Stupid Traffic lights

Discussion in 'General chat' started by milifestyle, Mar 18, 2010.

  1. milifestyle

    milifestyle New Member

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    We were late for appointments yesterday and got stuck at 5 out of 6 traffic lights.

    One set of lights was installed after dozens of minor accidents and 3 fatal accidents at this particular intersection.

    Is the inactions of a few drivers enough to slow traffic down for others who may (or may not) be more alert than the drivers involved in these accidents ?

    Theres been no accidents at the intersection since the lights were installed, so in that regards its a positive, but the set up of the lights makes it a longer wait than most intersections.

    Should the lights stay in or is traffic delays a big enough case for removal ?
     
  2. Burra Maluca

    Burra Maluca Junior Member

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    Er, is this a trick question?

    Dozens of minor accidents.

    Three fatal accidents.

    No accidents since the lights were installed.

    You know the lights are there, just allow more time for your journey. Without them, you might become the fourth fatal accident. Then you'll be seriously late.
     
  3. ecodharmamark

    ecodharmamark Junior Member

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    Remember that scene in "Cool Hand Luke", when Paul Newman's Character (Luke) cut the 'heads' off the parking meters with a pipe cutter? Seriously, Eric, next time you're doing the commute, tune in to ABC Classics, I guarantee it will brighten your day.

    Peace Brother, Markus the (very) tired one.
     
  4. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    g'day eric,

    many traffic lights are installed under the "gov' knee jerk reaction" plan "being seen to be doing something" or put in to favour a particular group, and when they add a new set to what is there already nothing is synchronised so pandamonium and queing across intersections is rife, and with lots of cars jammed up one can but imagine how much extra local pollution is caused? we have one new set of lights for an industrial estate as soon as it looks like someone is approaching from the estate they change for a single vehicle stopping a line of main traffic instantly. so up to 20 cars who have only just taken off from an earlier light set is stopped yet again. same with the set up of one set of lights when cars coming out of an access road have green light at 'T' intersection people wanting to turn left into that access road are stuck on a red arrow, senseless.

    len
     
  5. milifestyle

    milifestyle New Member

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    So traffic lights are a good thing then ? :confused:
     
  6. Grahame

    Grahame Senior Member

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    Traffic lights are just a symptom of traffic. It's best to treat the problem at its source - ride a bike. ;)
     
  7. milifestyle

    milifestyle New Member

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    I guess its ok to be governed by some things in life (in this instance traffic lights) but not others...
     
  8. ecodharmamark

    ecodharmamark Junior Member

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    Grasshopper, be governed by the inner self and the outer will soon fade to insignificance...

    Sorry, Eric, I just could not help myself...

    Seriously, if you feel so strongly about traffic lights, hold a 'town meeting' on the subject. The number of attendees will soon allow you determine if there is 'legitimate community concern' for the matter. For example, just recently a Liberal party preselect held a 'town meeting' in the middle of our brand-spanking new mall on the issue of 'street violence'. About 5 people turned up, including the rabble-rouser herself, and her four cronies. Obviously, 'the public' see it as a moot issue. Of course, there is always the real chance that street violence is a concern in Bendigo, although I have yet to see any empirical data supporting the claim. Most people (regardless of how they might act) are not stupid. If you have a genuine issue, they will come. Of course, there are also those that will turn up to any old meeting just for the chance of being part of something. Unfortunately, these very same people are usually ill informed of the facts concerning the wider debate, and as such usually just constitute a 'mob'. Mob mentality is not a very nice thing to witness - take parliament, for example: two mobs with very little understanding of the real issues at hand. Anyway, I digress... Good luck with your battle against the traffic lights. Oh and BTW, I like grahams idea of attacking the cause, and not the symptoms. Think 'walkable neighbourhoods', for example. Mandala Town will always be walkable (or at least have a sustainable PT system).

    Cheerio, Marko.
     
  9. milifestyle

    milifestyle New Member

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    Governing thy inner-self increases the zest for information in thy outer-self... ;o)
     
  10. springtide

    springtide Junior Member

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    Most traffic lights are sequenced for minimal traffic or emergency vehicles. This means that in peak hour you either have to "bust a move" or sit back and relax. I would reccomend a good quality car stereo, while it's more "stuff" that you don't really need i find putting on a good tune eases the frustration and stops me from playing slalom in the traffic. :)
     
  11. bilnrobn

    bilnrobn Junior Member

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    You could always move to a town without any! Albany in Western Australia is, I believe, the only city in Australia with no traffic lights at all. Its solution is roundabouts, lots of them. I became a fan of roundabouts when on visits to UK. Admittedly in a really large CBD lights are the only option, but outside of that situation they seem to be installed with no thought of looking for better options. Roundabouts control traffic at intersections with minimal stopping of the flow. If nothing is coming or in the segment of the roundabout directly to your right you just keep driving. When you need to stop is it only until the immediate traffic to your right has passed, not until a fixed amount of time dictated by a machine has passed. They are safer... the recent horrific accident in Canberra would almost certainly not have happened if the intersection had a roundabout instead of lights. With roundabouts you look for traffic as you approach the intersection. With lights you don't slow if the lights are green, assuming it is clear, so see the danger too late. If the authorities in Albany decided to put lights on an intersection they would likely have a riot on their hands!
     
  12. springtide

    springtide Junior Member

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    Roundabouts in WA do work well, but this is Tas - home of the lets put in trfaffic lights then pull them out and put in a roundabout and then put 4 or 5 traffic lights in the roundabout.
    But people don't know how to merge - same as WA - zipper effect (brings kwinana freeway to a crawl nicely).
     
  13. ecodharmamark

    ecodharmamark Junior Member

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    Or you could do what we are doing, rip them out! Not only that, we are removing zebra crossings, and all other barriers to shared pedestrian/vehicle pathways in the CBD. Sounds crazy, I know. You should have seen the letters to the editor pages - filled with dire predictions of people having their limbs ripped off by speeding motorists, etc. But to the best of my knowledge and to date, now about 12-months since we instigated the project, not one single person has received even a scratch! You can read all about it here: Walk Bendigo
     
  14. milifestyle

    milifestyle New Member

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    They are all very good "Liberal" ideas for maintaining status quo by way of free flowing traffic without major running or upkeeping costs.

    However, we are still governed by them by default. We can't just forget they are there and drive on through... someones life might be at risk.
     
  15. alfik999666

    alfik999666 New Member

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