Down here, we have a lot of intersections where the traffic lights are on sensors rather than timers. What this means is that in one or more directions, the light will stay red until it senses a car waiting for the green. In theory, this is a pretty good idea. In practice, though, it depends on the first person in line actually advancing far enough into the intersection to trigger the sensor, and that doesn’t always happen. Coming out of Bey Lea Plaza onto Bay Avenue East, I’ve been stuck more than once behind someone who doesn’t get it, and gone through two or three light change cycles before someone turning West triggers it and we can finally go. The same thing happened this morning at Indian Hill and Bay. It was going on six minutes, and I was about to make an illegal and dangerous u-turn out of frustration. Finally, though, someone came into the left turn lane and moved far enough to trigger it, so I was saved. Sometimes I think that if people just knew about these sensors, they’d change their habits accordingly, but then I come back to reality. Maybe that’ll be my next letter to the Ocean County Observer.
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{ 3 } Comments
Maybe there should be a stop line to help indicate where people should stop. No one EVER stays behind them!
I’ve got a light with a left turn signal sensor that only senses you IF you have been there since the light change (from yellow to red). If you get there while the light is still red, well, you’re on your own, sweetheart, to make that left turn! OR how about the left turn arrows that only, realistically, allow ONE car to make it through!
The only lights that I pass through on my commute that makes ANY sense, is a 4-way light system that only allows one direction to go at a time. People got used to it and it works beautifully. ALL light patterns should follow suit.
Oh, and don’t even get me started on alternate feed in a merge situation!
oxox, G.
Yeah, I think traffic engineers must travel by limo and helicopter exclusively, or they wouldn’t design this stuff.
Hey Alison!
Wow, you’ve been driving up here a lot!
If you ever get up to Bloomfield on a weekend, give us a holler. We’d love to see ya.
We miss you guys.
Erin
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