Interesting article on traffic lights

[BMWST?]

You don't actually need the signs. The give way to right rule is enough. It's like this on all minor crossroads and works well. They also have the


Maybe that's because they're treated as if they have a brain and are expected to use it.

no..its an inbred respect for someone who may carry.....

[scumdog]

I think the traffic lights thing is old news. I remember reading a thesis near 20 years ago that found that fatalities rose on most intersections where lights were installed.

Yep, fuckin' red light runners, ass-holes....

[steve_t]

Yep, fuckin' red light runners, ass-holes....

With approx 8% of males being red/green or totally colourblind, persisting with the current colour combination for lights seems a bit crazy

[scumdog]

With approx 8% of males being red/green or totally colourblind, persisting with the current colour combination for lights seems a bit crazy

Yup, they put the different colours in different postions on each set of lights so ya never know if the red's at the top or the bottom....yeah right!

Ya know, SOMEBODY somewhere will believe ya steve_t!

[steve_t]

Yup, they put the different colours in different postions on each set of lights so ya never know if the red's at the top or the bottom....yeah right!

Ya know, SOMEBODY somewhere will believe ya steve_t!

Yeah, but it's still gotta be easier for a colourblind person to see a different colour than have to look at the position of the light in the tree. I mean, that's the idea of having different colours right? I'm not saying they can't get by, I'm saying it could be easier. Meh, I'm not colourblind so it doesn't even affect me

[Ocean1]

Yep, fuckin' red light runners, ass-holes....

Hard to know which is more worthy of a darwin award, the one that ignores the red or the one that believes the green.

I'm sorta in the treat them like fuckwits and that's how they'll behave camp. And damn, the sheer quantity of spurious signage makes for quality fuckwits.

[Berries]

With approx 8% of males being red/green or totally colourblind, persisting with the current colour combination for lights seems a bit crazy

I am quite badly colour blind, and work on top, middle and bottom lights rather than going by the colours. Worked ok until I lived in Wellington for a while and used to ride out on that section to the Hutt to go over the hill. Some of the traffic lights are mounted back to back and have more than three aspects. So in one direction the opposing signal head is one aspect higher meaning that on the approach the red light isn't at the top of the signal head shape, it is down one, if you get what I mean, so I took it as the middle light. Which it wasn't. Bloody confusing. In the end I gave up stopping for any of them. Found I blended in with the locals better.

[rastuscat]

For the record, I'm the team leader of a group of Popos that enforce the traffic light rules in Chch.

We stake intersections out, and write tickets for those who break the rules.

One Popo (normally me) sits in a position to view the offences, then radios the Popos who are positioned to stop the offenders and write the tickets.

As a result, I am in a strong position to write about how people who have driven through late yellow or red lights who deny having done so. I get told at least 2 or 3 times each morning rush hour that what I have seen didn't happen.

Like, I see someone drive through a red light, then have the driver tell the ticketing officer that it was orange, or in some cases, green.

Until we get out of our mental state of psychological denial, traffic light crashes will just keep on happening.

Donuts.

[steve_t]

For the record, I'm the team leader of a group of Popos that enforce the traffic light rules in Chch.

We stake intersections out, and write tickets for those who break the rules.

One Popo (normally me) sits in a position to view the offences, then radios the Popos who are positioned to stop the offenders and write the tickets.

As a result, I am in a strong position to write about how people who have driven through late yellow or red lights who deny having done so. I get told at least 2 or 3 times each morning rush hour that what I have seen didn't happen.

Like, I see someone drive through a red light, then have the driver tell the ticketing officer that it was orange, or in some cases, green.

Until we get out of our mental state of psychological denial, traffic light crashes will just keep on happening.

Donuts.

Do they honestly seem to believe it was green or orange, or are they just trying to scam out of a ticket. I guess, like the stop sign issue, a little video camera footage would quickly shut them up

[rastuscat]

We looked at video for all traffic light offences, but it would take about 8 cameras to cover every phase at one intersection.

The problem with video too is that it sets a standard. If I turn up at court with video evidence of every offence we see, that would raise the JPs expectations for every other offence.

Like, I video an offence, and turn up to court. The JPs watch the video, and convict the driver. The next week I see someone riding a motorbike without wearing a helmet, so I write him a ticket. He defends it, so I trundle off to court. The guy claims that I am a liar, and that he was wearing a helmet. He tells the JPs that I have a quota, and that I made the offence up so I get a free toaster at the end of the performance year. Next thing, the JPs ask to see the video of the offence..................which doesn't exist.

That's the problem. Video is great evidence, but it's not possible to video every offence we see. If we use it too much, we set an evidential standard, that detracts from the basic form of evidence that has existed for decades ; a cop seeing something, telling the court what he saw, and the court then making a decision based on the facts they accept and the credibility of the parties..

Don't think video is the panacea for all.

[Scuba_Steve]

He tells the JPs that I have a quota, and that I made the offence up so I get a free toaster at the end of the performance year.

They haven't dropped your quota bonuses from donuts to toasters have they???

[superman]

Don't think video is the panacea for all.

Hood mounted camera would be a gold mine of evidence though

[rastuscat]

Hood mounted camera would be a gold mine of evidence though

Less than half of our offences are detected from a car. We do lots of checkpoints and use patrol bikes.

My patrol bike is going to look really silly with a hood fitted to it.

Tee hee.

[rastuscat]

They haven't dropped your quota bonuses from donuts to toasters have they???

I requested an iPad for this years iPerformance iTarget. My iBoss iRefused. He has too many iToasters left over from last iYear coz we didn't write enough iTickets.

iDonuts.

[Usarka]

During the last major auckland power outage (about 4 years ago maybe?) they were predicting traffic chaos because lights were out. But it was the quickest commute ever and auckland drivers were actually considerate.