TRAFFIC LIGHT FAILURE! But does traffic flow better?

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  • čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
  • Whilst waiting at a red light, the lights just went off! I had a look at how the traffic flowed on this usually congested junction. Although it was dangerous for pedestrians, the traffic seemed to flow a lot better. I even got a look at the controller when an engineer arrived! The lights failed from a power outage.
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Komentáře • 67

  • @Ramtamtama
    @Ramtamtama Před 5 lety +26

    it's amazing how much better things can be when you allow people to use their brains

  • @ermelindaperez6974
    @ermelindaperez6974 Před 5 lety +8

    0:13
    I love how the music stops at the same time as the power outage

  • @390h8er
    @390h8er Před 5 lety +4

    The lights on the roundabout below J2 of the M5 were out for several weeks while an extra lane was added a few years ago. Getting around it was a breeze without them. No queuing on the slip roads, no unnecessary stopping/starting.

    • @dave8484able
      @dave8484able Před rokem

      I remember that junction before the lights

  • @freebrickproductions
    @freebrickproductions Před 6 lety +13

    Nice! Here in America, if the lights go off like that in all directions, then it automatically becomes a 4-way stop in most places (though many people don't seem to be aware of that). Also interesting comparing the controller to the ones here in America.

    • @morthren
      @morthren  Před 6 lety +6

      In the UK, the highway code states "If the traffic lights are not working, treat the situation as you would an unmarked junction and proceed with great care". Most people approach them with care but some just blast straight through! The controller is a Siemens ST900, it's pretty common in the UK.

    • @freebrickproductions
      @freebrickproductions Před 6 lety +2

      Here in the US, the controllers in use mainly depends on who's in charge of the controller and what they were using when it was installed.

  • @officialmcdeath
    @officialmcdeath Před 6 lety +7

    So the message here is that slow continuum beats stop-start. Not sure if it's still this way but when I used to stay in small French villages, the lights used to be left on flashing amber after the PM rush until the morning, which would be the same as 'lights off' situation here \//\

    • @morthren
      @morthren  Před 6 lety +1

      I've seen the flashing amber lights in Belgium. We were in a car travelling from the UK and the driver didn't understand what they meant. He went straight through at 50mph and nearly got T-boned on the crossroads! Needless to say he was a bit more careful at the next set!

  • @777shades
    @777shades Před 6 lety +10

    There's no doubt uncontrolled low-speed intersections flow better, most drivers are more than capable of working it out. Unfortunately, traffic management has to factor in the 'lowest common denominator' who can't. Also pedestrians and cyclists.

    • @SirLordCustardthe10th
      @SirLordCustardthe10th Před 5 lety

      maybe pedestrian-activated light that turns on when they press the button to stop the traffic so they can cross

    • @james-5560
      @james-5560 Před 3 lety

      Make the driving test harder and make them get the bus!

  • @angelsone-five7912
    @angelsone-five7912 Před 6 lety +8

    Whenever I have come across this it seems everyone gets sensible for a change and the traffic DOES flow better with a lot more give and take than I normally encounter.

  • @ukar69
    @ukar69 Před 5 lety +3

    Had some three way temporary traffic lights near me and they got stuck on red so everybody just did their own thing and it worked much better.

  • @NewBuildmini
    @NewBuildmini Před 4 lety +1

    Here in Russia, traffic lights usually flash amber at quiet times (mostly night). And we also mount priority signs (STOP, Give Way or Priority Road) to be followed when they're off or flashing. UK should adopt this in some time, it's really a useful mode.

    • @j2w1_lub
      @j2w1_lub Před 11 měsíci

      It's great an all but then if someone blasts through who doesn't have a stop/giveway/yield sign, and hits someone who was being cautious, the law would dictate that the one who had the lesser priority is 100 percent at fault, whereas in this situation it requires more input and care from everyone.

  • @waldenhouse
    @waldenhouse Před 6 lety +2

    Traffic does flow better. To see this succeed in real circumstances you need to travel to western Canada though! In British Columbia, Canada they do have traffic lights but only for “major” junctions and that includes joining dual carriageways. However, their “4 way Stop” marked with a single, central overhead, flashing Red Light, means that you take turns to proceed. 1st there goes, then 2nd, 3rd & 4th. It works.
    Also I once came across a 1+1 junction marked with orange hatch markings. This is where a “give-way” ( as in the UK) is treated as 1 car, then the next, from a junction. So, where you have traffic waiting to join another road here, queuing in both directions, it’s 1+1 in both directions so every car keeps moving.
    In Sidney, Vancouver Island, they recently installed their first roundabout (there were previously none!), and it was “a hoot”, my Brother said, as no-one knew how to traverse it!,
    I realise that we’re a long way behind when travelling over there.

  • @j2w1_lub
    @j2w1_lub Před 11 měsíci +1

    Its so cool and chaotic with the lights off...

  • @TDSWar
    @TDSWar Před 2 lety

    I can’t even the light went off so smoothly I thought it would just cut off all of a sudden

  • @somebodyrandom809
    @somebodyrandom809 Před 3 lety +1

    In Europe, you have priority and give way signs at intersections. Then, if the traffic lights go out, for any reason, the signs now control the intersection. The priority sign is a diamond shaped sign.

  • @ScottPC
    @ScottPC Před 6 lety +2

    This happened near me, the roundabout flowed so much better..

  • @SummerADDE_Elevators
    @SummerADDE_Elevators Před 5 lety +1

    I witnessed the other way around when I was walking by an intersection. It had it´s yellow warning lights flashing, then all of a suden, the yellow light stayed lit for a while before it went to red for all directions... then worked normally.

  • @shellfound1350
    @shellfound1350 Před 5 lety +2

    Not only is the traffic light dead, but the grass is aswell

  • @samanthayoung9207
    @samanthayoung9207 Před 6 lety +2

    Looks familiar lol - these traffic lights are so slow as so many. Previously there was a roundabout here. It doesn’t help that they took the zebra crossing away from Milton Road and put another pedestrian lights crossing .
    I heard the lights went down the other day. Never know if it works better with or without lights but definitely safer with lights.

    • @morthren
      @morthren  Před 6 lety

      I remember the roundabout, not sure if it was better or not with or without. I think the pedestrian crossing is better then the zebra crossing, people can't race through to get to the green lights at the junction if it's a red light.

    • @samanthayoung9207
      @samanthayoung9207 Před 6 lety

      morthren I remember having to cross the entire road with a young child when it was a roundabout and no pedestrian lights.
      Yes lights instead of zebra is better as slows traffic down. You sound familiar to the area. Town of many traffic lights with the re-generation lol

  • @tanithrosenbaum
    @tanithrosenbaum Před 5 lety +1

    You could send this to the city council. Maybe they're not even aware how much better traffic flows without the lights. Okay maybe sans the engineer, so he won't get in trouble for showing you around that cabinet :)

  • @juoig7799
    @juoig7799 Před 2 lety +1

    0:10
    Traffic lights: A fatal unhandled exception 0x00001203 has occurred in program TrafficLightController. TrafficLightController will now be shut down.
    (Traffic lights die)

  • @FoxyGeserner
    @FoxyGeserner Před rokem

    One time there was a power outage in my town and pretty much every traffic light was off

  • @JaseWolf
    @JaseWolf Před 5 lety +1

    I pretty much saw this scenario whilst I used a crazy heavy traffic density mod in GTA V. Going along the roads without traffic lights, at cross roads, traffic all just took turns meaning that there was a continuous movement, but as soon as I got to the first set of lights in the journey, I was busy sitting in traffic at a standstill for about 10 minutes lmao.
    Was very interesting seeing how as dumb as GTA AI is in ways, it's amazingly smart in that respect of how to deal with cross roads. Not so much with t-junctions though. You've gotta fight yoyr way out if you ever want to get going lmao.

  • @djlawlz4041
    @djlawlz4041 Před 5 lety +2

    people aren’t considering the fact that without traffic lights pedestrians wouldn’t be able to cross.

    • @ibraheem9908
      @ibraheem9908 Před 5 lety

      Kat Nicolette zebra crossing or use ur brain :)

  • @karen4you
    @karen4you Před 6 lety +2

    Were lights installed due to many accidents in this location? I agree with you that, for the most part, the drivers behaved well. There are no stoplights in my town, just stop signs, and yield to oncoming traffic signs. This is in the USA.

  • @gerrymckenna4878
    @gerrymckenna4878 Před 3 lety

    The motorist at 5:41 doesn't seem to worry if the lights are working or not. Jumping the red to turn right towards the camera.

  • @tomsmith5584
    @tomsmith5584 Před 5 lety

    In the United States, the rule is if a traffic signal fails like this, then the intersection should be treated as an all-direction stop sign. Some lights are equipped with stop signs that will automatically open when the signal goes off. Sometimes, if the signal malfunctions, the primary direction will be given a flashing yellow (proceed with caution) and the secondary direction will see a flashing red signal (stop and proceed when it's safe). All directions could see a flashing red signal, too.

    • @fetchstixRHD
      @fetchstixRHD Před 2 lety

      It’s pretty similar here, if the lights aren’t working, it’s like an unmarked junction where nobody has priority and so you have to be very careful. Of course in practice though, there’s often a road that is “obviously major” and if you’re not on that road, you’ll probably have to wait longer to get through…

  • @Flyyn_Gaming_9
    @Flyyn_Gaming_9 Před rokem

    In lowestoft once every traffic light turned off and there was sooo much traffic. I was late for school which was only 5 mins away.

  • @samanthayoung9207
    @samanthayoung9207 Před 6 lety

    You chose a fabulous day to witness the lights go off , I heard they went down on Tuesday as the whole of the town on the gossip site were moaning.
    This town love their traffic lights , you should walk to the town a long Cockleshell walk and witness the madness around there.

    • @morthren
      @morthren  Před 6 lety +1

      That was it, Tuesday at mid day. The traffic was moving a lot better than usual with them off!

    • @samanthayoung9207
      @samanthayoung9207 Před 6 lety

      morthren you were there at the right time !

  • @levelcrossingspotter-lcsra3368

    They went into goodnight-mode! :3

  • @chrisr7942
    @chrisr7942 Před 6 lety +1

    Sittingbourne, my home town 👍

    • @chrisr7942
      @chrisr7942 Před 6 lety

      Hate those traffic lights, horrible place to cross

  • @andrewhanson1180
    @andrewhanson1180 Před 5 lety +1

    Traffic lights are desigbed with the oil companies in mind.

  • @dancoulson6579
    @dancoulson6579 Před 4 lety

    I think there needs to be a fault code that automatically displays, instead of them being off.
    Maybe something like constantly flashing red in all directions.
    Then this would inform drivers that the lights have entered a failsafe mode.
    And perhaps each driver should treat it as a stop sign.

    • @j2w1_lub
      @j2w1_lub Před 11 měsíci

      If there's a power outage, the lights haven't got any electricity to run on....... thats why they go off......🤦🤦

  • @vali20vali20vali20
    @vali20vali20vali20 Před 5 lety

    I don't understand: why not have priority signs as well, so when traffic lights die, there's still priority for the main road etc.

  • @davidhhhowell5961
    @davidhhhowell5961 Před 3 lety

    traffic may move a bit quicker but you could have some bad accidents without traffic lights

  • @dave8484able
    @dave8484able Před 5 lety +1

    Typical example of too many stages in the sequence. I guess this junction with filter lanes at both directions runs through 4 stages in the cycle. If it was cut to 2 stages where right turners would go and give way to oncoming traffic in the main stage the junction might run quicker.

  • @stacitayler9611
    @stacitayler9611 Před 6 měsíci

    how

  • @MrBnsftrain
    @MrBnsftrain Před 5 lety

    That's pretty interesting! did the power go off to any of the buildings nearby, or was there an issue with the traffic lights? In America, if something goes wrong with traffic lights but power is still going to them, than all red lights flash, and it acts like a 4-way stop!
    How long did it take for the workman to arrive? Usually in America, if an intersection is completely dead, a police officer comes to direct traffic if a repair man can't get it working first!

    • @morthren
      @morthren  Před 5 lety

      I didn't notice any power off at any of the buildings so not sure what caused it. The engineer was there in about 30 minutes. The lights are remotely monitored and they lost communication with them so sent an engineer to check it out. Some lights have a UPS so they will stay operational for up to an hour after a power outage. I can't remember the last time I saw a police officer directing traffic here!

  • @simonbaker9623
    @simonbaker9623 Před 4 lety

    If all traffic lights in the world failed there will be loads of accidents

  • @daredevil3744
    @daredevil3744 Před 4 lety

    Maybe we need roundabouts?

  • @MichalM
    @MichalM Před 6 lety

    Someone needs to vandalize the control box!!!

  • @routemaster3877
    @routemaster3877 Před 6 lety

    i guess theres light there to make it safer

  • @lpsmlp4570
    @lpsmlp4570 Před 5 lety

    Well it's up to an officer to help direct traffic

  • @giftmafu4882
    @giftmafu4882 Před 2 lety

    No surprises

  • @stacitayler9611
    @stacitayler9611 Před 6 měsíci

    wtf