Traffic lights are horrible

[Madman]

Having driven in the UK, I am a big fan of roundabouts.  They keep traffic flowing, unlike traffic lights which only stop the flow of traffic.

[hotrodalex]

I did that this past winter in my MR2 after a snow storm. 3 times around sideways...so much fun!

I approve.

[ChrisV]

I remember when a traffic light was replaced by a roundabout in Port Orchard, WA, back in the mid '90s. within a week, a garbage truck had tipped over in it...

Properly utilized, they are ok, but sometimes they can tend to get confusing..

[Laconian]

I bet the bottom one feels like a video game.

[MX793]

I've come to both love and hate traffic lights that use pressure switches to determine when to change.  They're great in that they eliminate instances where a light will turn green on a lower traffic street when there are no cars waiting in the intersection.  Not so great when you're on a motorcycle that doesn't weigh enough to trip the switch and you happen to be on one of those lower traffic side roads where the light only turns green when there is pressure on the trigger switch.

[Cookie Monster]

I've come to both love and hate traffic lights that use pressure switches to determine when to change.  They're great in that they eliminate instances where a light will turn green on a lower traffic street when there are no cars waiting in the intersection.  Not so great when you're on a motorcycle that doesn't weigh enough to trip the switch and you happen to be on one of those lower traffic side roads where the light only turns green when there is pressure on the trigger switch.

Try doing that on a bicycle.

I end up running the red light after a while. Too bad you can't do that on a motorcycle.

[MX793]

Try doing that on a bicycle.

I end up running the red light after a while. Too bad you can't do that on a motorcycle.

Sure you can.  Here, if the light doesn't change after a number of cycles (or a period of time), you can assume it's not functioning and legally run it when traffic is clear.

[Vinsanity]

I've come to both love and hate traffic lights that use pressure switches to determine when to change.  They're great in that they eliminate instances where a light will turn green on a lower traffic street when there are no cars waiting in the intersection.  Not so great when you're on a motorcycle that doesn't weigh enough to trip the switch and you happen to be on one of those lower traffic side roads where the light only turns green when there is pressure on the trigger switch.

I thought that those sensors were magnetic, so that they could get triggered by motorcycles.

[Laconian]

I think they work by EM inductance, so any closed metal loop will work.

[MX793]

I thought that those sensors were magnetic, so that they could get triggered by motorcycles.

Apparently a motorcycle doesn't have enough metal to trigger them, or a number of the triggered lights around here aren't inductance based because maybe 2 weeks ago I sat at a light for 5 cycles before I just said "screw it" and drove through.  While that light is often a long one even when sitting with a car, I've never waited that long with a car for the light to change green.  I've had others who ride bikes with similar complaints.

[Laconian]

Speaking of inductance. Want an easy way to fool a car sensor? Let's say, for some hypothetical reason, you might want to drive out the entrance of an unmanned parking garage. Simply connect a powerstrip to itself, throw it over the sensing wire loop, and press the "get ticket" button. Voila, the gate goes up!

[hotrodalex]

Try doing that on a bicycle.

I end up running the red light after a while. Too bad you can't do that on a motorcycle.

I ride my bike through a light with sensors quite often and have tripped it by myself at least once I think. It could possibly change lights without the sensor, though.

[Cookie Monster]

I ride my bike through a light with sensors quite often and have tripped it by myself at least once I think. It could possibly change lights without the sensor, though.

The one that goes into my old high school doesn't change when I'm on it. I've just started to run it when there's a break in traffic.

[omicron]

Roundabouts are fantastic - it's like having a rally special stage in every suburb!

[omicron]

I have to admit that I had to Google how to drive a multi-lane roundabout (most of what I go through are multi-lane). IMO it's not intuitive.

Left from the left lane, right from the right lane, and straight ahead from both lanes?

[JWC]

Around here, there are only one-lane roundabouts.   When I was in Illinois, I had to negotiate and three-lane roundabout.  With a town local in the passenger seat, I got into the roundabout and he told me to get to the inside.  My exit was the very next one, but I ended up going around the damn thing because I was supposed to "let traffic in".   Evidently, it was the law/rule.  It made no sense and seemed like a waste of time and gas.   One-lane roundabouts make sense.  Two or more?  I guess I'd have to drive it everyday to figure out the logic of getting to the inside lane so I can move back over to exit just a few seconds later. 

[omicron]

To turn right he made you go in the left lane, let in other cars, and change lanes in the middle of the roundabout? That defies almost every logical convention of roundabout-ing.

[Tave]

What traffic were you letting in if there weren't any exits between your entrance and exit? Was there a one-way entrance in the middle?

[Morris Minor]

Stop signs are mostly stupid too.

Gary Lauder's new traffic sign: Take Turns
http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_lauder_s_new_traffic_sign_take_turns.html
(4 1/2 min)

[AutobahnSHO]

Stop signs are mostly stupid too.

Gary Lauder's new traffic sign: Take Turns
http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_lauder_s_new_traffic_sign_take_turns.html
(4 1/2 min)

Genius friggin idea.

Too complicated for 'Murricans though.

[Raza]

Genius friggin idea.

Too complicated for 'Murricans though.

It's not too complicated for Americans, it's too fucking stupid to work.  A yield sign should act the exact same way as a stop sign.  Adding a new sign is going to result in one blue hair waiting at the sign for an hour waiting for it to turn green. 

[AutobahnSHO]

It's not too complicated for Americans, it's too fucking stupid to work.  A yield sign should act the exact same way as a stop sign.  Adding a new sign is going to result in one blue hair waiting at the sign for an hour waiting for it to turn green. 

If people were halfway smart, they would just drive through that new sign, barely slowing.
UNLESS there is someone waiting there. Then it becomes a 3-way stop.

Point was that if there's a yield sign, people on the "main" road keep going all day long and the sidestreet waits and waits and waits. I can see CERTAIN FEW situations in which the new sign would work great.

[565]

I hate rotaries with a passion.  It feels like I'm going to get in a fender bender every time I'm in one.  There is no stress involved in a traffic light.  A rotary on a busy street just means a ton of close call merges, and the way people drive in Boston, I thank the lord everytime I emerge at the other side of the rotary unscathed.

[AutobahnSHO]

There is no stress involved in a traffic light.

Until you get hit my some tard going through when it's not their green light..

[565]

Until you get hit my some tard going through when it's not their green light..

Yes but that's a rare occurance.  The rotary is a stressful experience every single time in Boston, to the point that I purposely avoid them whenever possible.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yes but that's a rare occurance.  The rotary is a stressful experience every single time in Boston, to the point that I purposely avoid them whenever possible.

Great- makes traffic for the rest of us better.

I'm sure you have a bunch of obnoxious people who are trying to squeeze in when they shouldn't. They work very well in more rural settings, or where the drivers aren't all **** ***** ****.

[Morris Minor]

Yup - they should ditch rotaries. Roundabouts make much more sense.

[omicron]

Ypu - they should ditch rotaries. Roundabouts make much more sense.

[Laconian]

What, don't you think an RX-8 would be better with a roundabout engine?

[Rich]

You know what's horrible?  Traffic.  That's what's  horrible.  Something needs to be done to get rid of traffic.  Without traffic, we wouldn't even have traffic lights, or stop signs, or even yield signs.