Traffic Lights
Traffic lights can also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, stop and go lights, robots or even semaphore. These are signalling devices that can be positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and any other places to control competing flows of traffic. Traffic lights have been installed in most cities around the world. Traffic lights help to assign the right of way for road users by using the lights in standard colours which include Red, yellow and green. By using a general universal code and a precise sequence it helps those that are colour blind too.
The traffic lights help drivers and pedestrians alike with safety, some traffic lights have the buttons on them where the pedestrians can press to stop the traffic so that they can cross the road with maximum safety and ease.
Some traffic lights have filters on them, so that drivers can go left whilst other drivers are waiting to go straight on and the drivers on the left side of the road can keep going on with their journey.
The traffic lights consist of the three coloured lights. Red, yellow and green in a cycle.
- The green light lit up allows the traffic to proceed in the direction denoted.
- The yellow light lit up allows the traffic if safe to prepare to stop just short of the intersection.
- The red light lit up prohibits any traffic from proceeding.
Traffic Light Types
Single Aspects
The simplest traffic light comprises of either a single of a pair of coloured lights that warn the users of the shared right of way of a possible conflict or a danger in the road.
Dual Aspects
These are the lights often seen at railways crossings and also at the intersections of streets and emergency department driveways. They will flash a amber colour w hen there is not going to be any traffic coming across that is not expected, they will turn red to stop the traffic flow when cross traffic occurs.
Three or more aspects
This is the universal standard that is for the red to be above the green with the amber colour placed in between. When mounted vertically, the red is on the top, but when mounted horizontally the red light placing depends on the rule of the road. If they are in a country that drives on the left the light is on the right and if they are in a country that drives on the right the light is on the left.
Traffic Light turning signals and rules
In some instances, the traffic may turn left or right after stopping at the red light, providing that they give way to the pedestrians and any other vehicles. In some places that generally disallow this, a sign is placed next to the traffic light indicates that it is allowed at a particular intersection. Conversely laws that generally allow this might forbid it at a particular intersection with a “no turn on red” sign, or even put a green arrow to indicate specifically when the turn is allowed without having to yield pedestrians. Some places allow turning the corner on a red in the opposite direction, left in the right driving country and right in a left driving country. This is when you are driving from a one way road onto another one way road. Some places allow these turns coming from a two way road onto a one way road. It differs whether there is a red arrow that prohibits these turns. Some jurisdictions require a “no turn on red” sign in these cases.
The D200 round traffic light is the ideal traffic control for the use in loading bays, weigh bridges or anyway where traffic can be controlled from some distance from the signal head.
