On Tue, 01 Jun 2004 21:03:10 GMT, "mookie89"
wrote:

Inductions loops, yes. But.....
Here in Illinois, IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) may set the
control device(s) for peak/non-peak hours. So even though there is a loop,
it may take up to two minutes to cycle through depending upon what time of
day it is. Two minutes, 120 seconds, when no one is on the cross street is,
as you know, an eternity. snip

This is rather silly. Applied properly, induction loops will override
the cycle and give right of way to the road on which there are
vehicles over the one where there are not. Only if there are vehicles
on more than one of the roads feeding the junction is it necessary to
revert to a traditional pre-programmed cycle.

This kind of thing is also used to give buses priority at certain
junctions, for example. If a vehicle is detected in the bus lane, the
lights are automatically changed in its favour so it shouldn't even
need to brake. This has been going on for a while - the intersections
on the 1970s Runcorn Busway are so fitted, I believe.

Neil

--
Neil Williams in Milton Keynes, UK
To e-mail use neil at the above domain