Traffic Lights, Junction

A quick post about traffic lights is in order as we leave the country behind for a while and re-enter the urban sprawl. Further ahead you will notice a main junction with traffic lights, they are currently on green. This particular set of lights will be a treasure trove of theory test information for us. First thing worth remembering is that it is a potential hazard, not only that but it attracts hazards. Anything can happen here and you must be very vigilant. Hazards can come in the form of cars jumping red lights from the intersecting road, hazards can also be cyclists passing down the inside of waiting traffic at red lights and motorcyclists weaving in-between lanes on your other side which makes it doubly important to be aware of the blind spot in your wing mirrors and look over your shoulder before performing a manoeuvre. These latter two road users are particularly vulnerable at junctions (remember this, it will be in the test) Hazards can also come from pedestrians looking for an opportunity to cross the road wherever traffic lights dwell.

Are those lights still at green? I would suggest that as they have been on green for a while they are probably due to change at any moment so be prepared to slow and stop. There, see? No sooner said than they change to amber and now red (that’s a colour you are going to see a lot during the course of your driving life). It’s also going to be the source of many temptations toward speeding up when you should be slowing (you’ll see!) at which point you are going to become somebody else’s hazard, let's hope they are also being vigilent.

I was once listening to a radio show running a quiz, one of their questions was ‘what colour traffic light comes next in the sequence following Red?’ Many listeners phoned in to answer the question, most gave the correct reply but the DJ insisted they were all wrong. Their answer was Amber follows Red in the sequence which is the correct response. So why then did the DJ insist they were all wrong? Answer, in the traffic light sequence Green will become Amber, Amber will become Red then (after a lot of waiting) Red will become a combination of Red/Amber and finally Red/Amber will become Green, thus completing one cycle or sequence. What the DJ should have asked was ‘what colour combination’ follows Red in the sequence (although this would, of course, have given the game away) but then this was local radio. Wow, that wasn't the most thrilling anecdote! no wonder I don't get invited to dinner parties, but the important point to remember is the light sequence. I see there is a box junction at this junction so we will cover what you need to know about that next time...  www.facebook.com/TheoryTestNovel    
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