…the Bucks Herald are at it again, and as all regular viewers to this blog know, there’s nothing the BH likes better than whinging about traffic lights.  Their article at http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/updated-council-responds-to-traffic-expert-s-fears-over-new-aylesbury-lights-1-5355185 is frankly typical of their nonsense, which we all had to endure endlessly the last time that Bucks County Council stuck up a set of traffic lights.  This time a new set of lights have appeared on the junction of Tring Road and Oakfield Road (basically paid for and for the benefit of the new dairy) and apparently we’re expected to believe that drivers might get confused about what a green light means!

The Highway Code is quite clear on this one – “GREEN means you may go on if the way is clear. Take special care if you intend to turn left or right and give way to pedestrians who are crossing”.  Therefore, it’s safe to go as long as your way is clear, and if it isn’t, you should wait until it is.  Including turning right.

Of course, as the council stated, the whole reason they did it this way was to allow traffic to turn right off-peak when the road is clear – which outside rush hours is generally not a problem at that junction – as a large proportion of traffic actually does the turn anyway, much like what happens at the Horse and Jockey lights.  You might improve the junction by putting a yellow box junction in, but otherwise I can’t see what’s wrong with it.  If people are confused when traffic lights don’t have hand-holding green arrows for every conceivable direction any more, we really are in trouble.

I’m also not convinced by the opinion of their “expert” either…

Just wait until the next set of lights are finished a mile down the road; we’ll have a repeat of the whinging again in six months’ time no doubt.  Does this really sell papers?