Waiting before beeping your horn when lights go green

Linford

When the are lights that only allow a few cars through, I will sometimes beep just as the lights change, especially if I am the 4th or 5th car. It really annoys me that people take 5-10 secs to take off, this can prevent 3 or 4 cars making the lights, in my opinion it is very selfish. It can be up to 5 minutes when the lights change again.

ballooba

One of my pet hates. I hate being behind someone at lights and watching them first engage gear, then release the handbrake, then look around, then set off. These people have obviously not learned to drive.

WRT learners, they only get slack if they are accompanied. Even less if they look older.

In Belfast I like the Orange light before Green to tell you to prepare to set off. Although you should be prepared if you are at the front.

seamus

elviscostello wrote:

It's fair enough being ready to take off as you see green... but all this checking lights on the other side and knowing when yours are going to turn is all well and good... but it can be dangerous to be too ready and taking off straight away, as there could be someone who'll break the lights or a pedestrian taking a chance etc.

Part of watching the lights is watching for people who may potentially break those lights as well as plucky pedestrians.

I can never really be dangerous to be "too ready" (though I get what you're saying). I don't recall ever being taught during driving lessons to observe the light sequences and be prepared to move off. Irish people in general seem to be atrocious at it, judging from how much distance I manage to put between me and the vehicle behind at most junctions.

There's nothing more frustrating IMO than missing a light change because the guy at the front took forever to move off.

NeMiSiS

This bugs the total crap out of me, possibly more than anything else on the roads, and mainly because on a huge amount of roads the light seqeuncing is brutal, I bet you could name hundreds of examples..

It's simple, if you are at a junction, when you see the traffic turning right across you, the next set of lights will be for you to go.. in most cases.. why don;t people get that ? Half the time they are not even watching!

Take off speed is brutal too, people seem to want to get to fifth as fast as possible, and do not accelerate appropriatly. They also drive too close to the car in front.. so they have to wait for this car to move.. beefore they can.. if you get my drift.. if they kept a correct distance.. when the lights go green.. the car in front moves.. and they move at the same time.. rather than.. car in front moves.. wait for the distance to increase.. move.. as if the car in front was a train.. and the cars behind were the carraiges.. they move _at the same time_

Also ! When people turn right at junctions at traffic lights, they do not seem to be able to do it at anymore than maybe 15km/h, and they sit on the brakes the whole way !

I would love to see the NI "get ready" system come in, but I would imagine it would cause a huge amount of accidents, because well.. people are idiots..

My ... I could rant all day..
TK

blastman

What peasant and neuromancer said, basically.

Driving in England a couple of times recently made me appreciate what a good idea the red-amber phase is. I usually try to get into a position if I'm first in the queue to see the other lights so I can use it to be ready as soon my light goes green. Having said that, some people come through lights ridiculously late, especially on the M50 junctions, and not just Blanchardstown, although it is bad there.

As for beeping someone, I'll generally give them a few seconds. I can't remember when I beeped someone last. I wouldn't beep a learner or someone who stalled or made a genuine mistake.

fletch

My horn always sounds angry whereas when I drive my Mam's car (Fiat Panda) it always sounds like a friendly noddy beep. Did I read recently that the Mini has 3 different sounds on the horn for different situations? Very handy if you ask me. Often times I just want to politely alert the car in front that the lights have changed without sounding like a crazed steaming lunatic.
Does anybody have a link to the Mini horn? I can't seem to find it anywhere and I don't think I imagined it!

ballooba

seamus wrote:

I don't recall ever being taught during driving lessons to observe the light sequences and be prepared to move off.

My qualified and certified instructor did.

It was a different age when you did your test though.

seamus wrote:

There's nothing more frustrating IMO than missing a light change because the guy at the front took forever to move off.

It makes baby Jesus cry.

ballooba

fletch wrote:

Did I read recently that the Mini has 3 different sounds on the horn for different situations? Very handy if you ask me.

Any car can have different horn sounds. It depends on how you poress it. If I'm giving a polite nudge I literally tap the horn.

fletch

ballooba wrote:

Any car can have different horn sounds. It depends on how you poress it. If I'm giving a polite nudge I literally tap the horn.

Well different pitches then...

ballooba

blastman wrote:

Having said that, some people come through lights ridiculously late, especially on the M50 junctions, and not just Blanchardstown, although it is bad there.

They'd soon learn that they can't if the other party is going to be coming through.

I sometimes work out that I will be able to turn right in front of someone before they get their act together to move off. You might think it's risky but I've never go it wrong.

stovelid

ballooba wrote:

I sometimes work out that I will be able to turn right in front of someone before they get their act together to move off. You might think it's risky but I've never go it wrong.

Can you pass on how you mastered predicting the future? I'd love to be able to do that.

seamus

ballooba wrote:

It was a different age when you did your test though.

It was seven years ago!

ballooba

stovelid wrote:

Can you pass on how you mastered predicting the future? I'd love to be able to do that.

I said it was risky.

I have yet to encounter a boyracer trapped in a provisional licence wielding granny's body driving a F1 car disguised as a beat-up Nissan Micra. When I do though, I'll be toast.

seamus wrote:

It was seven years ago!

Ah, I was only yanking your chain. I'm sorry.

paddydriver

This is an area that annoys me too - if everyone was paying attention then we could all move a lot better through the lights. There is always that period where you can see the green light up top and you are thinking.... well, when are they gonna move!

The worst one though is when the person in front of you takes an age and then just manages to fly through the "just gone red" light and you have to then release the parachute and are left waiting... this irks me, and has happened to me a few times at the beacon hotel junction in Sandyford. Yesterday I flashed them to say Thanks for leaving me at the lights... should of beeped them when it took them near 10 seconds to get moving in the first place.

Rant over:D

unkel

NeMiSiS wrote:

on a huge amount of roads the light seqeuncing is brutal

That's one of the most annoying things around. It's not hard to set it up and review regularly. Once done is saves loads of people loads of time

Apart from sequencing itself, almost all traffic lights in the country are fixed sequence. Intelligent lights with sensors were widespread on the continent 30+ years ago...

I like your rant, NeMiSiS. Agree 100%

Guy:Incognito

littlejukka wrote:

i went for 5 seconds.

unkel, less than a second is unreasonable. by the time you've seen the light, pressed the clutch, pushed the thing into gear and started out towards the biting point, the last thing you want to hear is a beep as you try to move off.

Do you not keep an eye on the lights for the cars coming from the side? Then you can just out it in gear when theirs go orange and your ready to go on your light.

Edit. didnt realise the thread was so long, think this was covered. :-)

Duckjob

If I can see them daydreaming out the driver window or yapping away with a phone stuck to their ear I'll definitely give them a blast. Not sitting on the horn, but not too polite either.

I figure when you're sitting at the lights, you've a responsibility to the traffic behind you to stay aware and move off smartly when the lights change.

Nothing more frustrating, especially in heavy traffic, to see a short lights change wasted by somebody who can't be arsed to pay attention.

I'd never beep someone who is watching the lights / who has stalled / who is a learner.

testicle

draffodx wrote:

generally around 10 seconds i'd say

I'd have driven over you if you took tha long to move at lights!

Unless the car has stalled of course.

elven

I don't put the handbrake on at lights, and was sitting once with my foot on the brake... by the time I lifted it off the brake and got to biting point (about a second) I'd been beeped at by a bloody white van driver behind me. I tend to be rather more patient when I'm not the first in the queue - although it *reeeally* winds me up when someone's snoozing, gets through just as they change and leaves me stranded when its back on red again.

The amber/red combo is far more sensible I think.

As far as learning the sequence and being prepared - fair enough if you know the junction - I do for all the ones on the way to/from work but if you start expecting people to be like that, moving off almost before the light turns green (most taxi drivers don't even pretend to wait for the light to actually change mind you), when you couple it with the highest level of red light jumping I've ever seen (never mind pedestrians that think they are made of steel and disregard lights/traffic altogether), you're asking for trouble.

I sometimes get a bit naughty and jump through just as I know its going to go from amber to red - and every single time I see one or two cars behind me - blatantly breaking the red light. Didn't happen in scotland... totally different attitude. Shocks me every time!

ballooba

elven wrote:

I don't put the handbrake on at lights, and was sitting once with my foot on the brake... by the time I lifted it off the brake and got to biting point (about a second) I'd been beeped at by a bloody white van driver behind me.

Wouldn't it be quicker to use the handbrake and get bite before letting it off?

Unless like me you drive an automatic.

Victor

This is when a 'tootle' horn would be useful.

tc20

I'd give 'em 4 or 5 seconds before i let them know. Like many here have already posted, i will give L drivers under instruction/elderly folk all the time they need. We've all been at that stage, or we're all heading towards it.

With regard to anticipating the turn of lights, if you are at the head of the queue, you should be watching the sequence, so as to prepare to move off swiftly (providing it is safe blah blah). This can also be applied in the reverse -
lets say you are approaching a junction with a green light, you should be asking yourself "how long have they been green?" At certain larger junctions, with the same scenario - you are approaching a green light -say a crossraods on a dual c/way, you should be able to see the pedestrian lights change from green to amber, giving you an indication that the traffic lights will soon change too. Im sure some here with, lets say 'more experience' on the roads may already be aware of this.

stovelid

Got beeped this morning after about 2 seconds. And I was second in line to the light.

NeMiSiS

Use your hand brake when stopped at lights please. Nothing worse than being behind a car sitting on their brakes, and the lights blinding you... it's an even better experience if they are in a "SUV" .
The other problem I would see with not using your hand brake for example;

You are at a set of lights, stopped with your foot on the brake, a car approaches rapidly from behind, not paying attention *BANG* you get rear ended, the first thing that happens is your foot lifts, and your car moves forward, maybe into a car in front of you, or out into traffic ..

What I do, if I am stopped at lights with a car approaching from behind, I apply my hand brake, and as a car approaches, I press my brake as they approach, to let them I am stopped, and as they pull behind me I let it off.

TK

NeMiSiS

Also

unkel wrote:

That's one of the most annoying things around. It's not hard to set it up and review regularly. Once done is saves loads of people loads of time

Apart from sequencing itself, almost all traffic lights in the country are fixed sequence. Intelligent lights with sensors were widespread on the continent 30+ years ago...

I like your rant, NeMiSiS. Agree 100%

Thanks unkel! I could go on all day
TK