Iain wrote:
(Richard M Willis) wrote in
m:
The presence of this superfluous combination of signals causes far
too many people to think that they must stop UNLESS they have a
filter, i.e. that the solid green applies only to movements that
don't have a filter even if that filter is currently dark.
As I understand it, you DO have to stop if the filter isn't showing
in one situation: if the filter light is to the immediate left or
right of the main light, rather than underneath it.
There is no such rule (see below).
I was led to believe that the law regarding filter arrows is thus:
* If the filter arrow is below the main green light, then if the
main light is illuminated but the filter isn't, you may proceed
across the stop line and wait to turn when it is safe to do so.
Once the filter arrow illuminates you can assume it IS safe to do
so as the oncoming traffic will now be on a red.
Correct.
* If the filter arrow is beside the main green light, then if the
main light is illuminated but the filter isn't, you must not cross
the stop line, even if it is safe to turn. You must wait for the
filter to illuminate before you can even begin to make the turn.
If the traffic light looks like this:
Red
Amber
Green Green-arrow
then you are free to move if the solid green is lit. It would be absurd
to expect drivers to notice the position of a light which is not lit,
especially at night.
Interestingly enough I can't find anything in the Highway Code to
back up this belief, despite the fact that a few years back a
friend failed his car test and the examiner told him that one of
the faults was to edge forward at a beside-the-main-light filter.
That was probably a junction where there is a separate complete traffic
signal controlling turning traffic. In other words, you have something
like this:
Red Red
Amber Amber
Green Green-arrow
In that case, the two clusters control different lanes. Perhaps your
friend was waiting in the right-hand lane, and moved forward when the
left lane's green was lit, thus passing a red light for his lane. Do
you know which junction it was?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)