London Banter - View Single Post

Colin McKenzie · June 17th 13, 07:53 PM posted to uk.transport.london

On Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:35:53 +0100,
wrote:
BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian crossing
signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark.

Newer crossings are called Puffins and work differently to Pelicans, more
like crossings at junctions. They detect pedestrians, so that the light
for vehicles is kept red until the pedestrian has finished crossing. This
is supposed to make them feel safer than with the old system of flashing
lights in which drivers decided when a pedestrian had got far enough for
them to start off. If you start to cross when the green man isn't showing,
the lights may not wait for you to finish before changing.

The crossings are also supposed to be clever enough not to stop traffic if
the pedestrian who pressed the button crosses before the lights change, or
goes away.

The blackout period on pedestrian crossings is the equivalent of the
all-red for drivers, whose purpose is to stop red light-jumpers causing
too many collisions.

Colin McKenzie

--
Cycling in the UK is about as safe as walking, and helmets don't make it
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