I experienced something quite strange yesterday.
As I drove down a road I passed signs for roadworks and sure enough I came to a halt as traffic had stopped for the traffic lights at the start of the roadworks.
I waited until the traffic started moving and slowly edged forwards. I then noticed that a significant number of cars in front of me were jumping the lights and travelling through on red. The van in front of me stopped though so I started to wait.
I saw the traffic coming through from the opposite direction and just as the first car came through in the opposite direction our lights turned green, but the traffic kept coming and kept coming.
As soon as the traffic stopped flowing the van in front of me started moving and I was quick on its heels. As I passed by the traffic lights at our end it changed from green to red but that didn't stop the traffic following me. Cars and cars went over at red.
At the other side of the roadworks just as I passed the traffic lights, they changed from red to green but of course the traffic couldn't go anywhere because of the volume of vehicles following behind me.
So for the first time ever I saw traffic lights operating where the traffic travelled on red, and stopped on green.
2 comments:
I often see this too. Three possible ideas:
1. Traffic Management Solution: the phasing is wrong, there needs to be more time for the inevitable lategoers to drive safely through before the opposite side goes green.
2. Fascist Solution: Gatso boxes and cameras and penalties.
3. Calcutta Solution: who needs traffic lights anyway?
Well the poor workmen who were trying to control things were at a loss. The phasing seemed correct it was just that the traffic was being obnoxious, or at least the drivers were.
I would prefer option 3, but think in the UK, option 2 could have been a m ore efficient fix.
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