Why are traffic lights staying red/green longer(in our part of the US anyway)?
I havn’t time the greens but the reds are running about 3-4 minutes up from 1.5 to 2 at intersections on any volume. Seems like an invitation for running red lights. I understand the idea of getting the herd moving and keeping it moving, but the fact(IMHO) is that most of the people driving are so focused on thier damn cell phone that the drivers don’t move/react quick enough as a group to provide the desired effect. I say this as a commuting motorcyclist and have a hyper-aware opinion of the vehicles around my ride to work. For the most part you cage drivers are totally unaware of what is going on around you while you hearl a 5K pound SUV down the highway.
There was a study done about 5 years ago which looked at quick lights versus long lights, congestion, and commute times. Interestingly, the study found that long lights (if controlled by computer and sensor) actually decreased commute times AND congestion, since you are decreasing the amount of stop and go. So communities are adding the control boxes to lights and making their lights computer and sensor controlled. If you ever want to time the lights (I’m a geek, so I get into that kind of stuff) you will find that their times vary at different points in the day, which may be sensor control or simply computer variation for commuting hour.
Before they add the box, a traffic study is done in which they track the traffic 24 hours a day for a week. They usually pick non-holiday weeks to measure. The study helps engineers determine what work needs to be done. The cost of 1 light changing over is about $75K, so the changeover has occured slowly.
I realize I have not addressed cell phone use (it bugs me too) but I thought you might care to know … yes, you are sitting still for a while. However, you will still get where you are going faster and with fewer cars seemingly hanging out with you on the road.
COMMUTERS VLOG MAY 8, 2007
