Does red light camera has a delay?

wongataa

Ermia said:

Are there any downsides to having a single policy of breaking at ALL amber lights?

TBH the 3 seconds of amber light is not enough for me if I need to evaluate at EACH single amber light whether I can safely pass or not. If we exclude the thinking time and mirror checking from the 3 seconds, it is really tricky to react (stop or accelerate) in the remaining time.

so is it safe to simply jump on the break whenever I see the amber light and stop at all cost? If someone hits me on the back, it’s not my fault, is it?

Read the highway code again.  Amber means stop unless unsafe.  Unsafe practically means you are too close to the line to stop before the line.  You should always be able to work that out.

AdrianC

Ermia said:

Are there any downsides to having a single policy to stopping at ALL amber lights?

Go and re-read the highway code, as to what amber means.

Stop unless it is unsafe to do so.

TBH the 3 seconds of amber light is not enough for me to evaluate whether I should 

Then you should not be driving.

If we exclude the thinking time and mirror checking from the 3 seconds,

If you need to include them, you've already failed in your situational awareness.

"I'm approaching a green traffic light, how long's it been green? Is it about to cha... yes."

And you should ALWAYS be aware of what's around you.

A mirror check should be confirmation of what you expect to be there, not a first look to see what is there.

soolin

Ermia said:

Are there any downsides to having a single policy of breaking at ALL amber lights?

TBH the 3 seconds of amber light is not enough for me if I need to evaluate at EACH single amber light whether I can safely pass or not. If we exclude the thinking time and mirror checking from the 3 seconds, it is really tricky to react (stop or accelerate) in the remaining time.

so is it safe to simply jump on the break whenever I see the amber light and stop at all cost? If someone hits me on the back, it’s not my fault, is it?

I knew you said you were a newish driver but this makes you sound as though you are not actually road ready or experienced enough to be driving alone. It might pay you to get a couple more lessons, not to learn how to drive, but purely for road craft , understanding your vehicle and road perception . Paying for a couple of advanced road craft lessons might work out cheaper than potentially causing damage to your own or another vehicle, and may get the whole ‘situational awareness’ to click in your mind. 

oldagetraveller1

P102 in the 15th Edition( 9th impression, 2020) of the H.C. explains, along with pretty pictures, traffic lights.

user1977

oldagetraveller1 said:

P102 in the 15th Edition( 9th impression, 2020) of the H.C. explains, along with pretty pictures, traffic lights.

And it's all online too:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203

AdrianC

user1977 said:

oldagetraveller1 said:

P102 in the 15th Edition( 9th impression, 2020) of the H.C. explains, along with pretty pictures, traffic lights.

And it's all online too:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203

Point of order, Sir.

Traffic lights aren't on that page. They're on this one:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/light-signals-controlling-traffic#trafficlightsignals

AMBER means ‘Stop’ at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident

Car_54

AdrianC said:

Point of order, Sir.

Traffic lights aren't on that page. They're on this one:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/light-signals-controlling-traffic#trafficlightsignals

AMBER means ‘Stop’ at the stop line. You may go on only if the AMBER appears after you have crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to pull up might cause an accident

User1977 is right,they are indeed on that page.

Rule 175 says "You MUST stop behind the white ‘Stop’ line across your side of the road unless the light is green. If the amber light appears you may go on only if you have already crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to stop might cause a collision."

But that is a simplistic explanation of the law, which makes no mention of causing a collision, and says only "cannot safely be stopped".

Ermia

Car_54 said:

Rule 175 says "You MUST stop behind the white ‘Stop’ line across your side of the road unless the light is green. If the amber light appears you may go on only if you have already crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to stop might cause a collision."

But that is a simplistic explanation of the law, which makes no mention of causing a collision, and says only "cannot safely be stopped".

Thanks, everyone. Just a side question: 

1. I remember from the driving course that if I am approaching a green light that might have been on for some time, then I should PREPARE / be ready to stop. Does it mean slowing down (e.g. from 40mph to 20mph-ish) when approaching each junction in the road?

 2. Suppose I am close to a junction and the light gets amber and no car is on my back. If I break harshly, I will certainly stop. Am I expected to do or should I try to get past the light? (this uncertainly is what creates the GREY area where you're not sure whether to stop or not). I've only seen other drivers stop on the light only if they can stop with smooth breaking, otherwise, they just accelerate and pass the junction on the amber light. Is that a correct practice or is everyone doing it wrong? 

AdrianC

Ermia said:

Thanks, everyone. Just a side question: 

1. I remember from the driving course that if I am approaching a green light that might have been on for some time, then I should PREPARE / be ready to stop. Does it mean slowing down (e.g. from 40mph to 20mph-ish) when approaching each junction in the road?

No.

 2. Suppose I am close to a junction and the light gets amber and no car is on my back. If I break harshly, I will certainly stop. Am I expected to do or should I try to get past the light? (this uncertainly is what creates the GREY area where you're not sure whether to stop or not). I've only seen other drivers stop on the light only if they can stop with smooth breaking, otherwise, they just accelerate and pass the junction on the amber light. Is that a correct practice or is everyone doing it wrong?

Obviously, the precise distance to the lights when they start to change will vary, and so will the action you should reasonably take.

But in the situation you originally described, where you went through the actual lights just as they changed from amber to red, you would have had plenty of time to stop without braking harshly.

You should never accelerate to "beat them", because you should never NEED to.

As far as awareness of the vehicles around you goes, if somebody suddenly covered your mirrors with no warning, and asked you to say what was there, would you be able to?

Car_54

Ermia said:

Car_54 said:

Rule 175 says "You MUST stop behind the white ‘Stop’ line across your side of the road unless the light is green. If the amber light appears you may go on only if you have already crossed the stop line or are so close to it that to stop might cause a collision."

But that is a simplistic explanation of the law, which makes no mention of causing a collision, and says only "cannot safely be stopped".

Thanks, everyone. Just a side question: 

1. I remember from the driving course that if I am approaching a green light that might have been on for some time, then I should PREPARE / be ready to stop. Does it mean slowing down (e.g. from 40mph to 20mph-ish) when approaching each junction in the road?

 2. Suppose I am close to a junction and the light gets amber and no car is on my back. If I break harshly, I will certainly stop. Am I expected to do or should I try to get past the light? (this uncertainly is what creates the GREY area where you're not sure whether to stop or not). I've only seen other drivers stop on the light only if they can stop with smooth breaking, otherwise, they just accelerate and pass the junction on the amber light. Is that a correct practice or is everyone doing it wrong? 

1. No. You should always be aware of your normal stopping distance for the speed and conditions. That allows you to identify the "point of no return": if the lights change after you've passed that point, you should continue. In other words, you should have made the decision before the lights change, not after.

2. If you follow (1) the uncertaintly shouldn't arise. However, the key word is "safely". If you brake (not "break") harshly, will that be safe?

Accelerating on the approach to a junction is never correct practice.