Re: ENRADD - Electronic Non Radar Device

[Luis Marques <marques@raytheon.com>]

Igor Kessel <four_rings@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> 
> BTW, do Euro-style sectioned traffic lights with arrows exist anywhere
> in the USA? All I've seen so far were gazillions of individual traffic
> lights hanging above each lane with separate 3-unit lights for turns
> making the intersections look like Christmas trees with stupid sighs
> like: "left turn light" etc. Confusing.

We have them here in Dallas, TX.  Turn-only lanes have the usual red,
yellow and green in a vertical arrangement, plus an arrow light under
the green.  The arrow is apparently made up of LED's or little lights
and lights green when you are allowed to make a 'protected' turn.  A few
seconds before you loose the 'protection', the arrow turns yellow to
warn you (I have no idea what color blind people are supposed to do in
this case).  After the protected turn period is over, the arrow light
turns off and you are left with either a steady red or steady circular
green.  The standard circular green of course means that the turn is
allowed after yielding the right of way to any other cars.  There are
signs next to the turn traffic light to make sure you understand that
the turn is only protected when the arrow is lit and you must yield if
you have the circular green.

> Oh, one more thing which is a big contributor to accidents in the
> intersections around here: traffic lights are placed after the
> intersections, not before them like in Europe. For someone who was
> born and raised as a driver in Europe and has this "stop at the
> traffic light" rule deeply engraved in his subconsiosness, driving
> through an intersection at night if the white stop line is not painted
> and if the intersection is of a rural variety without curbs and
> sidewalks having the traffic light after the intersection is an
> invitation for overshooting the intersection on red. Don't ask me how
> I know this.

As someone born and raised as a driver in the United States, I was
thoroughly and completely confused by this "stop at the traffic light"
thing in Paris.  Over here in Texas, of course, you stop before entering
the intersection.  No matter what, you can't block the intersection or
any road leading up to it.  You get ticketed, t-boned, yelled and
screamed at, laughed at, etc.  Faded stop lines are not an excuse, and
actually are more like the norm.  Over in Paris, you were just as likely
to have a traffic light before or after the intersection (or both) and
you ended up with this very chaotic arrangement of cars sitting in the
middle of an intersection waiting for the green.  They naturally need a
miniature traffic light at eye level so that the first car can see it,
and he probably gets pains in his neck from continuously looking out the
side widow to this little light waiting for the green.  Never mind that
he has no idea of what's happening in the intersection since he sight is
focused on the little light in the sidewalk.

-Luis Marques