Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian crossing
signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that because of
the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb filaments, thus
meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the labour involved in
changing them?

In article , () wrote:

Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing
signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian
crossing signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that
because of the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb
filaments, thus meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the
labour involved in changing them?

All new installations use LEDs so that is a diminishing problem if it exists
at all.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 15/06/2013 01:35, wrote:
In article , () wrote:

Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing
signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian
crossing signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that
because of the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb
filaments, thus meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the
labour involved in changing them?

All new installations use LEDs so that is a diminishing problem if it exists
at all.


And the old ones? Because here in London the green pedestrian crossing
phases turn off, rather than flash.

On 15/06/2013 02:34, wrote:
On 15/06/2013 01:35, wrote:
In article , () wrote:

Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing
signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian
crossing signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that
because of the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb
filaments, thus meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the
labour involved in changing them?

All new installations use LEDs so that is a diminishing problem if it
exists
at all.


And the old ones? Because here in London the green pedestrian crossing
phases turn off, rather than flash.

Could this be due to the differences between proper Real Lamps
(incandescent ones) and the newer Pretend Lamps which have very poor
performance just when turned on or off and are of limited value for
signalling purposes for that reason?

On 15/06/2013 11:32, JNugent wrote:
On 15/06/2013 02:34, wrote:
On 15/06/2013 01:35, wrote:
In article , () wrote:

Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing
signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian
crossing signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that
because of the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb
filaments, thus meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the
labour involved in changing them?

All new installations use LEDs so that is a diminishing problem if it
exists
at all.


And the old ones? Because here in London the green pedestrian crossing
phases turn off, rather than flash.

Could this be due to the differences between proper Real Lamps
(incandescent ones) and the newer Pretend Lamps which have very poor
performance just when turned on or off and are of limited value for
signalling purposes for that reason?


Don't know.

Nor do I.

On 2013\06\15 11:32, JNugent wrote:
On 15/06/2013 02:34, wrote:
On 15/06/2013 01:35, wrote:
In article , () wrote:

Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing
signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian
crossing signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that
because of the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb
filaments, thus meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the
labour involved in changing them?

All new installations use LEDs so that is a diminishing problem if it
exists
at all.


And the old ones? Because here in London the green pedestrian crossing
phases turn off, rather than flash.

Could this be due to the differences between proper Real Lamps
(incandescent ones) and the newer Pretend Lamps which have very poor
performance just when turned on or off and are of limited value for
signalling purposes for that reason?

Except that modern traffic lights are LEDs which have excellent response
times and are therefore perfect for signalling.

On Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:13:55 +0100, Basil Jet
wrote:

On 2013\06\15 11:32, JNugent wrote:
On 15/06/2013 02:34, wrote:
On 15/06/2013 01:35, wrote:
In article , () wrote:

Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing
signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian
crossing signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that
because of the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb
filaments, thus meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the
labour involved in changing them?

All new installations use LEDs so that is a diminishing problem if it
exists
at all.


And the old ones? Because here in London the green pedestrian crossing
phases turn off, rather than flash.

Could this be due to the differences between proper Real Lamps
(incandescent ones) and the newer Pretend Lamps which have very poor
performance just when turned on or off and are of limited value for
signalling purposes for that reason?

Except that modern traffic lights are LEDs which have excellent response
times and are therefore perfect for signalling.

Indeed, and the effect is very obvious with the many road vehicles
(even buses) that have LED indicators. They really do switch on and
off instantly compared to the old incandescent bulbs. The next
Mercedes S Class will ditch incandescent bulbs entirely, using nearly
500 LEDs instead, thus saving power, performing better and largely
eliminating the need to replace failed bulbs.

On 14/06/2013 23:35, wrote:
Hello,

I saw this about pelican crossings and the associated crossing signals.

BTW, I've noticed for a while now that the green on pedestrian crossing
signals no longer flash flash, but rather go dark. Is that because of
the stress that the flashing signal puts on the bulb filaments, thus
meaning more money expended for bulbs, plus the labour involved in
changing them?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/on-this-day...l?vp=1#POPvhNr

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
safer. Make an informed choice - visit www.cyclehelmets.org.