Our local traffic planners appear to have attended the same course as this lot. Disrupting the traffic flow seems to be the priority.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3214825/Junction-42-sets-traffic-lights.html
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I see it all the time. You have to realise that the purpose of traffic planning is to further the careers of traffic planners. Everything has to be made as complicated and disruptive as possible in order to demonstrate that only a member of the ancient guild of traffic planners is competent to operate it.
It works on a small scale too. A tiny repair to a kerbstone needs a set of temporary traffic lights with a long delay period, in order to ensure that the slowest horse and cart can safely clear the controlled section before the lights change.
Roundabouts, orginally invented as a way of speeding traffic flow by integrating crossing streams of traffic, are now made as slow as possible, with lights, confusing lane markings, and deliberate obstructions to a clear line of slight to prevent drivers from anticipating the movement of other vehicles.
There are spin off benefits too. The institute of unecessary road signs aims to place as many signs as possible. They measure success rate by the number of temporary signs (ie the ones that fall over) they can get out of the stores depot as possible, and deployed on the streets.
So expect a varied and bizarre set of signs at every possible location.
For example, extra marks are awarded for placing a Wait Here at a point where the traffic would be blocked if people did actually wait there.
Ramp (or Ramp Ramp as they call it in Wales) means a tiny bump that you can safely take at 50.
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From the secret traffic planners handbook...
Temporary traffic lights.
Any road-works, no matter how small or simple are not real roadworks unless they have lights.
Traffic Lights on roundabouts.
Exist for the sole purpose of impeding traffic while making the planner look important. A classic example is the traffic lights at Thurrock under the M25 where it is almost impossible to get round once on the roundabout without stopping (you might do it with a rally prepared Audi Quatro, or Subaru Impreza).
tinyurl.com/pp2myfn
The London Colney roundabout where once on, the lights allow you go round and exit is a classic illustration of how not to do it as the traffic flows far too freely.
tinyurl.com/oomsdx2
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It is our own fault that traffic lights are installed at roundabouts. Without lights on a large roundabout the traffic on the rb goes too fast to let people merge.
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>> It is our own fault that traffic lights are installed at roundabouts. Without lights on
>> a large roundabout the traffic on the rb goes too fast to let people merge.
Rubbish.
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>> Without lights on a large roundabout the traffic on the rb goes too fast to let people merge.
>>
No.
The vehicles on the roundabout must be merging from somewhere!
QED.
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QED not. It's often the case that the major traffic flow goes to say exit 3, fed by traffic from 1 and 2. Without TL control, it's very difficult for traffic from 2 to join and a long backup develops on the feeder road.
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Whilst traffic lights on a roundabout can undoubtedly be a pain at times the fact is that when traffic reaches a certain volume a roundabout ceases to work effectively and it become almost impossible to enter the roundabout from the roads with a lesser volume of traffic. Without traffic lights traffic from those roads would never move.
Traffic lights on roundabouts with high volume of traffic also have statistically fewer accidents.
A necessary evil
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>> Traffic lights on roundabouts with high volume of traffic also have statistically fewer accidents.
>>
>>
>> A necessary evil
You don't need the damn things turned on all the time.
Anyway, put traffic lights on a roundabout , and it ceases to become one. Its merely a series of traffic light controled t junctions.
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 29 Aug 15 at 22:26
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"You don't need the damn things turned on all the time."
Probably not but you do need them when traffic exceeds certain levels and for some roundabouts that is quite a large portion of the day.
There are quite a few roundabouts where the lights are only used at peak times
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>>
>> Traffic lights on roundabouts with high volume of traffic also have statistically fewer accidents.
Which way, other than statistically, would you have fewer accidents?
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Since you can't exactly duplicate identical traffic flows on a roundabout with and without traffic lights the effects of such lights on accidents can only be calculated using statistical methods.
Does that help?
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>> Since you can't exactly duplicate identical traffic flows on a roundabout with and without traffic
>> lights the effects of such lights on accidents can only be calculated using statistical methods.
>>
>> Does that help?
>>
Precisely my point.
A statement of the blooming obvious!
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Not really but never mind
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42? Pah! This monster round my way has seventy!
www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/9727494.Welcome_to_revamped_Canford_Bottom___with_its_SEVENTY_traffic_lights/
Used to be a free flowing roundabout, now it's a tedious nightmare with a constant stream of minor dings due to the bonkers design, one can only assume it was designed by Siemens Traffic shareholders.
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Could the problem be that most drivers don't know how to use roundabouts?
I've a couple that cause consternation locally.
I always signal left just before the exit, that lets the next one out at the junction I'm exiting at.
How many do you see with their right indicator going, even as they exit? Obviously doesn't include BMWs, Mercs, Audis.................................................................
..........etc.
;>)
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I would say that a large proportion of roundabout users do not signal in accordance with the highway code either on approach or whilst using the roundabout.
If questioned I doubt they would be able to tell you the correct procedure.
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Is it my false memory that roundabouts worked better before the rule was changed to give way to the right? Merge in turn might work better?
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>> Is it my false memory that roundabouts worked better before the rule was changed to
>> give way to the right? Merge in turn might work better?
was a roundabout anything other than give way to the right?
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>> >>
>> was a roundabout anything other than give way to the right?
>>
Not in my lifetime.
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>> was a roundabout anything other than give way to the right?
>>
>>>Not in my lifetime. <<<
In France?
Where they now proliferate, (seems to be a mayoral status symbol in small villages/towns), and the average french driver still does not have a clue. Younger drivers seem better adapted. - I just wonder if they introduced the concept into primary schools 12 years ago.
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>> In France?
Thats a whole new Priorité à Droite
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Traffic planning? - Cliff Pope
