h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My name's nothing to do with roads, despite being a London cyclist.

The kind of potholes I'm into are a more natural variety - in the north of England, pothole is a word used to describe caves that have some significant vertical development, and which commonly start with some kind of shaft at or close to the entrance.

Try this page:

http://pages.zoom.co.uk/neil.holmes/UKinsight/uk001.html

If a crossroad is an accident blackspot, quite often a roundabout makes it much safer. Also it makes it easier turning right onto a busy road. Also they seem to allow traffic to run smoother than traffic lights.

Has anyone else noticed than when traffic lights stop working at some busy junctions, the traffic queues are shorter than normal?

That's true, unless a policeman notices and steps in to direct the traffic.

If that happens, the traffic jams are even worse than when the lights are working.

You are so right!

Maybe traffic lights and police officers substituting for them are interventions designed to *slow* the smooth flow of traffic.

I sense a conspiracy theory in here somewhere...

How about traffic lights on roundabouts

If they get the light sequence right it works a dream. If not it's worse than before!

Hey look, they have already done that! Sometimes they're 'part-time' traffic lights. I think they turn them on when the traffic is moving too smoothly.

In general, when they put traffic lights on a roundabout, you wait and wait and wait to get on. Then if you're taking any but the first exit, you wait at all the subsequent lights on the roundabout. I think they modelled it on multiple canal locks!

There's a wonderful example of traffic lights on a roundabout on the west side of Twickenham Bridge (west London). It's not even a big roundabout. It used to work perfectly well with no lights, and then there was absolute chaos for months while they dug up the road to fit a glittering array of traffic lights, and then the contractors moved out, they switched the lights on and – you've guessed it – even worse chaos.

To really appreciate it you've got to drive round it in the rush hour. But if you've got time to spare and a masochistic streak, it's worth driving out there just to take a look.

You cannot drive across London without facing this. Is it a conspiracy to get us to use the underground? If it is, it ain't working, there's no way I'm gonna take the subway and get stuck in a tunnel somewhere.

I think some (wealthy) subversive group is going around London 'planting' traffic lights, digging up roads that don't need to be dug up, strategically placing 'no right turn' and 'no left turn' signs so that you cannot possibly reach the place you want to go to.

Not that I'm paranoid, of course.

Regarding traffic lights on roundabouts can anybody please explain to me theory that they improve traffic flow? There was a perfectly functional medium sized roundabout near where I live then the planners (Highwaymen?) decided the traffic flow was increasing so they put traffic lights on it - now it doesn't function at all. When the traffic is slight it just drives people mad waiting at a red light to get onto and then off a totally empty roundabout. When the traffic is heavy they prevent the traffic getting off the roundabout so the roundabout becomes gridlocked. The fact that they stop traffic on the roundabout means you cannot cross the lanes to get off, etc etc etc. Sorry to rant but much of my life is spent at this roundabout and I would like to get my hands on the throat of the person that decided to put lights on it.
The other type of roundabout I hate is the very large roundabout. On these ones the traffic on the roundabout can get up to high speed and the people joining cannot see them coming because of the pretty tree display in the centre. This means that to get on you simply have to put your foot down hard, grit your teeth and go. On this type lights do seem to help but why make them so bloody big in the first place??
I agree with Kaeori - what is wrong with crossroads?

See! The only way you can explain this behavior is if they're trying to make the traffic flow worse!

More likely because the people who insist on lights being put there don't bother to pay for a survey whih would set the sequencing up right. They also don't bother with a follow up to make sure it was done right in the first place, and put it right when it wasn't
Cheapskates thats all I can say about it.

Perhaps the anarchists could be persuaded to leave the statues, and instead steal all the traffic lights.

Or spray paint them all green

Or just put the pedal to the medal and fly right though and hope that the other cars get out of the way!

We have roundabouts too?! Get over it and fly thought it like the cops do.

I've noticed that cyclists generally ignore traffic lights, so perhaps we all should.

They tend to ignore the edge of the road and cycle all over the pavements as well

Am I alone in thinking that cyclists are a menace, and should be banned?

(Ok guys, so I can't ride a bike - big deal)