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#137445 07/09/03 06:52 AM
Joined: Aug 2001
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pauluk Offline OP
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I believe that German lights have the red-&-amber phase as well, but as I've never been there I can't confirm that. France follows the normal American & Irish convention of going straight from red to green, as does Jersey in the Channel Islands (not that they have that many lights!).

I've never seen the point of the red+amber phase. Some say it acts as a "get ready to go" signal, but as it's only on for a couple of seconds why not just go straight to green? If it takes someone a couple of seconds to get into gear with a manual transmission, they'll still pull away at the same time anyway.

Other British light peculiarities (from an American perspective):

* We have green filter arrows for left and right turns at some junctions, but no amber or red arrows. When a green arrow is coming on alongside a normal red light, it just pops on (no red+amber first). Go figure...

* We don't have flashing red lights, except at rail crossings (and a few to stop traffic at fire station exits etc.).

* Lights aren't switched to flashing amber/flashing red at night as in some U.S. cities. Flashing amber is used only at pedestrian crossings. We have some traffic lights located in the middle of a straight road rather than at an intersection which are operated solely by someone pressing a button to cross the street. These don't have the red+amber phase -- Their sequence is green, amber, red, flashing amber, green. You're allowed to proceed on the flashing amber so long as the pedestrians have cleared the crossing. (Strangely enough, you're not allowed to run them over on green either.... [Linked Image])

* Turns on red aren't allowed anywhere. I've found many Brits who seem to find it difficult to grasp this American concept.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 07-09-2003).]

#137446 07/09/03 10:38 AM
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,253
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djk Offline
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Ireland's traffic light system's a little different to the UK.

The sequence is Amber before Red and then straight to green.

Some pedestrian crossings have a different sequence:

Amber before red going to flashing amber for about 10-15 seconds and then green.
You may proceed if there are no pedestrians during the flashing amber phase.

Green fly lights are used like in the UK

Flashing amber fly lights (filter signals) are used quite a lot allowing you to filter out into to traffic. They have the same meaning as a Yeild (Give way) sign.

Red fly lights don't exsist.

If lights are switched off, due to a fault or perhaps during the night (happens in some places) they go into a flashing sequence.

One side will flash amber and the other will flash red.

Flashing amber = Yeild Sign
Flashing red = stop sign.

Generally if police directions are being used, e.g. after a really big match/concert they'll use flashing amber on all police directed junctions.

They've also started installing count downs on busy pedestrian crossings.
i.e. while the "red man" is on a display over the light counts down the number of seconds left before it will go green. The idea being to prevent people from dodging across as they know it's only a few seconds to green.

Dual carriage way signs around Cork anyway seem to display "Red Signal ahead" or "Signals changing" before lights change about 800m ahead of junctions. Quite useful.

As for that temp. light it's quite possible it was hired in Northern Ireland or that the contractor was from N.I. I've seen UK signs used on sites here, particularly near the boarders. It's actually quite illegal.
e.g. "Men at work 500 yards ahead" and the triangle with what looks like a man holding a really heavy umbrella [Linked Image]

#137447 07/09/03 11:49 AM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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Austria has some more peculiarities. Before our lights go amber they flash green for a short period, which means "hurry up". Then they go amber, then red, then red+amber and green again. All our neighbouring countries have the red+amber as far as I know. I guess it's supposed to say "hey guys, attention, it's goona be green any second!" and I think it's useful.
Flashing amber means "no light, watch out and make sure you know what you're doing". That's either where there's no traffic light at all or when a light is switched off at night. Tramways sometimes have their own lights, simply with horizontal and vertical bars. Vertical means "Go" and horizontal is "Stop".

#137448 07/09/03 02:20 PM
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 177
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What type of bulbs do they use for the traffic lights? So much flashing of amber or green must spoil them much quicker. Does any body know how often they change those bulbs? And.... do the change the amber ones (and the green, in Austria) more often?

Just wondering aloud.

#137449 07/09/03 03:08 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
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I've no idea concerning the types of light bulbs. I'm pretty sure newer traffic lights use LEDs.
Out-of-order tarffic lights are a pretty rare sight here so I guess the bulbs aren't that short-lived.
Traffic lights on less frequented crossings are simply switched to flashing amber after 11 or 12 PM. The Germans sometimes simply switch them off completely I think.

#137450 07/09/03 03:39 PM
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C-H Offline
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I always thought traffic traffic lights were pretty much maintenance free apart from changing the bulbs, but in May the maintenance people and a lot of other workers in Sweden went on strike. Pretty soon there was a number of traffic lights on flashing amber to indicate 'out of order'.

[This message has been edited by C-H (edited 07-09-2003).]

#137451 07/09/03 04:35 PM
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pauluk Offline OP
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Quote
the triangle with what looks like a man holding a really heavy umbrella
Excellent description! [Linked Image]
[Linked Image from highwaycode.gov.uk]

I much prefer the American-style yellow diamond warning signs. It seems to me that they're much more visible. (In fact I find that American road signs in general are much more logical and consistent than Britain/Europe.) Any idea how the yellow diamonds came to be used in Ireland, and since when?

(More British signs and general road rules can be seen here for anyone who's interested in this sort of thing.)

The flashing green in Austria sounds very curious -- Never heard of that one. I've seen flashing amber arrows in some French towns, and some even have an adjacent flashing pedestrian crossing sign as an extra warning to yield to pedestrians when turning.

I'm not sure what bulbs are used here, but don't many U.S. municipalities use 130V bulbs in traffic lights for longer life?

We've started getting LED-based lights in Britain in some places. I've seen a few of them on my travels, and they're really quite noticeable for the way they "snap" instantly from one light to another without the usual warm-up/cool-down of an incandescent lamp.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 07-09-2003).]

#137452 07/09/03 05:22 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,691
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Some British "red circle" signs seem like they were designed by backwards morons.

To wit:

This British traffic sign is supposed to mean "NO BICYCLES"

However, I thought when I first saw it that it meant "Bike Route".
[Linked Image from highwaycode.gov.uk]
You'd think they would have gone through the extra effort of putting the RED SLASH across the bike so that it is clear to EVERYONE in the world!!!

[Linked Image from highwaycode.gov.uk]

Likewise this sign is supposed to mean "NO BUSES WITH OVER 8 PASSENGER SEATS". I thought it was a "BUS STOP" sign at first glance!!!

There's a reason why the no-smoking sign and a lot of other "NO" signs have a red slash through them. Because it's universally understood as a prohobition or restriction.

I like the design of this one better. This one is also used here in the USA:

[Linked Image from highwaycode.gov.uk]

The no U-Turn sign.

(P.S. Here in Noo Yawk, we sometimes use the slang term "U-ie" for a U-Turn. It's pronounced "youie" or "youey") [Linked Image]

Hmm....

Should I be keeping a lookout to see if a Ford is limping around on the road?

What about a sign that also says Chevrolet or better yet....a Jaguar??? [Linked Image]
[Linked Image from highwaycode.gov.uk]


[This message has been edited by SvenNYC (edited 07-09-2003).]

#137453 07/09/03 05:49 PM
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,527
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Moderator
Four-wheeled+ versus two-wheeled interaction may have subtle regional variations.

[Linked Image from 64.146.180.232]

#137454 07/10/03 08:00 AM
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pauluk Offline OP
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Sven,

You've hit on one of the major inconsistencies of British/European signage. No left/right/U-turn signs show the symbol crossed through with a slash, but other prohibition signs don't. Crazy! Britain started adopting these Continental-style signs in the mid-1960s.

(By the way, whereas U.S. versions of no xx-turn signs are on a square white background, ours are actually circular signs.)

Oh yes... And here's the sign for a cycle route:

[Linked Image from highwaycode.gov.uk]

Clear as mud now? [Linked Image]

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