There are six sets of temporary lights on my daily commute, and all have been there for several months.
Two sets are marking stretches of apparently undamaged road where no work has been done since they were put up last winter. The others are at long-term roadworks.
The technology for automating these to cause minimum obstruction to the traffic flow must be easy to apply, so why can they not:
1) Detect which direction has a queue of 50 cars, and which has one car?
2) Vary the waiting down-time according to the number of cars detected?
3) Reliably detect the approach of a solitary car at a slack period and flip the lights, rather than waiting for the whole lengthy sequence?
4) Be made more reliable?
Almost invariably, one of the 6 sets will be not working each morning, and stuck with both lights permanently on red. But it's hard to tell when to give up and go anyway, because the waiting sequence takes seemingly for ever anyway.
If this experience is repeated across the country then the nation must be seizing up with "road improvement schemes".
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It is just another weapon of the loony left car hating councils. Think yourself lucky that you don't get a parking ticket while waiting at a red light. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 7 Aug 13 at 09:45
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3.Most modern temporary traffic lights have an "infra-red"sensor to tell them there's a vehicle waiting-a little box on the top of the lights;so move up close so it can sense the heat.If the road is not being worked on and is a "classified road(A or B)" cpmplain to the Department of Transport"-local roads,it's the Council.
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>> little box on the top of the lights;so move up close so it can sense
>> the heat.
You mean ignore the "Wait Here" sign?
There's one notorious set I know, they have been there at least a year, where the trigger works in reverse. It detects an approaching car, and turns the light to Red. Locals know to put their foot down and jump it. Otherwise it will stay on red until someone approaches from the opposite direction.
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>> 3.Most modern temporary traffic lights have an "infra-red"sensor to tell them there's a vehicle waiting-a
>> little box on the top of the lights;so move up close so it can sense
>> the heat.If the road is not being worked on and is a "classified road(A or
>> B)" cpmplain to the Department of Transport"-local roads,it's the Council.
>>
The problem is that whoever bungs them in doesn't bother to program them properly, either because of laziness or incapability to do so.
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I knew a bloke who went into the TTL business - he was a Surveyor withn his own business - he made a mint, and whole packet of mints when his little company was bought by one of the big boys - now living in the West Indies.
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>> either because of laziness or incapability to do so.
Most likely the latter, looking at the quality (or rather lack of it) of the road repairs of late. It's a wonder they can manage to put their hi-vis on the correct way around, unless their mum/wife/sister does it for them before they leave for work.
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"Most modern temporary traffic lights have an "infra-red"sensor"
No they don't.
www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=14744&m=333273#333273
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Yes they do,how can a movement sensor pick up a stationary vehicle at the front of a queue?Infraa-red can pick up on the heat.Also,many buses and emergency vehicles are fitted with transponders to set traffic lights in their favour.
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And most movement sensors are infra-red(PIR=Passive Infra Red).
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>> "Most modern temporary traffic lights have an "infra-red"sensor"
>>
>> No they don't.
>>
>> www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=14744&m=333273#333273
That technology is used more on "Puffin" crossings than TEMPORARY traffic lights .
Last edited by: VxFan on Thu 8 Aug 13 at 01:01
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Most temporary traffic lights are hired and it's usual for the hire company to set(and seal so that they can't be "reset "by vandals!) and maintain.Also modern TTL are now controlled from the control box by radio signals rather than by cables.
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>> Almost invariably, one of the 6 sets will be not working each morning, and stuck
>> with both lights permanently on red. But it's hard to tell when to give up
>> and go anyway, because the waiting sequence takes seemingly for ever anyway.
>>
They have a good system here in Austria, when they put temporary lights on a busy road - when on red they usually have a visible countdown in minutes and seconds until they change, so you know they are working.
A trick worth trying in the UK that I read somewhere is to flash your headlights when you approach temporary lights at night, because it activates the sensor. Usually works for me.
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Local council replaced a sensor loop on a cycle path (which actually detected bikes) with a push button at the road's edge.
Took me a couple of weeks to realise the sensor loop was no longer active.
It means you have to cycle across the footpath to press the button. Gives some drivers a scare, as they seem to think you're not stopping.
goo.gl/maps/ktTtA
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In the US and Canada you seldom see temporary traffic lights, nearly always a couple of flagmen (often women) with two way radios.
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To be honest, the thing about traffic lights that really gets my goat is the fact that most sets favour keeping the traffic moving over letting pedestrians cross. Sequence works like this:
1. Get to busy road + push button.
2. Nothing happens.
3. Wait a bit.
4. Wait a bit more.
5. Gap appears.
6. Cross road.
7. Lights turn red.
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>> most sets favour keeping the traffic moving over letting pedestrians cross.
If only.
Since there is hardly any traffic in most places, and anyone with reasonable mobility and eyesight can cross a road without the help of lights, a sensible pedestrian leaves the sodding button alone and just looks for a gap in the first place. Nothing makes your heart sink like the sight of some depressed twerp stabbing at the button instead of keeping moving, trying to stop your car on an empty road for no reason at all and often succeeding.
You should be ashamed of yourself FF.
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>> A trick worth trying in the UK that I read somewhere is to flash your
>> headlights when you approach temporary lights at night, because it activates the sensor. Usually works
>> for me.
>>
I think that's a myth, a sensor changes the lights, by sensing the vehicle. I'm pretty sure it's not related to flashing headlights.
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If there's no one about and it's clearly safe , do you wait for seemingly ages feeling like a t*t or jump them? I jump them.
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>> I think that's a myth, a sensor changes the lights, by sensing the vehicle. I'm
>> pretty sure it's not related to flashing headlights.
It's not. I've used this trick loads of times to change the lights before I'm anywhere near them.
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>> >> I think that's a myth, a sensor changes the lights, by sensing the vehicle.
>> I'm
>> >> pretty sure it's not related to flashing headlights.
>>
>> It's not. I've used this trick loads of times to change the lights before I'm
>> anywhere near them.
>>
I think it's a coincidence. There was a thread on PH about it and someone who designed them put up an explaination, I'm pretty sure that was the answer.
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>> A trick worth trying in the UK that I read somewhere is to flash your
>> headlights when you approach temporary lights at night, because it activates the sensor. Usually works
>> for me.
>>
It's got to be worth a try.
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happend to me today, temporay traffic light situated on the right hand side of road up against the road works. with sign below. traffic on left not in line with sensor.
rang the council .lets see if they get it sorted.
ps on approach the signs say road narrows from the left. WRONG
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"Most modern temporary traffic lights have an "infra-red"sensor"
The only reference I have seen to such a sensor has been as a means for receiving an infra-red transmitted signal from a priority vehicle -- as a communication to it's traffic controller -- and not as a sensor for detecting a vehicle for the purposes of traffic control.
Surely, you are confusing a vehicle priority sensor with a vehicle detector sensor, aren't you?
The transmitted infra-red signal would usually be modulated in some way to make it different to just heat radiation.
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>> There are six sets of temporary lights on my daily commute,
When you're retired they'll matter not one jot or one tittle. When you're stationary you can just gaze out of the window. What is life if ........... www.englishverse.com/poems/leisure
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Infra red traffic detectors
OOPS Looks like I am out of date
Here is a such a detector:
www.geneq.com/catalog/en/ir_200.html
Model IR 200
Sorry chaps.
Last edited by: busbee on Sat 10 Aug 13 at 08:05
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Mounted at a height of 5 metres ! !
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Portable signals have, or did have, three modes of operation as selected by a 3-way switch.
Automatic (i.e radar), Fixed Time (someone has looked at traffic flow and the chart and selected a suitable fixed waiting time/s) that then happens each end end irrespective of what the traffic actually is, and Manual (someone stands by the box and changes the direction by switching something.
So, the delay can be due an FT setting. Ideally, and in a good automatic design, in the absence of traffic, both directions should be at red. Then when you approach you can have an immediate green, as there are no vehicles in transit between the lights, as there could be, if the other end has (unnecessarily) been left at green. They should not use FT unnecessarily.
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Temporary traffic lights - Old Navy
