Increase in motorist red light runners?

[Deleted User]

The council have set all the lights near me to turn red when a car approaches. This is really annoying when I leave for work at 5.30am and there is zero traffic about. I sit and rev the engine and wheel spin away in high revs when they do eventually turn green after inconveniencing me. This upsets the residents in the local houses until they complain to the council to get the lights sorted.

wba31

I think it's just done to more impatience and poor driving. I live in Walsall and turn right through "arboretum lights" on my way home from work from Broadway to Lichfield Street. every night you can guarantee that after my lights have changed to green there are still cars coming across on red.
Before I moved I would then have to go through the lights on Lichfield Road where Daw End Land and Station Road meets. When on Lichfield Road heading away from Walsall, the lights go green after Daw End Lane has been on green. Again, I have numerous occasions of lights going to green, and having to wait to pull away due to cars still streaming through from Daw End Lane.
When council wrote to us to advise they were cutting all bin collections to save cash, I wrote to my councillor suggesting they simply put cameras on these lights to make some cash.

I cant imagine these are the only 2 sets of lights in Walsall, or even any British town to see this type of behaviour regularly. I have just learned to be more aware when my lights go to green...

agrinnall

warehouse wrote: »

If it's getting that bad I'd suggest a dash cam.

Just what I've done.

eset12345

people tend to get to know their local sets of lights and know where they can and cant do a quick nip through on a changing or just changed light.

I know i'm guilty of it on the odd occasion on junctions that have 6 way lights that take ages to cycle though, and if you get stuck at one you'll get stuck at all the others going through town

is it right? nope, but who really cares if you just slip through, its like roadwork lights at night, you can see the whole road is clear, no cars waiting at the other end so you just go on through.

People are hypocrites though, the people that complain likely break all kinds of traffic laws on a daily basis, the big one that everybody breaks being speeding, not a single person can say that they haven't broken a speed limit.

Kalamazoo

Deleted_User wrote: »

The council have set all the lights near me to turn red when a car approaches. This is really annoying when I leave for work at 5.30am and there is zero traffic about. I sit and rev the engine and wheel spin away in high revs when they do eventually turn green after inconveniencing me. This upsets the residents in the local houses until they complain to the council to get the lights sorted.

Good stuff, at least you've found a way to address the problem without acting like a chavvy little bell end

worried_jim

dannyrst wrote: »

Not having a go, just curious. Why have you taken the decision to do that?

It's pointless sitting there when there is no other traffic.

Hedgehog99

I've seen an enormous Dutch florists lorry go through red lights on two occasions - on the same roundabout and in the middle lane with stationary cars in lanes wither side to "give him a clue" that he should stop.

There is far more "cheating" when it comes to abusing road layouts - and road layouts reward this bad behaviour - abuse of merge-in-turn lanes after roundabouts - using them to overtake unnecessarily when traffic is moving well & to overtake more than their fair share of cars when traffic is slow.

Then there are multi-lane carriageways where there's always a queue in one lane & drivers whizz down the empty other lane & pretend they've only just realised which lane they should be in at the last minute yeah right pull the other one and join the queue like everyone else what makes you think you're so special?

Edwood_Woodwood

worried_jim wrote: »

It's pointless sitting there when there is no other traffic.

Ha, what a dope!

NBLondon

Norman_Castle wrote: »

I think its becoming commonplace. I would add to b people who drive through a red light to join a queue of cars waiting to turn right. This queue is delayed by other red light jumpers.

I agree. There's a crossroads with traffic lights very near me which is prone to this. I think light phasing can contribute. The weight of oncoming traffic at this junction is such that much of the time only the first waiting vehicle gets to turn right before the lights change against them; the second and third (who are already in the junction) whiz through on amber/red and sometimes a fourth will do exactly what Norman describes. In other cases, when the length of the light cycle appears to not match the weight of traffic, people will get impatient if they didn't make it through at first or second change and go for it on "just gone red"

I've had a van driver outraged at me for stopping (easily) at a red light that he had expected to follow me through. A month ago as I stopped easily at a red light the car following me changed lane to overtake and accelerate through the red light.

Yep, had that happen to me a couple of times.

Johno100

NBLondon wrote: »

I agree. There's a crossroads with traffic lights very near me which is prone to this. I think light phasing can contribute. The weight of oncoming traffic at this junction is such that much of the time only the first waiting vehicle gets to turn right before the lights change against them; the second and third (who are already in the junction) whiz through on amber/red and sometimes a fourth will do exactly what Norman describes.

It sounds like that junction would benefit from a right turn phase in the traffic lights. And if the second and third vehicles have already passed the stop line of the junction they are of course going to complete their right turn if there is no opposing traffic, they aren't just going to sit in the middle of the junction and !!!!!! it up for everyone else.