The traffic light thread [Archive]

TheCat

February 25th, 2007, 12:58 AM

I have long wanted to start a thread like this, so here goes :) It perhaps is not
directly related to highways, but I think the main page of this forum is too
general.

So, post in this thread pictures and everything else related to the traffic lights
in your country, including any interesting rules/facts.

I have some thoughts on traffic lights. In many places around the world, and
in Ontario where I live, I don't like the traffic lights, because they allow drivers
to turn left when oncoming traffic is facing a green light, which I think is
quite dangerous and inconvenient when you have to turn left across multiple
lanes of fast traffic.

Another thing to consider is placement of traffic lights, before/after the
intersection, or both.

I lived in Israel before, and I think the traffic light system there is one of the
best I've seen in the world. This is why I'm going to start with it :) I'll do Ontario after.

Israel

Interesting features:

Left turns are ALWAYS protected, i.e. you are never allowed to turn left if oncoming traffic faces a green light.
Most traffic lights have arrows above them that indicate which directions they control.
Traffic lights are always placed both before the intersection (at the stop line) AND after the intersection (across it).
If there is no arrow above a traffic light, it actually allows completely protected travel to ALL directions, even though traffic lights without arrows are rare.
Interesting thing that other countries (like Germany, UK) have: traffic light turns from red to red+yellow before turning green :).
Green light flashes several times before turning yellow on roads with speed limits above 60km/h.
Right turn on red is not allowed; instead, in most intersections the right turn is separated from the main road by a physical island, and the driver is only required to yield to pedestrians (warned by a flashing yellow light).

Pictures:
Typical left turn:
http://img368.imageshack.us/img368/6405/p1011294smallmd8.jpg
Directional lights:
http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/6980/dscf0091jk0.jpg
Separated right turn, left signal, and 2 sets (before & after the intersection):
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/9469/41626463ks9.jpg
The red+yellow phase:
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6079/p2224938sized2fxgp5.jpg

TheCat

February 25th, 2007, 01:38 AM

Ontario, Canada

I know that other provinces in Canada have slightly different rules, so I will
just cover Ontario.

Features:

Traffic lights are yellow :).
Normally, turning left is allowed when oncoming traffic faces a green light (bad thing in my opinion), but on big intersections, there is a protected left phase for a few seconds before the normal green light appears.
Traffic lights are placed AFTER the intersection only (this is quite unique actually as far as I know).
Blinking green means fully protected signal (same as green light + left turn arrow).
Turning right on a red light is ALLOWED unless a sign says otherwise, but after coming to a complete stop.
Urban expressways that are controlled by traffic lights usually have separate left-turn signals, as also some busy downtown streets (the only exceptions to the rule).

Some pictures:
Normal light; the fourth phase is for the protected left arrow:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/4789/032105003smallef0.jpg
Busy street downtown: separate left turn signals, separate streetcar signals:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/9678/downtown005cz8smallnq0.jpg
Same street as above (in Chinatown), only way to turn left is through oncoming traffic, also no right turn on red sign:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/9963/downtown022no6smallwa3.jpg

goschio

February 25th, 2007, 02:19 AM

For some odd reason, traffic lights in Germany are before the intersection. This makes it very hard to see if you are the first car.

http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/verkehrslenkung/lichtsignalanlagen/pix/titel_310.gif

Maroon Grown

February 25th, 2007, 02:53 AM

traffic lights in urban areas of australia are changing to led lights. they are much brighter and clearer to see.

the old incandescnt bulb with coloured face becomes harder to see with age as the cover gets dirtier, plus when the sun is low in the skyline, they are near impossible to see.

go_leafs_go02

February 25th, 2007, 07:17 AM

Alex Von Königsberg

February 25th, 2007, 09:03 AM

For some odd reason, traffic lights in Germany are before the intersection. This makes it very hard to see if you are the first car.

I concur. They might be extremely hard to see. I like the Californian traffic lights because they are almost always positioned before and after intersection, and a lot of them are now LED. I wish the green light blinked before turning yellow, and there was a red-yellow phase before turning green, but oh well... It's still pretty good.

TheCat

February 25th, 2007, 10:15 AM

Some lights in the US have a weird blinking white around the red light on
expressways to catch drivers' attention after a long monotonous drive.

invincible

February 25th, 2007, 05:10 PM

Melbourne is apparently very generous with traffic lights.

And by that, I mean having lights on both sides of the road before the intersection, lights on both sides after the intersection, and an overhead one for good measure.

This set of signals is good fun too:
http://www.hobbiesplus.com.au/signspotters/P1010017r.jpg
It has aspects for left and right turning traffic, straight ahead traffic, trams and bicycles.

Rebasepoiss

February 25th, 2007, 08:02 PM

If I remember it correctly then all Stockholm's traffic lights are LED lights

Jimmy81

February 25th, 2007, 08:35 PM

Edmonton, AB Canada has similar traffic light rules compared to Ontario. Here are some exceptions.

1) Our traffic lights are aligned horizontal instead of vertical.
2) Edmonton's back plate are black. I like the yellow ones better.
3) Edmonton does NOT have a green blinking light. Just a green blinking left turn arrow for advanced left turn.
4) When turning left, visibility of the traffic light is limited. As for Ontario, the visibility of traffic light vertical position when turning left is good...(ex: the picture with the FRONT ST intersection. That light is on the left hand side. In Edmonton, the ONLY ONE LIGHT light position is short and in the centre, harder for the second or third car to see what the light signal is. (I hope everyone understands this).
5) For traffic above 70 km/h with more than 3 lanes going one way, we do have warning signals, about maybe a hundred metres before the intersection, that the light will turn yellow and then red when approaching the intersection. It's actually quite accurate. Once the yellow light starts to blink, one knows to start breaking the car because the light will turn red when one reaches the intersection.
6) In the last 2 years, the entire city had gone LED on the lights. Now, I can't think of anywhere in the city that still has the old, traditional incandescent bults.

And of note, I do completely agree with The Cat that it's bad to turn left on a green signal. But I think the city allows this to reduce traffic jams. I could be wrong though.

Jimmy

go_leafs_go02

February 26th, 2007, 12:22 AM

The blinking green light to signal advance left turns in Ontario I think is coming obsolete. In London, Ontario they don't exist, and i think the MTO (Provincial Highway) standard is to construct them with a separate turning light (like with four lights, Red, Yellow, Green, Advanced)

TheCat

February 26th, 2007, 04:10 AM

5) For traffic above 70 km/h with more than 3 lanes going one way, we do have warning signals, about maybe a hundred metres before the intersection, that the light will turn yellow and then red when approaching the intersection. It's actually quite accurate. Once the yellow light starts to blink, one knows to start breaking the car because the light will turn red when one reaches the intersection.
That's interesting, do you mean there is a separate warning light about 100m away? If so, it's interesting to see pictures :)

Nozumi 300

February 26th, 2007, 04:21 AM

remember not all of ontario has the same traffic lights, here in york region we have a set of lights strictly for turning and a seperate one for straightforward traffic, and example in what is found on hwy 7

TheCat

February 26th, 2007, 04:39 AM

^^ I have actually mentioned that in the last point (#6) in my post on Ontario.
Ontario does have unified (i.e., "the same") traffic rules throughout, as these
matters in Canada are a provincial responsibility. The separate left turn signal
is just another feature of Ontario's laws (and yes, on an expressway like
Hwy 7 it makes sense to separate the lights). Regular city streets (including
busy ones) in York region still mostly use non-protected left turns. And by the
way, a lot of Spadina avenue (shown in some of the pictures) also has separate
signals. However, these are the exceptions to the rule.

On the other hand, in some countries (for example, Israel), there is never a
situation where one can turn left when oncoming traffic is facing a green light
(in fact, constructing such a traffic light is illegal, because drivers would assume
they have the right of way, even when turning). Note that this applies only in
the case of traffic lights; in the absence thereof, you must of course yield to
oncoming traffic.

TheCat

February 26th, 2007, 04:43 AM

Heh we are just discussing Canada's traffic lights. Where are posts from other countries? :)

pilotos

February 26th, 2007, 10:28 AM

For Greece:

1. Left turns are protected, there is always a sign above the traffic light that doesn't allow left turns.
2.Traffic lights that control a left or right direction have arrows instead of just a light.
3.Traffic lights are always placed before the intersection.
4.Traffic lights turn from red to green directly, but they turn to orange before turning red.
5.On roads with speed limits above 50km/h, there is a warning light around 100 m before the intersection traffic light, if the warning light starts blinking(orange color), then in less than 20 secs the traffic light will turn red.

x-type

February 26th, 2007, 11:49 AM

Croatia:

1. left turning is protected only if there are traffic lights with arrows. it often appears on large and important intersections and intersections with high traffic.
2. arrows are not as Israeli (signs under traffic lights), but lights have a shape of arrow.
3. green is often blinking 2 or 3 times before changing into yellow
4. german system: red -> red/yellow -> green -> blinking green -> yellow -> red
5. often there is a single traffic light which has only green right arrow. if it is turned on, that means that you may turn right, but with care (probably pedestrians have also green so you must let them pass first)
6. on non-protected left turnings there can be single left green arrow. if it is on, that means that oncoming traffic has red, so you may turn left witout danger. this arrow is allways located after intersection, so you can see it when you are waiting in the middle of intersection
7. traffic lights are allways located in front of intersection and a lot of intersections have lights also after it (not all!)

Maroon Grown

February 26th, 2007, 12:05 PM

whats with the blinking light? in oz no light blinks unless the lights are faulty, in that case, the yellows blink.

we have traffic lights on both sides of the intersection plus overhead. its not uncommon to have view of 6-8 traffic lights on the approach to an intersection.

Norsko

February 26th, 2007, 12:17 PM

In Norway traffic lights have been LED for the last three-four years.

Billpa

February 26th, 2007, 10:30 PM

x-type

February 26th, 2007, 10:41 PM

here in Croatia we have often horizontal traffic lights (on portals above road). i was quite surprised when some foreign people found it unusual

go_leafs_go02

February 27th, 2007, 12:14 AM

A light in the town of Baie-Saint-Paul, Québec. The province arranges its lights horizontally with the red in the shape of a stop-signish octagon; the amber, a diamond and green, a circle. Also note the provincial route marker and the countdown sign for pedestrians. :)

First time I was in Quebec, I actually was confused and mistook them for railway crossing signals.

You do have vertically aligned lights as well, especially in cities and not so major intersections (Montreal comes to mind)

Chicagoago

February 27th, 2007, 03:10 AM

Ontario traffic lights seem so luxurious compared to many.

I find this especially in comparison to many states in the USA, where their traffic lights simply hang from two wooden poles and a string across the intersection where the lights hang.

Funny thing is, our temporary Construction lights are built to a higher standard than the permanent American lights in certain cases. (Michigan comes to mind)

Where did you see those? I've seen them in construction zones (temp lights), but I don't know if I've ever seen many that are just hanging on a rope. That's pretty cheap.

The ones I see almost always look like this in the midwest:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/stoplight1.jpg

Lights are hung above, and usually on either side of the street just above "walking" height. Poles are normally green or yellow/gold.

Left turn is allowed when traffic isn't coming, unless you get a green arrow. Green arrows are only at high traffic intersections, normally with a dedicated turn lane. This is different all around the country, as every city can do whatever they want to for stoplights. This of course creates a VAST variety of stoplights. I definitely notice this from say Florida to California to the Midwest.

In larger cities and more dense urban areas you will find these at many smaller intersections:

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f385/Candrson/stoplight.jpg

No overhead lights, just the two on each side of the road.

One thing I never realized until I moved here was the timing of stoplights in the US.

In Iowa, there is ALWAYS a 1-3 second delay from one light turning red to the next light turning green. This is to clear the intersection of cars waiting to turn left most of the time, and just for general safety.

In Chicago, I quickly found out, stoplights that turn red will signal the opposing traffic to turn green IMMEDIATELY. In Iowa, by the time the light turned green, opposing traffic had always cleared the intersection. In Chicago, your light will turn green, THEN the last car will fly through the intersection at times, and THEN the opposing turning traffic will make their turns and clear the intersection. This sometimes leads to 3 to up to 4-5 seconds of traffic clogging the intersection before you are clear to proceed through the green.

In the end it moves the same amount of traffic, but I was totally caught off guard by this when I moved here. In Iowa, everyone moves through when it's green. In Chicago you have to wait a few seconds after it turns green, but people will turn/pass through yellow and red lights at a greater frequency to make up for the loss of travel at the beginning of the cycle.

I also noticed the tradition of passing on urban 2 lane roads. When the light is about to turn green ( you can tell by looking at the walk signals on the other side of the street ) someone will start accelerating from 3-5 car lengths behind the first car waiting for the signal and pass at a decent amount of speed on the right edge of the road right as the light turns green. This lets people leapfrog over the few cars in front of them at the intersection. It works cause you can accelerate towards the intersection and blow through it as it turns green - whereas the first car in line would need a few seconds to speed up to your speed as you're going through the intersection. Obvioulsy this only works when no one is on the right side of the road waiting to turn right.

Of course this isn't "right" and it really pisses me off, but it gives people who are very impatient or bold a move to get ahead in traffic.

I haven't seen this in Iowa, and the few times I tried it there (just without thinking of where I was ) it REALLY freaked people out. I kinda felt bad. I only did this a few times when I moved here cause it kinda gives you a rush, but then I "grew up" and just waited my turn like most people.

Just looked out the window at the light outside my place :) There are 24 different lights controlling the 3 two lane roads that intersect. One on the near side of the intersection to the right, one above the intersection, and then two on each side of the street on the far side. All this, and no turn signals or anything. 4 lights each way that are either all red, yellow or green at once.

Chicagoago

February 27th, 2007, 03:16 AM

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=cedar+rapids&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=41.963208,-91.708916&spn=0.002345,0.007607&t=k&om=1

They also had these in Iowa. There's NO other poles or lights at a 6 lane X 6 lane intersection other than this one large pole going across the intersection at an angle. There are literally a few dozen lights on this one pole, for all 4 directions of traffic and turn lanes.

It's kinda crazy when you first see it, it's like a christmas tree. Works well though, I never heard any complaints...

TheCat

February 27th, 2007, 03:57 AM

In Chicago, I quickly found out, stoplights that turn red will signal the opposing traffic to turn green IMMEDIATELY.
Haha, I also noticed that on many intersections in Montreal when I visited there.
In Ontario lights also wait a few seconds before changing to allow left-turning
traffic to clear the intersection.

Quebec traffic lights are indeed horizontal (but doesn't seem to be so in
Montreal), and I took some pictures long ago. I'll post them later.

Holland

February 27th, 2007, 04:17 AM

Ontario province, Canada:

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2797/ontariotrafficlightsts1.png

go_leafs_go02

February 27th, 2007, 06:14 AM

Where did you see those? I've seen them in construction zones (temp lights), but I don't know if I've ever seen many that are just hanging on a rope. That's pretty cheap.

I've been in Michigan the most, that's where they are most popular. You should check out their streetlighting too (its a small farmstyle lampfixture pointing downward hanging from a wire across the intersection.)
http://www.state-ends.com/michigan/m57/m57-e.JPG
http://static.flickr.com/72/221429259_f22e6a175e_m.jpg

Chicagoago

February 27th, 2007, 06:44 AM

I can't see most of the pictures, but from the 44 states I've seen, most traffic lights are not on strings.

Maxx☢Power

February 28th, 2007, 01:31 AM

whats with the blinking light? in oz no light blinks unless the lights are faulty, in that case, the yellows blink.

Blinking yellow lights in Europe (not sure is this is used all over Europe, but I would think so) are used mostly at night when there's not much traffic. Basically, it just means there's no lights and normal rules (yield to traffic coming from the right) apply.

Chicagoago

February 28th, 2007, 02:15 AM

^ They use those in the US in many places as well.

From say 11pm until 6am the busiest road will just have flashing yellow lights, and the less busy road will have flashing red lights. Stop at the red, proceed "with caution" through the yellow.

Of course this is only in areas that aren't too busy at night, not at major intersections.

kub86

February 28th, 2007, 02:53 AM

I think these lights actually look pretty cool.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/captain_cookie/modernlights.jpg

x-type

February 28th, 2007, 11:34 AM

in France and Spain i've seen traffic lights without green light. they have red, yellow and blinking yellow (instead of green). so when that blinking yellow appears, that means that you can pass, but with much care

TheCat

February 28th, 2007, 12:00 PM

Nicolás

February 28th, 2007, 12:02 PM

ChrisZwolle

February 28th, 2007, 12:49 PM

^^ In Germany lots of traffic lights have just the yellow and the red light (most the time for pedestrians who are waiting and have to press a button on the traffic light). You may continue driving when the traffic light is off.

In Germany, i saw some traffic lights, when you want to turn left, crossing the other direction, the opposite direction gets green too, so although you have the green light, you still have to wait to turn left.

Those situations in The Netherlands are quite rare.

Nicolás

February 28th, 2007, 01:19 PM

snupix

February 28th, 2007, 02:23 PM

What is the red cross that can be seen on French roads on the opposite side of the traffic light?

It looks like this: +

x-type

February 28th, 2007, 06:42 PM

I've always wondered why most tunnels have traffic lights mounted above them,
never quite understood why. Is that in case there is a problem in the tunnel?
And if there is no problem, are they ever red? Because a lot of the time they
are actually on a highway.

because tunnels are very sensitive places and if a minor accident happens, it can be extremely dangerous. that's why tunnels are full of traffic lights. there is no reason for red if there is no problems in tunnel.

Justme

February 28th, 2007, 07:49 PM

These are interesting. Where are they?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v506/captain_cookie/modernlights.jpg

Justme

February 28th, 2007, 07:55 PM

Traffic lights on the canals in Venice. Well... it is their streets...

http://www.pbase.com/jchambers/image/57505284/original.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/jchambers/image/57594650/original.jpg

Justme

February 28th, 2007, 07:57 PM

Complicated intersection in London ;)

http://www.pbase.com/jchambers/image/15252463/original.jpg

Chicagoago

February 28th, 2007, 08:07 PM

^ well it sure took someone long enough to post that pic, haha.

In regards to some posts earlier, most US stoplights are set up so you turn left on a green light against oncoming traffic.

In Chicago the habit is:

When the light turns green and you're turning left, you creep out into the center of the intersection as far as you can while still giving you enough room to complete a left turn. Cars behind you waiting to turn will creep up right behind you as well. You wait for the oncoming traffic to come through an intersection (many times the entire time it's green), and then when the light turns yellow - oncoming cars will stop on the other side of the street, and you and the 1-2 people behind you who managed to creep into the intersection to some degree will quickly turn left.

If there are normally a lot of people turning left, this can really backup traffic, as you can only get 2-3 cars through the intersection per cycle. In these cases, the city will eventially realize this, and set up a turn lane with a dedicated green arrow.

Many times though, that green arrow only lasts about 3 seconds at the beginning of the cycle. This lets up to 3 cars go at the beginning of the cycle, then more cars will enter the intersection as they wait for oncoming traffic to drive through, and then those 2-3 cars will turn left at the end of the cycle. This lets twice as many cars through, but only needs a green arrow for a few seconds at the beginning of the cycle.

TheCat

March 1st, 2007, 05:01 AM

^^ yep, it's very dangerous sometimes when the oncoming traffic is hidden by a car which turns right (into the street I want to turn left into). I was always afraid of situations like that when I was practicing for my driver's license.
In very dangerous situations or in big cities on large roads the "green/yellow/red arrow light" often is used (like in the Netherlands). ...
Yes, this is also one of several things that make me nervous when driving. An even
bigger problem is if the road ahead slopes down and there are cars waiting to
turn left from the opposite direction, especially at night, and it's hard to see.

But the biggest problem is that one also has to yield to pedestrians. It is easy
to forget to look for pedestrians crossing the road on the far left when you
suddenly get the short opportunity to complete your turn across 3-4 lanes
of heavy traffic. That is why I really don't like the system in North America
and most other countries in the world.

I think on major streets left on "normal"
green should never be allowed, or perhaps only at night. During heavy traffic,
I don't see much advantage to this system, because usually cars simply
cannot complete the turn on green, and only do it when the light turns
yellow or red.

Alex Von Königsberg

March 1st, 2007, 07:35 AM

In regards to some posts earlier, most US stoplights are set up so you turn left on a green light against oncoming traffic.

When the light turns green and you're turning left, you creep out into the center of the intersection as far as you can while still giving you enough room to complete a left turn. ... You wait for the oncoming traffic to come through an intersection (many times the entire time it's green), and then when the light turns yellow - oncoming cars will stop on the other side of the street, and you and the 1-2 people behind you who managed to creep into the intersection to some degree will quickly turn left.
It works the same on all intersections where you are allowed to turn left against the oncoming traffic. For instance, in San Francisco you will find very few intersections with protected left turn because with heavy traffic they tend to create a congestion. People do exactly what you described.

In suburbia, on the other hand, almost all intersections have protected left turn. People get spoiled and then cannot adjust to the earlier situation quickly enough. In my city, there is such an intersection on a road that has one lane in each direction. This road has a local importance and bears a fairly large amount of traffic. Usually those who are turning left will pull as much to the middle and to the left of the intersection as possible and wait for the opportunity to turn. However, there are some people who won't know how to deal with such situation, and they will block the entire lane. After receiving a honk from drivers behind, they will usually give up and just drive straight without turning :lol:

Chicagoago

March 1st, 2007, 05:47 PM

^ Chicago is the exact same. Compared to cities you see like LA or Dallas - a great deal of the main roads through neighborhoods in Chicago are two lanes in each direction as well. You have to know to pull into the exact middle of the street to allow others to "pass" you on the right and continue straight down the street. If people stop in the main lane of traffic turning left, people will get quite upset and honk at their ignorance of customs.

I was surprised when I moved to Chicago from smaller cities in the midwest - I assume all the main roads in Chicago would be at least 4 lanes since it was such a huge city. I love the fact that many of them are only 2 though, as it helps out pedestrians a lot, and gives the city a much more charming feeling.

There are many 4 lane roads of course, but they aren't everywhere (in the densest areas of the north side - basically every main road is 2 lanes ), they get larger as you go west and south - as these are the newer areas of the city.

Alex Von Königsberg

March 2nd, 2007, 08:27 AM

I love the fact that many of them are only 2 though, as it helps out pedestrians a lot, and gives the city a much more charming feeling.
^^ Agree. Aesthetically, they are much more pleasant than four-lane streets.

Jimmy81

March 4th, 2007, 07:47 PM

That's interesting, do you mean there is a separate warning light about 100m away? If so, it's interesting to see pictures :)

I did see one of these in Waterloo ON when I lived there, but for some reason, they didn't work as well as they do in Edmonton. Timing doesn't seem that accurate. Here is the link from this website that has the picture.
(Fifth picture down "Approaching 142nd Street"

http://albertaroads.homestead.com/hwy16e/hwy16e3.html

Courtesy of Julian Macdonald who took the pictures.

In the picture, the warning light that you see in the picute will start to blink, and then the traffic light just in the distance will turn red once the car reaches the intersection (if the car travels at the correct speed).

Jimmy

x-type

March 4th, 2007, 08:41 PM

ok, here are traffic lights in Croatia. this is not large intersection and it has T shape, so not many traffic lights, but here you can see the green right arrow which means that you may turn right, but be careful: probablay pedestrians have green, too!

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/ixic/semafor.jpg

Vrysxy

March 4th, 2007, 10:13 PM

Complicated intersection in London ;)

http://www.pbase.com/jchambers/image/15252463/original.jpg

that's the ugliest thing i ever seen.

JKent

March 4th, 2007, 10:56 PM

Edit

JKent

March 4th, 2007, 10:57 PM

In Mexico

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5963/ps154ah3.jpg

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/7166/usb2io9.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8840/pcc281hg0.jpg

http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/2749/pcc1dj8.jpg

gugasounds

October 11th, 2007, 07:31 PM

More mexican tarffic lights:

In Mexico City:

http://://img337.imageshack.us/img337/4982/semaforos0gyij1.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1255/1359493866fe2e04dbbbdy5.jpg

In Monterrey:

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/8789/vcarranzahq7iv6.png
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1948/gsada9jrjp2.jpg

In Chihuahua:

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9894/p1010054wb4cc1wg1.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/2529/p1010055zl3fb5dx4.jpg

xlchrisij

October 11th, 2007, 07:52 PM

In The Netherlands;

http://odin.bezembinder.nl/snapshots4/0613stoplichten.jpg

http://www.odeaandetechniek.nl/2004/images/Odes/Verkeerslicht/stoplicht1.jpg

http://www.veenendaal.milieudefensie.nl/100_3738_3060_Doorn_De_Stoplichten.jpg

http://www.autobraber.nl/images/route/P9118965.jpg

Bike Traffic Light Countdown;
gMkuxN9ccOA

Fasterdam (Includes trafficlights);
GKcjj8p-Pow&mode=related&search=

taiwanesedrummer36

October 12th, 2007, 02:11 AM

Portland, Oregon
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6896.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6767.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6698.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6661.jpg

Taipei, Taiwan
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF5292.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF0601.jpg

Seattle/Lynnwood, Washington
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6943.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6942.jpg
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF6939.jpg

nazrey

October 12th, 2007, 02:59 AM

Putrajaya

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/baqthier/putad4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v157/baqthier/traffkl1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v608/nazrey/Putrajaya/54254.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v608/nazrey/Putrajaya/565.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v608/nazrey/Putrajaya/454.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v608/nazrey/Putrajaya/232201129qFjVzg_hjmvhfs.jpg

radi6404

October 12th, 2007, 03:00 AM

In Germany, i saw some traffic lights, when you want to turn left, crossing the other direction, the opposite direction gets green too, so although you have the green light, you still have to wait to turn left.

Those situations in The Netherlands are quite rare.

That´s why a car hit me when I was a child, it was a painfull moment, a broken foot, but luckily nothing more.

In Bulgaria Trafficlights have secondcaunters in order the people to know how much time they still have, yes, it´s awesome.

nazrey

October 12th, 2007, 03:25 AM

Johor Bahru

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v188/argory/f7cbe128.jpg

sasuke41

October 12th, 2007, 04:27 AM

this one in davao. it looks like the ones from los angeles

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/davaoeagle/TL10.jpg

nazrey

October 14th, 2007, 02:38 AM

Kuching

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/9/10/13/f_011m_420c2af.jpg

alvse

October 14th, 2007, 07:19 AM

Typical traffic light in Perth, Western Australia
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/4/8411058_e0fa36f9e1.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/69/178914447_682e12a28e.jpg

TheCat

October 14th, 2007, 07:57 AM

Portland, Oregon
...
Seattle/Lynnwood, Washington
...

That looks quite interesting, because in every one of these pics, there is a dedicated left turn signal, and it seems that you may not turn left unless you have a green dedicated left turn arrow. I really like that.

Is that the case on all streets in these American cities, i.e., are there any traffic light-controlled intersections where you are allowed to turn left while oncoming traffic faces a green light too? Because in Toronto you can, and I really don't like that, and the same goes for other American east-coast cities, like New York.

Alex Von Königsberg

October 14th, 2007, 09:51 AM

That looks quite interesting, because in every one of these pics, there is a dedicated left turn signal, and it seems that you may not turn left unless you have a green dedicated left turn arrow. I really like that.

Is that the case on all streets in these American cities, i.e., are there any traffic light-controlled intersections where you are allowed to turn left while oncoming traffic faces a green light too?
What you refer to is called a protected left turn. Most of intersections in west coast suburbs have protected left turn, while most of intersections in big cities (San Frncisco, Seattle, etc) don't have this type of intersection. Where I live now - a university city of 50,000 people - there are approximately 50% of intersections that have protected left turns. I think it is good when a road is wide enough and doesn't have a very heavy traffic, but otherwise it would create additional delay at the intersection.

One intersection in my city has a traffic light that displays both green arrow and a usual circular light consecutively. When green arrow is on - your turn is protected and when the green circular light comes up, you have to yield to oncoming traffic before turning.

goschio

October 14th, 2007, 10:01 AM

Perhaps its just me but I find traffic lights really exciting. :cheers:

Alex Von Königsberg

October 14th, 2007, 10:07 AM

There is nothing better than a well-designed European roundabout! :lol:

ChrisZwolle

October 14th, 2007, 10:44 AM

There is nothing better than a well-designed European roundabout! :lol:

Roundabouts are the safest possible intersections. Because you have to go on a low speed, so accidents turns out less deadly.

Only, sometimes they overdo in roundabouts, in the new neighborhood Vathorst in the city of Amersfoort, they have like 15 roundabouts in a 4km circular road. :ohno:

TheCat

October 14th, 2007, 11:25 AM

What you refer to is called a protected left turn. Most of intersections in west coast suburbs have protected left turn, while most of intersections in big cities (San Frncisco, Seattle, etc) don't have this type of intersection. Where I live now - a university city of 50,000 people - there are approximately 50% of intersections that have protected left turns. I think it is good when a road is wide enough and doesn't have a very heavy traffic, but otherwise it would create additional delay at the intersection.

One intersection in my city has a traffic light that displays both green arrow and a usual circular light consecutively. When green arrow is on - your turn is protected and when the green circular light comes up, you have to yield to oncoming traffic before turning.

Heh, yes, I am familiar with the term "protected left turn". I just found it interesting that on these pictures, even small intersections had a dedicated left turn signal, which made me wonder if they are mandatory on all intersections.

In Toronto, most suburban (and many urban) intersections have a protected left turn phase, but not separate signal, which is basically the same as the "green arrow and usual circular light" in your post. First, the green arrow comes on for a few seconds together with either green or red, and then the normal green comes on (or the arrow just disappears, if the green was already on). But of course, the lack of an advanced green is not prohibitive, i.e. you can still turn but only after yielding. In Toronto almost no intersections have completely separate left turn signals, but rather they have a left turn phase.

I think on large intersections with many lanes and heavy traffic, only separated left turn signals should be used, and perhaps at night or off-peak hours cars should be allowed to turn left even without an advanced green, but that's just my opinion.

invincible

October 14th, 2007, 08:18 PM

Roundabouts are the safest possible intersections. Because you have to go on a low speed, so accidents turns out less deadly.

Only, sometimes they overdo in roundabouts, in the new neighborhood Vathorst in the city of Amersfoort, they have like 15 roundabouts in a 4km circular road. :ohno:

That's nothing compared to the magic roundabout though. :D

Being on an articulated bus while it navigates a roundabout is fun though. They just turn into giant speed humps.

DanielFigFoz

October 15th, 2007, 08:37 PM

this one in davao. it looks like the ones from los angeles

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/davaoeagle/TL10.jpg

That's Davão? For some reason I didn't picture it like that...

Alex Von Königsberg

October 15th, 2007, 09:13 PM

invincible

October 17th, 2007, 03:43 AM

In Melbourne, it's common practice to install traffic lights on all four corners of an intersection.

Besides, it could just be on a median strip.

FREKI

November 9th, 2007, 07:06 PM

A few Copenhagen intersections:

http://i5.tinypic.com/8b3z2wg.jpg

http://i1.tinypic.com/8flqbyr.jpg

http://i14.tinypic.com/7ydos4z.jpg

http://i18.tinypic.com/7yrgs5w.jpg

DanielFigFoz

November 11th, 2007, 01:01 AM

Every small detail about this traffic light look American: the pole, the street sign, and even the pedestrian lights. The only thing that confuses me is why the traffic light is on the left side? In Philippines they drive on the right.

Davão is in India.

Wait a sec i'm think about Damão
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dam%C3%A3o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davao_City

Yeah i's in the Phillipines.
Mabye it's a one way road?

Copenhagen is nice!

gladisimo

November 11th, 2007, 07:35 AM

^^ spot on

From the same account

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/davaoeagle/TL12.jpg?t=1194759221

Gareth

November 13th, 2007, 05:33 PM

Some newer UK signals. They've started to mutate in the last fiver or so years after having the same standard design since 1970. The newer designs tend to be smaller and slicker, often with LEDs.

http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/11420/normal_Bkswell_1906_002.jpg

The previous standard signal.
http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/11585/normal_Aberdeen%2C_Union_Street_Mellor_Signals_3.jpg

The new style UK pedestrian signals, which I hate.
http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/11271/normal_p9260058bf3.jpg

Pre-1970 signal heads, someone is seeing on ebay. They were made out of tin, as opposed to plastic and had the word 'STOP' embossed on the red lense. They also had very distinctive stripy black and white poles, but I can't find any old photos of them.

rick1016

November 13th, 2007, 05:43 PM

Weird how in parts of Canada and the US the fixture can be yellow, where as other places in the world it can be black. I've read that a yellow fixture helps grab attention.

What do you guys like better? It's a tough decision, because you can also kind of see the lights better when the fixture is black, then again yellow grabs attention and is more easily seen, especially at night. I guess it depends on the intersection, really.

Gareth

November 13th, 2007, 05:48 PM

^^ Black with a sighting board is better. Remember that on of the aspects is yellow. Black gives the colours a better contrast.

Gareth

November 13th, 2007, 05:51 PM

Found a photo of a vintage British traffic light. This is an old photo of London, of the St Pancras Street/Euston Road intersection. The signal will be from some time in the 1960s. The photo is probably also from the 1960s or 1970s. Notice the black and white pole and the 'STOP' command lense.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photos/01/15/011516_413b0d35.jpg

taiwanesedrummer36

November 14th, 2007, 03:32 AM

Typical traffic signals from Everett, Washington:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/DSCF7168.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7356.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7355.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7337.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7336.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7373.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7372.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7363.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7395.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Everett%2011-11-2007/DSCF7381.jpg

Typical traffic signals in Seattle, Washington:

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Seattle%2011-5-2007/DSCF7295.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Seattle%2011-5-2007/DSCF7271.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Seattle%2011-5-2007/DSCF7262.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff140/taiwanesedrummer36/Seattle%2011-5-2007/DSCF7244.jpg

Svartmetall

November 14th, 2007, 03:38 AM

^^ Sheash and I thought New Zealand was over the top with the number of traffic lights at each intersection.

I much prefer black boards with a white stripe around my traffic lights. They're far more clear than the yellow I believe. Black provides a much better contrast to the lights on the traffic light as there is not one colour on there which doesn't show up clearly. The amber on traffic lights I imagine would be rather more difficult to see on a yellow traffic light.

TheCat

November 14th, 2007, 08:46 AM

^^ Hehe in Israel they use black boards with white stripes on most lights, which is probably inspired from the UK. In Ontario we have yellow boards, which are fine usually but do make the lights harder to see in some conditions, such as direct sunlight.

TheCat

November 14th, 2007, 08:48 AM

Typical traffic signals from Everett, Washington:
...
Typical traffic signals in Seattle, Washington:
...

As I commented before, I like the widespread use of dedicated left turn signals in these locales. Washington seems to do a good job.

Svartmetall

November 14th, 2007, 12:07 PM

As I commented before, I like the widespread use of dedicated left turn signals in these locales. Washington seems to do a good job.

Most countries I've lived in or been to over a length of time seem to have protected turning on traffic lights - Green filter lights are common in the UK on major roads, same with Australia and New Zealand too. Germany I think has arrows on their traffic lights that allow protected turns.

invincible

November 14th, 2007, 04:12 PM

In Melbourne, it's a bit 50/50 really.

Some intersections have no traffic light arrows, where right turning traffic moves into the intersection (many drivers seem to not do this) and proceeds when there is no traffic coming the other way. Some will have the right turn arrow, but without the red arrow to allow right turns if there is no traffic in the opposite direction, and busy roads will include the red arrow.

On the other side of the spectrum, there's the crazy set of lights with 14 lamps - red yellow and green for each of left turning traffic, straight ahead traffic, right turning traffic and trams, plus a red and a green signal for cyclists, all mounted on a single fixture on a single pole.

1940's style timer:
http://www.signspotters.hobbiesplus.com.au/P9270120rc.jpg

rick1016

November 14th, 2007, 04:21 PM

Hey is Victoria the only state in Australia that doesn't use the white stripe around the boards?

TheCat

November 14th, 2007, 04:58 PM

In Toronto, unfortunately, you can turn left without a green arrow in pretty much all intersections, including very busy/wide ones, and sometimes with very limited visibility. In some cases I think it is just insane, like turning left from Dufferin/Allen Rd. onto Sheppard, while going south (for the locals, of course). That road is basically an expressway with 3 lanes into each direction, a downhill slope (while looking ahead) and a curve, with a speed limit of 70 km/h. It has a left turn arrow, but when it disappears, you can still turn on green after yielding, with almost no visibility.

And on the note of many lamps, I found it strange in NYC, where the left turn green and yellow arrows had separate lamps. In Toronto the same one turns into either colour.

Alex Von Königsberg

November 14th, 2007, 05:36 PM

RawLee

November 14th, 2007, 06:48 PM

Traffic lights we have:
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/6295/resizeofimg2577rk5.jpg

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/1118/resizeofimg2578pd4.jpg

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1485/resizeofimg2586gi1.jpg

gugasounds

November 14th, 2007, 10:28 PM

More mexican traffic lights

Tijuana:

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/9836/octubre2007015zw8vz6.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1839/octubre2007017ka2we6.jpg

http://://img228.imageshack.us/img228/244/picture2oi9fd1.png

TheCat

November 15th, 2007, 01:54 PM

TheCat, unprotected left turns give you additional driving skills :lol: When I was in Vancouver, I noticed that there were indeed very few protected left turns, and, compared to Washington, they were very quick. Too quick for my taste. But hey, you would stop complaining if you saw an unprotected left turn in Russia across 3 lanes of busy traffic. In San Francisco, it can be the case too, but at least they prohibit left turns during rush hours.

Hehe, you may be right, I guess it mostly has to do with the overall culture. For example, in Israel, where all turns are protected, the rate of accidents is still higher. I just think that on some intersections, like the one I mentioned in my previous post, there is almost zero visibility and dedicated turn lights should be mandated. After all, we do have roads in Toronto (although not many) where separate dedicated left turn signals are installed. Perhaps I'll try to take some photos when I have the opportunity, but currently I'm busy with studies and don't have much opportunity to take out the car.

In downtown Toronto during rush hour we also have many streets with prohibited left turns, but that's mostly because the streetcars run in the left lane, and there is no space for left turn lanes, so obviously left turning traffic would impede the streetcars, which wouldn't be appreciated by people like me, who take it in the morning :) Come to think of it, San Francisco is one of few places where like Toronto, they also have streetcars, so maybe that's the reason they prohibit left turns too.

go_leafs_go02

November 15th, 2007, 09:20 PM

Alex Von Königsberg

November 15th, 2007, 09:27 PM

Come to think of it, San Francisco is one of few places where like Toronto, they also have streetcars, so maybe that's the reason they prohibit left turns too.
Not really. In San Francisco, there are quite a few tram tracks, but normally they are located on rather narrow streets (two tracks, and one auto lane in each direction). I was referring to some wide 3+3 streets where oncoming traffics are separated by the kerb. Although they typically don't have a left turn pocket, you can still turn left but only during non-rush hours. I think the schedule is implemented to prevent hazardous situations associated with turning across three lanes of traffic and also to prevent the clogging of the left lane.

I wanted to show a picture of such intersection, but Google didn't let me. Try this - go to Google maps, type Laguna St & Lombard St, San Francisco, CA and choose Street View. Then look East on Lombard ;)

TheCat

November 16th, 2007, 02:38 AM

since there are alot of Ontarians in this thread. I got one quick question.

Is ontario the only place on earth to have a yellow back faceplate that surrounds the signal. I haven't seen that anywhere else!

And our Traffic signals seem to be built to a very high standard. Heck our temporary construction lights seem better than what is seen in many american states. Is that just me?

No, we're not the only ones. I've seen many yellow traffic lights in NYC, and I think (by looking at pictures) in Mexico they have them too, although our faceplate seems to be bigger and wider. Our signals are indeed built to a pretty high standard, and higher than some US locales (but not everywhere, as many of the photos in this thread show, particularly on the west coast). One strange thing I noticed in NYC is that they had 2 lamps for the left turn phase, one for each of the green and yellow arrows. On the other hand, in Ontario we have just one arrow which turns from green to yellow. Also, I think they should replace all of our traffic lights to use LEDs. I've seen many LED lights in Mississauga, but in Toronto they are still mostly lamps.

Not really. In San Francisco, there are quite a few tram tracks, but normally they are located on rather narrow streets (two tracks, and one auto lane in each direction). I was referring to some wide 3+3 streets where oncoming traffics are separated by the kerb. Although they typically don't have a left turn pocket, you can still turn left but only during non-rush hours. I think the schedule is implemented to prevent hazardous situations associated with turning across three lanes of traffic and also to prevent the clogging of the left lane.

I wanted to show a picture of such intersection, but Google didn't let me. Try this - go to Google maps, type Laguna St & Lombard St, San Francisco, CA and choose Street View. Then look East on Lombard ;)

That makes sense, but that's exactly the problem - almost all major streets in Toronto outside of downtown, and in the suburbs, are 3 lanes in each direction, and most have extremely heavy traffic during rush hour. However, you may turn left without a dedicated left turn signal on pretty much all of them. I looked at the intersection that you mentioned in SF, it looks very similar to many intersections in Toronto.

Surprisingly, I was able to find a picture of the exact intersection in Toronto I was talking about earlier, although unfortunately it is somewhat far to see clearly. I don't know if it's very clear, but one can see that the visibility of oncoming traffic there is minimal, because the cars are coming uphill towards you. Especially, it is often not clear if a car is in the left-turn lane, or just coming toward you in the left-most through lane. Overall, including the turn lane, there are 4 lanes there into the oncoming direction. Also, this road is actually a part of a partially-built (but stopped) expressway, with a speed limit of 70 km/h. It is perhaps not that bad, but this is one turn I make relatively often to get to the subway station, and sometimes in heavy traffic it just pisses me off :)

Here is the not-so-great picture:
http://www.expresswaysite.com/gallery/Toronto/Allen_Road/Allensheppard.jpg

Czas na Żywiec

November 16th, 2007, 05:46 AM

go_leafs_go02

November 16th, 2007, 06:34 AM

No, we're not the only ones. I've seen many yellow traffic lights in NYC, and I think (by looking at pictures) in Mexico they have them too, although our faceplate seems to be bigger and wider. Our signals are indeed built to a pretty high standard, and higher than some US locales (but not everywhere, as many of the photos in this thread show, particularly on the west coast). One strange thing I noticed in NYC is that they had 2 lamps for the left turn phase, one for each of the green and yellow arrows. On the other hand, in Ontario we have just one arrow which turns from green to yellow. Also, I think they should replace all of our traffic lights to use LEDs. I've seen many LED lights in Mississauga, but in Toronto they are still mostly lamps.

The green and yellow arrows depends on what area you are in. There are plenty of 5 light signals (Red, Yellow, Green, Yellow Arrow, Green Arrow) in Ontario. Hamilton uses them in many places, and I know Chatham the same way.

As for the LED conversion. It's happening. London did it about 2 years ago, all within a few months, including all pedestrian signals. They removed the old two light pedestrian signal (Hand over the Walking Person) and replaced them all with a single light where the signals are LED and overlapping.

All new lights are LED that are being installed now, and it is a rather large cost to replace them all at once.

TheCat

November 16th, 2007, 07:32 AM

Just a quick question, maybe a stupid one, but I'm curious.

I've lived in the States for the majority of my life. And here, when you are waiting on red light, it goes straight to green. They only use the yellow light right before the red one.

But in Poland, the traffic lights go in this sequence. It is green, then goes to yellow for a few seconds, then ends on red to stop. Then after being on red for a while, it goes back to yellow for a few seconds and then eventually to green.

Is this the standard across Europe? I didn't notice this in other countries in Europe (I suppose I should have but I didn't bother to notice, too busy trying to get to my hostel and such :p) I was kind of confused at first, wondering why they needed the yellow light before the green one, since here yellow means "yield" while red means "complete stop." Thanks for any info. :)

Are you sure that it goes from yellow to green? I think it's supposed to be from red+yellow to green. In any case, it is not a European standard by any means, but some countries like the UK, Germany, the Baltic countries, Croatia, Poland (apparently), and some others use this. Israel is another country that uses this sequence. The reason for this is mostly historical, and apparently is intended to allow drivers to change into the correct gear before the light switches to green. In North America, and I presume any other place where the majority of vehicles use automatic transmission, this would be unnecessary or for aesthetic purposes only.

Whether there is any benefit in this phase is hard to say, although according to some it actually has a disadvantage, since drivers tend to start moving before the green light appears. From what I heard (and I may be wrong), some countries have canceled this phase for this reason.

The green and yellow arrows depends on what area you are in. There are plenty of 5 light signals (Red, Yellow, Green, Yellow Arrow, Green Arrow) in Ontario. Hamilton uses them in many places, and I know Chatham the same way.

As for the LED conversion. It's happening. London did it about 2 years ago, all within a few months, including all pedestrian signals. They removed the old two light pedestrian signal (Hand over the Walking Person) and replaced them all with a single light where the signals are LED and overlapping.

All new lights are LED that are being installed now, and it is a rather large cost to replace them all at once.

That's very interesting, as I've never seen a single 5-phase traffic light in the GTA. Nice to know :)

Alex Von Königsberg

November 16th, 2007, 09:59 AM

But in Poland, the traffic lights go in this sequence. It is green, then goes to yellow for a few seconds, then ends on red to stop. Then after being on red for a while, it goes back to yellow for a few seconds and then eventually to green.

Is this the standard across Europe? I didn't notice this in other countries in Europe
Like TheCat said, it's supposed to change from Red to Red+Yellow to Green. It is not the standard in Europe, but I know for sure that exUSSR countries, Eastern European countries and Germany have this phase.

If you noticed, the main traffic lights in Europe are positioned before the intersection, so you can't see the traffic light for the cross traffic. Plus, everyone is driving manual cars. In America, since the traffic lights are after the intersections, you can easily see what light the cross traffic is facing. So if you memorise the light pattern well, you can easily figure out when your light will turn green.

Gareth

November 16th, 2007, 03:30 PM

Like TheCat said, it's supposed to change from Red to Red+Yellow to Green. It is not the standard in Europe, but I know for sure that exUSSR countries, Eastern European countries and Germany have this phase.

It depends on the state. From the top of my head, the following countries have red&amber: UK, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary plus many parts of eastern Europe but I'm not so sure in that region.

Notable exceptions are Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Red&Amber is also used in Hong Kong, Macau and some provinces of mainland China. Some Australian states used to use it too, such as Victoria, where there are still some examples, but federal standards phased them out.

If you noticed, the main traffic lights in Europe are positioned before the intersection, so you can't see the traffic light for the cross traffic. Plus, everyone is driving manual cars. In America, since the traffic lights are after the intersections, you can easily see what light the cross traffic is facing. So if you memorise the light pattern well, you can easily figure out when your light will turn green.

Not in the UK, Ireland nor, I think, the much rest of Northern Europe. Here, you have signals both at and beyond the stopline.

Another almost uniquely British convention (as I've only actually seen it in the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong & Macau) is that pedestrians are never given a walk phase with traffic going in the same direction. There has to be no vehicle traffic whatsoever being directed over the crosswalk in order for the green man to come on.

rick1016

November 16th, 2007, 04:46 PM

go_leafs_go02

November 17th, 2007, 12:10 AM

I've also noticed in the GTA that newer installations are usually the 12" by 12" by 12" setups, as opposed to the 12" by 8" by 8" setups. Anyone else notice this?

I was told by my driving instructor that back in the day, they would do this because when they used lamps, the lights were harder to see, and a larger red one would be easier to see.

Also, TheCat or anyone else, do you know fo any black panel lights in Ontario?
The city of Hamilton uses black panel lights. If you are talking about the actual signal.

They are the exception I believe. Everywhere else lights are completely yellow, (signal and backing) but Hamilton has a black signal and yellow backing.

Looks kinda stupid if you ask me, but whatever.

Jardoga

February 22nd, 2008, 12:32 PM

Post pics of your town or city/and or other towns or cities traffic lights.

There are so many different kinds !

Ill start

Melbourne.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/f/fc/250px-Glenferrie_road_hawthorn_from_kew.jpg

http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/r_mohr/2005/feb/convoy-of-semis-kempsey.jpg

ChrisZwolle

February 22nd, 2008, 12:37 PM

^^ we already had such kind of thread, so i merged them :)

Svartmetall

February 22nd, 2008, 12:39 PM

Those Melbourne traffic lights are exactly the same as 99% of Kiwi ones.

Jardoga

February 22nd, 2008, 12:59 PM

Melbourne is now getting rid of yellow traffic lights from the 50's and replacing them with led light ones.

yellow traffic lights

http://www.hobbiesplus.com.au/signspotters/oldtrafsig0114e.jpg

http://www.hobbiesplus.com.au/signspotters/oldtrafsig0115e.jpg

http://www.hobbiesplus.com.au/signspotters/shortmast.JPG

http://www.hobbiesplus.com.au/signspotters/PC130017c.jpg

Newer led traffic lights

http://www.hobbiesplus.com.au/signspotters/P1010129.JPG

Jardoga

February 25th, 2008, 08:07 AM

Dinivan

February 25th, 2008, 10:57 AM

The most practical lights I've seen are those of Austria. When the light is green and is going to change to red, the green light starts flashing for a few seconds, then it changes to yellow light for another few seconds, and finally turns red. That way you know exactly when to stop :P

Jardoga

February 25th, 2008, 09:59 PM

Some lights down here, when its on red, it then goes to yellow, the green lol

TheCat

February 26th, 2008, 02:57 AM

Alex Von Königsberg

February 26th, 2008, 07:55 AM

In Israel it's exactly like this too.
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as well as some other former Soviet republics have blinking green to indicate that it will change soon. Very useful feature, I should say. Also, in the named countries, the pedestrian light starts blinking green (instead of red as in US and Canada) to warn pedestrians not to start crossing the road.

TheCat

February 26th, 2008, 02:54 PM

^^ Yeah, I heard. Maybe Israel took it from there too, considering the large population there of people from the USSR (over 1 million).

In Ontario, somewhat uniquely, the flashing green means "advanced green light". It means you may basically turn left, right, or go straight without yielding to oncoming traffic. All new intersections replace this phase with a green left arrow and a green light together, but you still find the blinking phase at older intersections. It confuses many out-of-province visitors, since they often don't know what to do in this case.

Svartmetall

February 26th, 2008, 02:58 PM

Russia, Ukraine and Belarus as well as some other former Soviet republics have blinking green to indicate that it will change soon. Very useful feature, I should say. Also, in the named countries, the pedestrian light starts blinking green (instead of red as in US and Canada) to warn pedestrians not to start crossing the road.

The UK too has a blinking green light to warn pedestrians not to start crossing.

The UK along with a number of other countries also has a red+yellow phase in their traffic lights to let drivers put their car back into gear from neutral. VERY handy. I hate not having that here as I always get some automatic driver honking me as soon as green appears to take off straight away. Excuse me for giving my clutch leg a rest! :lol:

Alex Von Königsberg

February 26th, 2008, 07:54 PM

In Ontario, somewhat uniquely, the flashing green means "advanced green light". It means you may basically turn left, right, or go straight without yielding to oncoming traffic. All new intersections replace this phase with a green left arrow and a green light together, but you still find the blinking phase at older intersections. It confuses many out-of-province visitors, since they often don't know what to do in this case.
In Vancouver and Victoria all (or nearly all) protected left turn lights have a green flashing arrow. Very often you can see a circular steady green light and a flashing green arrow underneath. First, I was confused because just like in Russia I thought the light will change soon, but then I understand that it always flashes :) I like Canadian flashing arrow better than American steady arrow because of increased visibility.

The UK along with a number of other countries also has a red+yellow phase in their traffic lights to let drivers put their car back into gear from neutral. VERY handy. I hate not having that here as I always get some automatic driver honking me as soon as green appears to take off straight away. Excuse me for giving my clutch leg a rest!
In ex-USSR this is also the case. Very handy indeed considering that the traffic lights are located before the intersection, so you can only see your own light. Here in the USA, I can easily see the crossroad's traffic lights, so after memorizing the sequence, I know when to step on the clutch and shift into first ;)

NoName678

February 27th, 2008, 05:41 AM

Going back to the first post in this thread...I lived in Israel before, and I think the traffic light system there is one of the best I've seen in the world.I've never driven in Israel but I have walked there and I think the traffic engineers must be insane. Crossing a single not-particularly-wide street often has to be done in three or four segments each controlled by a different light. Waiting for all of the lights is frustrating because they are not designed to afford convenient passage for pedestrians; frequently, one will turn green just as the one ahead is turning red. If there are police around, they will stop you for crossing against the lights even if you just crossed a segment consisting of a single lane and no cars were anywhere in sight. And at the more complicated intersections just when you think you understand where the traffic could be coming from it will start coming after you from a completely unexpected direction, so it's not a good idea to cross against the lights there until you are really familiar with the intersections.

TheCat

February 27th, 2008, 06:30 AM

^^ I was referring to the traffic lights used for cars. Ironically, I am not too familiar with the pedestrian lights there, since the town I lived in didn't have many traffic lights, it mostly uses roundabouts and yield signs. What you described sounds quite strange, but it may be true. However, for traffic control, everything I described in my post holds.

By the way, I think I can explain part of the reason for this somewhat random behaviour of the pedestrian lights, and especially referring to your last sentence:
And at the more complicated intersections just when you think you understand where the traffic could be coming from it will start coming after you from a completely unexpected direction, so it's not a good idea to cross against the lights there until you are really familiar with the intersections.
I'm guessing the reason for this is because, as I previously stated, the traffic lights in Israel always provide protected right of way to any direction that has a green light. Therefore, there is no such concept as in many countries, where drivers turning left or right have to first check for pedestrians, and probably do so out of habit even if the light is red. In Israel, when drivers get a green, they just go. Legally, they can do that, but I do agree that such "mindless" driving, partially caused by the "privileged" traffic lights, creates dangerous driving habits. The only exception to this is in big cities when turning right - like in many other countries, cars and pedestrians may get a green at the same time, but only when turning right and there is no right-turn pocket (most roads outside big city centres have such pockets).

I read a proposal once somewhere to get rid of the completely protected traffic lights in Israel, but this would never pass, since people are too used to them, and knowing Israelis, it would probably just create more chaos :)

seawastate

March 2nd, 2008, 09:44 AM

From what I know about traffic lights, in the United States, it goes like this:

Standard traffic light:

Red = STOP
Yellow = Prepare to stop if possible
Green = GO

Other lights:

Single Flashing Red = Stop, then proceed. Often used to make stop signs more noticeable.

Single Flashing Yellow = Caution / Slow Down.

Double flashing red = STOP - LIFE THREATENING - DANGER - Used by school buses and railroad crossings.

rilham2new

March 3rd, 2008, 12:13 PM

Pekanbaru - Indonesia ... small city in SUmatra :)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1038/1443731581_90618e886f_o.jpg

The junction were closed for any car, due to musical performance right in the middle of junction ... Only motorcycles were allowed :D

RoadUser

March 3rd, 2008, 03:18 PM

I read a proposal once somewhere to get rid of the completely protected traffic lights in Israel, but this would never pass, since people are too used to them, and knowing Israelis, it would probably just create more chaos :)

Why on earth would anyone want to do that? I consider this to be one of the few areas where the road system here is demonstrably better than in any other place that I've ever been to.

You can't "just go" at a green light - you have to be sure you can clear the junction. You can get a ticket for blocking a junction if you get stuck in traffic in the middle of a junction. Of course this won't stop many people from "just going" regardless.

I also prefer our red, red-yellow, green system (as also in the UK) to red, green used in many countries.

kbboy

March 3rd, 2008, 10:33 PM

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1351/1418977665_d2ab5c8dd7_o.jpg
Islamabad- Pakistan

TheCat

March 4th, 2008, 02:46 AM

Why on earth would anyone want to do that? I consider this to be one of the few areas where the road system here is demonstrably better than in any other place that I've ever been to.

You can't "just go" at a green light - you have to be sure you can clear the junction. You can get a ticket for blocking a junction if you get stuck in traffic in the middle of a junction. Of course this won't stop many people from "just going" regardless.

I also prefer our red, red-yellow, green system (as also in the UK) to red, green used in many countries.

By "just going" I mean that everyone else is facing a red light - this is rarely the case elsewhere. Usually, when you get a green light and you want to turn left, you have to enter the intersection and then let all oncoming traffic and pedestrians go first, completing the turn when the way is clear or when the light in your direction turns yellow/red and everyone has stopped.

I do agree with you 100% that Israel's system is theoretically better and much safer, and that's what I've been claiming for a long time. However, I have read some articles (unfortunately I cannot find them at the moment) that claim that the Israeli system in fact has two negative "long term" effects:

1. It reduces the overall duration of the green phase in each direction, since a typical 4-way junction in Israel has to have 4 separate phases (2 for going straight + 2 for turning left, or alternatively 1 phase per direction, allowing both turning left and going straight). Also, at off-peak hours, it may unnecessarily disallow people from turning left while oncoming traffic faces a green light but traffic volumes are extremely low.

2. One article claims that mostly because of point #1, people try to jump yellow lights more often, and generally drive more aggressively. Also, while a good driver should always pay attention no matter what light he/she faces, oftentimes in Israel drivers who are turning at a green light do so without paying much attention, because ideally, the light guarantees "safe passage".

If you ask me, I prefer Israel's system, because there are some intersections here in Toronto (I've described one such intersection earlier in this thread) which are extremely dangerous while turning left (limited visibility + high speed limit), and SHOULD have a separate dedicated left turn signal - but they don't. Overall, turning left at large intersections on a green light during rush hour can be quite stressful for inexperienced drivers here, since often the turn is done on a main road with 3 lanes of oncoming traffic.

However, statistically it seems that Israel's system is often less efficient, and technically the safety record in Israel isn't something to brag about either.

Gareth

March 5th, 2008, 03:09 PM

I don't see the point of flashing green to warn of a change to amber. Surely the point of amber is to warn of the change to red. Amber doesn't need its own warning.

Gareth

March 5th, 2008, 03:26 PM

Fun crossing tune in Poland. :)

xr9Rh58udS0

Alex Von Königsberg

March 5th, 2008, 06:22 PM

I don't see the point of flashing green to warn of a change to amber. Surely the point of amber is to warn of the change to red. Amber doesn't need its own warning.
When the speed is higher than 60 km/h, flashing green becomes a very useful feature.

Billpa

March 5th, 2008, 06:57 PM

Rebasepoiss

March 5th, 2008, 07:05 PM

^^ I'm used to flashing green and I think it's great. Imagine being only 5m from the junction going 60km/h and the light turns amber. It's too late to brake but crossing the junction would be against the law(at least in here). So where's the solution?

Assemblage23

March 5th, 2008, 10:52 PM

When I lived in NJ there was a pretty fast road I used a lot with speeds of 50 mph / 80 kph WITH traffic lights. They use a very long amber. I agree with Gareth. The AMBER is the warning. What good is a flashing green?

Flashing green will give you a few seconds ahead notice that the red is coming. When a car is traveling at fast speeds, those few seconds will make a difference.

Billpa

March 5th, 2008, 11:55 PM

Flashing green will give you a few seconds ahead notice that the red is coming. When a car is traveling at fast speeds, those few seconds will make a difference.

I understand, but my point is the amber is the light that's used for the red warning. And again, to the poster above you, the ambers on the higher speed roads in NJ are very long- so it gives those who can, time to stop...those that can't will travel through the amber but not the red- it is not illegal here to travel through amber, only red.

Jeroen669

March 5th, 2008, 11:59 PM

I'm used to flashing green and I think it's great. Imagine being only 5m from the junction going 60km/h and the light turns amber. It's too late to brake but crossing the junction would be against the law(at least in here). So where's the solution?

Keeping the amber light long enough, depending on speed limits. Here you are allowed to pass the crossing on amber light, so that gives you the choise whether you can brake safe or not. As far as I know this counts for most of the countries, at least in Western Europe...

Ron2K

March 6th, 2008, 07:21 AM

It's the same here - you can travel through the amber.

Unfortunately, the concept of a long amber for high speed roads hasn't hit Durban at all.

Some South African rules:

Flashing red: stop at intersection, then proceed if safe to do so.
Flashing amber: you may proceed, but give way to traffic already in the intersection.
Flashing green arrow: you have right of way if proceeding in the direction of the arrow. (Commonly used on right turns.)

ChrisZwolle

March 6th, 2008, 10:22 AM

Yes, the amber lights should have a longer duration with higher speed limits. Driving 70km/h, it takes some distance to stop, without making an emergency stop. But in my city, there are red light camera's installed at some intersections, making people brake like crazy if the amber light pops up. This had led to numerous collisions.

Billpa

March 6th, 2008, 12:44 PM

^^Red light cameras I think are a bad idea for that reason alone.
I think if there's a problem intersection, one where people are cruising through red lights all the time, the best solution would be stepped up enforcement from real live humans- not machines with electronic eyes.

ChrisZwolle

March 6th, 2008, 12:47 PM

^^ But that costs more money, than it brings in, you know. Government point of view is: traffic safety must make money, not cost money :ohno:

Billpa

March 6th, 2008, 03:24 PM

^^ But that costs more money, than it brings in, you know. Government point of view is: traffic safety must make money, not cost money :ohno:

True....everything has a profit motive I suppose.

I recently watched a news report about a guy from one of the Atlanta suburbs who got a red light camera ticket in the mail- but he was out of town when it happened. Turns out it WAS his car that went through the light but it was being driven by a guy who was working on his car- the man who got the ticket was having his vehicle worked on while he was away. Now it's up to HIM to prove that someone else should get the ticket. That's so backwards!

ChrisZwolle

March 6th, 2008, 03:34 PM

In Germany, they have to light the car from ahead, so the drivers face is recognizable. This reduces the amount of sneaky camera's behind signs and trees, which are obviously installed to make money.

Jardoga

March 6th, 2008, 10:25 PM

Fun crossing tune in Poland. :)

xr9Rh58udS0

LOL That sounds like little kids toy tune...

haha :lol:

traffic-light-man

August 26th, 2008, 04:28 PM

Hey,

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but this is my first post here, and thought there would be no better place to do it other than in a thread about my main interest!

If you'd like more information, please check out my website (http://www.freewebs.com/trafficlightsignals).

Thanks, Simon.

TheCat

August 26th, 2008, 08:04 PM

Thanks for digging up my thread I guess :lol:, and welcome to the forum! You're welcome to discuss the matter now :)

LtBk

August 26th, 2008, 08:16 PM

Does anybody here has problems with poorly timed traffic lights?

ChrisZwolle

August 26th, 2008, 09:42 PM

I noticed that it's really important if there are a lot of traffic lights on a certain through route that they are very good adjusted to eachother, otherwise it becomes a mess.

I loved the "green wave" they had in the 1980's in the Netherlands, but they turned that into bus priorities so you have to stop all the time to let a (nearly) empty bus pass, sometimes even if the bus and other traffic are heading for the same direction, they stop the traffic to let the bus pass it on a special lane. Really nuts, because only a minute later all that traffic has overtaken the bus again.

staff

August 26th, 2008, 09:44 PM

Barcelona;

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1357/870958488_7ea50a5eaa_o.jpg

Svartmetall

August 27th, 2008, 03:41 AM

Does anybody here has problems with poorly timed traffic lights?

Yes, every single one in New Zealand that I've come across. As soon as one set changes green, the set ahead changes red. It's a huge problem and wastes both fuel and time. There are about five or six bus priority traffic lights alone meaning that there is little benefit for buses over cars. All in all it makes for very frustrating journeys.

</rant>

LtBk

August 27th, 2008, 05:46 AM

Its a problem here too in state of Maryland.

Rebasepoiss

August 27th, 2008, 10:14 AM

Glodenox

August 27th, 2008, 01:51 PM

What is the red cross that can be seen on French roads on the opposite side of the traffic light?

It looks like this: +

I doubt the person who posted this will read this, but here's the answer nonetheless: it shows you the position of the traffic lights from the opposite direction. Most of the time they only use a green arrow to the left as clearing signal telling you it's safe to turn left.

http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/ontruimingspijl%20copy.jpg

They use the plus sign seeing it can hardly ever be confused with a normal traffic sign I guess. They're also pretty common in Belgium.

I had never heard or seen any flashing red signals. Seems like a nice way to make even more sure people will be cautious when they are going to cross the intersection when traffic lights are off, but it could also result in people just waiting there not knowing what is going on.

As for tram and bus signals here, they often use the same traffic lights as cars, but very often they have their own set of lights which hardly look like normal traffic signals:

"orange" light:
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/bol.jpg

"red" light:
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/horizbalk.jpg

Allowed to drive through straight forward (in this case, no tram or bus would go left or right):
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/verticbalk.jpg

Allowed to drive to the left only:
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/schuinebalk.jpg

Allowed to only drive straight forward:
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/tweebalken.jpg

EDIT: found this handy image on Wikipedia:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Public_transportation_traffic_lights_in_NL_and_BE.svg/500px-Public_transportation_traffic_lights_in_NL_and_BE.svg.png
It shows the triangle which is a "green" light that allows public transportation to go to any direction they want.
The signalisation above is the one used in The Netherlands and mean the exact same thing.

Sadly enough the traffic lights go directly from green to yellow to red and then back to green without any indication of them going to change. Especially since driving through yellow can be penalised for the same amount as for driving through red now, I would've loved them to give some sort of indication first :(

Some more images I got from http://www.vab.be/ :
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/motorfiets%20copy.jpg

http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/tweepijlen%20copy.jpg

What I hadn't seen yet in this topic are traffic lights for bicycles:
http://www.vab.be/vab/nl/rijschool/uploads/Image/fiegroen.jpg

Greetings,
Glodenox

Gareth

August 27th, 2008, 03:53 PM

They use the plus sign seeing it can hardly ever be confused with a normal traffic sign I guess. They're also pretty common in Belgium.

I had never heard or seen any flashing red signals. Seems like a nice way to make even more sure people will be cautious when they are going to cross the intersection when traffic lights are off, but it could also result in people just waiting there not knowing what is going on.

You get flashing red lights in Spain. They're the same as the + ones you get in France, just without the +, obvously. It's not at all imediately obvious what they mean for a foreigner though.

TheCat

August 28th, 2008, 08:41 PM

I doubt the person who posted this will read this, but here's the answer nonetheless: it shows you the position of the traffic lights from the opposite direction. Most of the time they only use a green arrow to the left as clearing signal telling you it's safe to turn left.

...

Greetings,
Glodenox

Thanks for this post, it was interesting to read :)

Some comments:

- Regarding flashing red, in North America (well, US and Canada, not sure about Mexico) a flashing red signal is equivalent to a stop sign, and usually appears together with the sign. It is used in places where there is a chance that the driver will not notice the stop sign (for example, on a dark road that hasn't had any signs/lights for a while). It usually appears as a single flashing red light, not part of a complete traffic light. The behaviour at such a signal is dependent on whether or not it represents an all-way stop or a regular 2-way stop, which can usually be determined by looking at the accompanying stop sign. More on this here (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section3.2.9.shtml) and here (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section3.2.12.shtml).

- Regarding the public transportation signals, it is somewhat interesting, but Ontario also has (a subset of) such signals. I wonder if other locations in North America have them too, but maybe it has to do with the fact that Toronto is one of very few cities in North America that still has a streetcar (tram) system. More on this here (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section3.2.7.shtml).

Gareth

August 29th, 2008, 10:02 PM

Hong Kong's tram signals are just like normal signals, but the green is replaced by an amber 'T'.

Glodenox

August 30th, 2008, 01:12 PM

- Regarding flashing red, in North America (well, US and Canada, not sure about Mexico) a flashing red signal is equivalent to a stop sign, and usually appears together with the sign. It is used in places where there is a chance that the driver will not notice the stop sign (for example, on a dark road that hasn't had any signs/lights for a while). It usually appears as a single flashing red light, not part of a complete traffic light. The behaviour at such a signal is dependent on whether or not it represents an all-way stop or a regular 2-way stop, which can usually be determined by looking at the accompanying stop sign. More on this here (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section3.2.9.shtml) and here (http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/handbook/section3.2.12.shtml).

Ooh, I see. As a separate light, I can understand it wouldn't confuse anybody who doesn't really know what it means :)

Greetings,
Glodenox

traffic-light-man

August 30th, 2008, 03:09 PM

Hong Kong's tram signals are just like normal signals, but the green is replaced by an amber 'T'.

In thier Philips/Serco heads, adapeted to the British Stnadards!

Here are some more UK piccies from my private collection of pictures:

Cycle and Pedestrian signals. Cycle heads are just vehicular heads with Cycle masks over the Amber and Green aspect. They are not normally mounted next to each other either. This pic is two pictures, joined together so you can see the R,A and G lit all at once.
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/5871/cycleandpedcombiwk8.jpg

This one shows the difference between Fibre Optic (right) arrow, and Standard (left) arrow.
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/4472/arrowtypeba8.gif

And the Techmiracle/MOTUS AluStar. This is the Swarco AnuStar, modified for use on british roads; it has a larger gap between lenses, is all black, and has a retro-reflective border. This design is now around 2-3 years old only.
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/7512/alu1yu9.jpg

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/7276/alu2bu0.jpg

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/1645/alu3av5.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/495/alu4nm0.jpg

I've got looaaaads of pictures of signals in the UK, but to be honest, after the differences in designs, there is only so far you can go with configuration combinations too, as the UK law is strict on these things.

All TSEU MSH heads in this pic. Here on the left, you see the pre-2003 Symbolic aspect. All symbols had to be 300mm. The right is the post-2003 200mm Symbolic aspect, after this date all arrows and pedestrian heads had to be 200mm. Direct replacement parts and temorary signals, however, can still carry 300mm symbols, so in theory, this could have been replaced with a 300mm arrow. For uniformitary, this signal has actually been replaced, as I say, with a 300mm arrow!!!

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2509/msharrowcomparisonbo0.jpg
Yes, Gareth, Old Swan TESCO exit secondaries.:laugh:

WalkTheWorld

August 30th, 2008, 03:49 PM

just another pedestrian/bicycle sign from my hometown...

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5286/dscn0451xs7.jpg

Glodenox

September 2nd, 2008, 05:07 PM

It's weird to see a green light being bigger than the rest. I'm not sure in which country it was, but I recall seeing red lights being bigger than the other lights quite a lot somewhere...

Another nice example of "more isn't always better" (Germany):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Traffic_Light_German_Complex_With_Bicycles.JPG/800px-Traffic_Light_German_Complex_With_Bicycles.JPG

EDIT: now I remember: it was Italy.

Greetings,
Glodenox

TheCat

September 2nd, 2008, 06:37 PM

I'm not sure in which country it was, but I recall seeing red lights being bigger than the other lights quite a lot somewhere...

In Toronto it's often (though not always) the case too:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/9963/downtown022no6smallwa3.jpg

WalkTheWorld

September 2nd, 2008, 06:39 PM

^^
Before the LED age it was perfectly normal to have a 300mm red on top of 200mm orange and green And now I see Toronto is a lot like the US, it was so funny the first time I went to NYC..."ok, let's gross the street...it's white!"

Timon91

September 2nd, 2008, 06:42 PM

That part of Toronto looks like Asia :D
Bigger red lights is better, at least it is a bit more visible, thus safer.

Rebasepoiss

September 2nd, 2008, 06:54 PM

Some pedestrian traffic lights in Tallinn have double red...(Pic by Ch1le)

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/2476/img6345dow0.jpg

And some have a countdown display :). Pic from flickr:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2247/1742588785_6237397ee8.jpg?v=0

Timon91

September 2nd, 2008, 06:56 PM

I like the countdown display. And what is the use of the double red? I've seen it in Germany before.

Rebasepoiss

September 2nd, 2008, 07:00 PM

^^ I don't know. Maybe to be more notable to pedestrians.

Glodenox

September 2nd, 2008, 08:08 PM

The same seems to be done in the traffic lights for public transportation... Could it be it first shows the middle red light and then both red lights? Sort of the same as an orange or amber light, but just in red? (or perhaps the opposite happens: from two reds to one and then to green?)

- Greetz Glodenox :cheese:

go_leafs_go02

September 3rd, 2008, 01:02 AM

That part of Toronto looks like Asia :D
Bigger red lights is better, at least it is a bit more visible, thus safer.
you'll never see 200mm or 8" signals in ontario, or anywhere I believe in North America on their own. And I believe outside of BC..we're the only ones to have the 12" Red and 8" amber and green signals.

However, depends on the municipality...alot of places in ontario do use the 12" (300mm) signals across the board (red, amber, and green) London doesn't. Toronto doesn't. Hamilton doesn't, but Burlington, Mississauga do.

I-275westcoastfl

September 3rd, 2008, 04:23 AM

Does anybody here has problems with poorly timed traffic lights?
Like you wouldn't believe!!

TheCat

September 3rd, 2008, 06:39 PM

you'll never see 200mm or 8" signals in ontario, or anywhere I believe in North America on their own. And I believe outside of BC..we're the only ones to have the 12" Red and 8" amber and green signals.

However, depends on the municipality...alot of places in ontario do use the 12" (300mm) signals across the board (red, amber, and green) London doesn't. Toronto doesn't. Hamilton doesn't, but Burlington, Mississauga do.

Yeah you're right, although it seems to me that newer lights usually don't have the larger red light (for example, most lights uptown seem to be the same size throughout). At some intersections I noticed that one light (typically the right one) has the larger red light, whereas the second light (usually the centre one) doesn't.

With regards to size, I noticed that NYC generally has very small traffic lights. This possibly has something to do with their move to LED lights.

Luckily we also seem to be moving to LED lights slowly. I noticed something strange though - many intersections that have two lights (i.e. one on the right side and one in the centre) often have one light that is LED and the other isn't. Is that a way of the city to experiment with the lights?

Also, almost all the pedestrian lights in Toronto now have countdown timers (these have been installed very recently in many parts of the city). That's a good thing.