Comments on: More Mobile Activity and Stupidity

By: Miaowww

Miaowww — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:56:30 +0000

tightropetom,

I dont think that you can get points on your licence for being in possession of anti catholic books ……… but thanks for the suggestion, we (ministers for transport and finance) are on to it

By: tightropetom

tightropetom — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:48:42 +0000

I once saw someone doing much worse than using a mobile phone. They had a book in front of them at the wheel while driving. A Dan Brown novel I believe. No kidding… I didn’t get the number coz they were next to me in traffic. Couldn’t believe it

By: John Smith

John Smith — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:48:32 +0000

That’s the problem. In most countries people know what they’re doing and if you see someone doing something daft, they know exactly they’re not supposed to be doing it. If you see someone pulling a stunt or doing something daft here, it is because they simply have no idea what’s going on around them. I once saw a guy in Newmarket on Fergus whose rear door was swinging wide open! He didn’t notice! I had to follow him, screaming and waving, he barely noticed me! How can you educate people who got their driving licence from the back of a box of cereal?
There used to be a “turn left” light onto Abbey Street in Ennis. For years no one moved whenever it came on, because they where waiting for the “real” light to turn green, saying “Ah, sure now, I won’t be chancing it, now to be sure, to be sure, you’ll never know now, the gards might be watching”.

By: MikeBike

MikeBike — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:14:48 +0000

There is a similar situation in Trim. At the lights for the Navan road. When travelling around the ring road and wanting to turn right you will very often find someone sitting in the right filter lane – indicator on with a round green light, nothing coming towards them and will the y budge ? – no way – ther are waiting for the filter light and thats that!!. To be fair i have been caught in the middle of the junction and seen it happen to others, because when the lights go red for the oncoming traffic it seems to be only an opinion that you may need to stop and then the lights on the other side go green. I had a situation a few months ago where a guy behind me started blowing at me when he realised i wasnt going through the red (the 2 cars in front of me had) I just smiled back at him and gave him a little wave.

I arrive at that junction every evening from the Navan road. Sitting there one evening last week a poor chap in a passat on the far side was having a fit because the car (woman) in front of him wouldnt budge even though she had a green and no oncoming traffic. Its a wonderful country.

By: Wuzzle

Wuzzle — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:36:11 +0000

You are supposed to move into the junction whether there is a white box or not (on a circular green) when turning right and waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic. That is what my instructor taught me and it makes sense because otherwise there is a delay in turning right if you have to move into the junction first when a gap appears. Of course if the lights go red when you’re in the junction and 3 or 4 of the oncoming cars do the usual and jump the amber and red you can be left stranded there. I was taught in the UK where there is far far less red jumping as here though and it works well!! I’m shocked by the lack of traffic light discipline here especially on the Luas line and level crossings where defaulting the lights is utter madness!!.

If there is a white box, there are usually sensors in it that let the system know someone is going to turn right and trigger the filter (if nobody is in the box the system assumes nobody is going to turn right and goes straight to red without the filter thus saving time). Last week I was stuck behind someone turning right and they hadn’t moved into the white box – the sensors weren’t triggered and the filter failed to come on leaving us stuck there for another traffic-light cycle. They got the message next time round, moved into the box and the filter activated.

By: Jd

Jd — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:02:30 +0000

“Correct me if Iâ€™m wrong but at a junction with circular lights isnâ€™t there a white box with a R/H arrow allowing the first car to move into the junction. If I donâ€™t see that box I always wait for the filter light.

Is this the correct procedure?”

Very rarely is there a white box. Even without a white box, you can go right on a full green if it is safe to do so..

I think the white box is to encourage people to get into the correct road position oif they are turning right- there is no mention of a whie box in the ROTR

By: gerlimk

gerlimk — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 19:26:27 +0000

So circular green light means I can proceed to the right without waiting for a filter light, provided of coarse itâ€™s safe to do so.

Green arrow straight ahead means wait for R/H filter light.

Correct me if Iâ€™m wrong but at a junction with circular lights isnâ€™t there a white box with a R/H arrow allowing the first car to move into the junction. If I donâ€™t see that box I always wait for the filter light.

Is this the correct procedure?

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:45:13 +0000

Sorry. The lights have an arrow. The first one to go green is an arrow pointing straight ahead. You cant go right as the cars from the other direction also have a green arrow pointing ahead.

The filter light is a green arrow pointing right.

Cars cannot and shouldnt go right at this junction without the arrow.

By: Modcobh

Modcobh — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:44:25 +0000

I know that junction well, as I drive from Little Island to Cobh on my commute also. The junction has an green arrow for straight ahead thus one cannot turn right until such time as the filter arrow turns green. Even when the filter arrow turns green you have to watch it due to the people coming in the opposite direction who apparently get 30 seconds grace after their light turns red.

By: John the Gard

John the Gard — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:39:03 +0000

Sorry, logic failure. Try again.
If the main light is an arrow pointing straight ahead, you cannot go untill the filter light (green arrow for turning right) is green.
If the main light is a regular light (i.e. green circle), you ARE allowed to turn right, even if the filter light has not come on yet.
Unless of course the filter light has it’s own red light, in which case you cannot go anyway.
More info please!