Proceed on green light, when green turn arrow not lit?

Flyboy152

busybee100 wrote: »

Hubby says his are set up so the right hand green will only come on if you are parked on the detector for a certain length of time (10 secs). The bulb could have gone but yes you should have only moved forward when the green right hand turn was on as it stops the oncoming traffic.

Words fail me, they really do. :wall:

pinkteapot

Thanks all. To clarify, it was a T-junction (me coming out of the side road with main road traffic coming from the right and left.

When I proceeded on the green light, the main road traffic both ways was stopped. I didn't see the green arrow lit the whole time I was sat there so I wasn't sure if it was in use.

I thought (but just wanted to double check) that I could go on either a solid green or the green turn arrow (not the arrow only).

There's a similar set of lights elsewhere in town with a left hand turn arrow. There are times when you're waiting to turn right and the lights are red, but people waiting to turn left get a left-hand turn arrow because only the cars coming from the right are stopped, so it's safe for them to proceed.

Strider590

Lum wrote: »

Mostly correct. A solid green light means you can go regardless of direction, however for a right turn you may have to yield to oncoming traffic.

Technically you may also have to deal with oncoming traffic even with a right turn filter arrow, however the guidance* for designing these junctions says to avoid doing this as drivers have become accustomed to expect right of way when a filter arrow is used.

*not the law

This ^^ is correct....


I've actually lost count how many times i've been stuck behind someone who won't move until the arrow comes on (but of course it never does) or they wait until the lights go amber and then cross, leaving everyone stuck on a red light again..

The other interesting variation is the lights that remain red whilst they also show a green (usually left hand) turn arrow..... These don't half cause some confusion around here!

Flyboy152

pinkteapot wrote: »

Thanks all. To clarify, it was a T-junction (me coming out of the side road with main road traffic coming from the right and left.

When I proceeded on the green light, the main road traffic both ways was stopped. I didn't see the green arrow lit the whole time I was sat there so I wasn't sure if it was in use.

I thought (but just wanted to double check) that I could go on either a solid green or the green turn arrow (not the arrow only).

There's a similar set of lights elsewhere in town with a left hand turn arrow. There are times when you're waiting to turn right and the lights are red, but people waiting to turn left get a left-hand turn arrow because only the cars coming from the right are stopped, so it's safe for them to proceed.

Any solid green light means "go." You may proceed, with caution (for the pedants ), in any direction the road allows. The fact that there is a green arrow light present but not lit, means nothing.

I remember sitting at a set of filtered traffic lights some years ago. The lights turned solid green and the car in front just sat there. I tooted my horn, but it still stayed put. I sounded my horn again and a hand came out of the window and waved. I got out of the car and asked the old fart driving, why he wasn't moving, he said it was because the green arrow hadn't told him to. :mad: :mad: :wall: :wall:

He wouldn't believe me when I told him that he could drive in any direction and that the solid green light meant that there was no filter.

Flyboy152

I prefer the American system, they can, unless ordered otherwise, turn right on a red light (except for New York City where is it is the other way around). The equivalent would be turning left on a red light in the UK.

Strider590

Flyboy152 wrote: »

I prefer the American system, they can, unless ordered otherwise, turn right on a red light (except for New York City where is it is the other way around).

Turn left on a green light?

Lum

Strider590 wrote: »

I've actually lost count how many times i've been stuck behind someone who won't move until the arrow comes on (but of course it never does) or they wait until the lights go amber and then cross, leaving everyone stuck on a red light again..

There used to be a fantastically badly designed set of lights on Edge Lane in Liverpool. For those who don't know it, it's a 30mph urban dual carriageway, that most people do 50 on, that is one of the major routes from the town centre to the M62.

The junction was straight ahead or you could turn right onto a retail park or left into Halfords. It had the normal solid red/amber/green lights and a left+straight ahead filter arrow!

You were having a very lucky day if the person in front of you actually bothered to go when the damn arrow came on.

Eventually they replaced the setup with two separate sets of lights, with arrows for both straight ahead and right. It now looks like this.

Flyboy152

Strider590 wrote: »

Turn left on a green light?

What??????

grizzly1911

MX5huggy wrote: »

There is a junction I know like this but then there is a yellow sign with black writing saying "turn right on Green filter only" attached below the lights.

I think they discovered it was dangerous and decided not to afford a green straight arrow and left arrow. Traffic comming towards you can be doing 60 over a blind hill.

We have one buy us that has an added sign that says only turn on the arrow. Been there years, it is a proper purpose built sign and necessary given the location.

A tad confusing when you approach other "arrow controlled" sites though because you are always double thinking like the OP.

pendulum

busybee100 wrote: »

... The bulb could have gone but yes you should have only moved forward when the green right hand turn was on as it stops the oncoming traffic.

Wrong...
You should move forward if safe and proceed with care. So long as you don't infringe anyone else's right of way you're good to go.
You'd fail a driving test for waiting at a green light unnecessarily.