiously proceed. Unless their lane was backed up the next block down - then you and everyone else also have to wait while they sit in the intersection waiting for 'their' lane to proceed

fortunately, there's plenty of traffic cops a couple blocks away ticketing people for tinted windows and going 37 in a 35 zone and other stuff like that

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Bolas 5]

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>Which they can do safely.

It's just as dangerous to run a red light with a two second delay after three seconds than it is to run a red light with no delay after one second. And at least here, people are figuring that out.

It could actually be more dangerous if knowledge of the delay makes drivers even less cautious about entering an intersection when they get a green light (if that's even possible.)

The way I see it you have 3 groups of drivers running red lights.

Speeding up for the yellow but turns red too late for them to stop safely at the line.
Just turned red but choose to go anyways as they are right at the line.
Been red for a few seconds when they cross the line and the next set of cars are either about to be released or have been.

The delay timing really only effects the last group of drivers as any delay of more than a second or two is plenty for the other 2 groups of drivers to be through the intersection in time.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[kallend 2,027]

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Yep. About 7 years ago I was hit by a car (as a pedestrian) in Seattle after two cars collided in the intersection and one hit me (one had run the red light). A few months before that a pedestrian was killed at that intersection as a result of a similar accident, and a few months after, two cars collided but (fortunately) no pedestrians were involved even though one car ended up on the sidewalk.

After the third incident, my employer and other employers with offices at the intersection were particularly concerned about the safety of their people, who often traversed this intersection on foot going to/from lunch and to/from parking lots or buses.

They invited a traffic engineer from the city out to talk about the intersection and whether there was anything that could be done to make it safer, particularly for pedestrians. Since I was a party to one of the incidents, I was invited to tag along. It was interesting to talk to him - he said basically the same thing you're saying - statistically speaking there's a "sweet spot" of red-to-green delays, and if you go too long, it just encourages red light runners to continue to run the light.

The is no motivation to run a red light if the red light isn't there. We have altogether too many traffic lights and a majority of them are unnecessary and/or poorly programed. The data are very clear that traffic lights do not improve intersection safety.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.