Question: I remember reading in one of the Courtenay newspapers where someone from the City of Courtenay advised that they were changing the timing of the traffic lights in intersections. The change was from (possibly) a half second to a full second – meaning all the lights would be red for this amount of time.
If this is now a standard in BC? Is there any evidence that the goal was achieved, which I guess is fewer accidents caused by people who proceed through on a late yellow light? Or has this delay been taken advantage of by feeling more confident knowing there is more time to get through the intersection?
Clearance Interval for Traffic Lights
You are talking about the red light clearance interval or overlap. All traffic lights have one and there are lots of design rules around implementing them.
BC has design standards concerning what is appropriate and I don't doubt that the municipalities follow them.
Purpose of the Clearance Interval
The all red clearance interval for traffic lights has two components: safety and crash reduction.
Drivers and pedestrians approaching a signal that changes to yellow need enough time to stop safely or, if too close, to clear the intersection before the cross traffic gets a green light.
All-red intervals are intended to reduce right angle crashes by providing a buffer period before cross traffic is given a green light.
Yellow Light Phase
The time that traffic lights display the yellow phase plays a part in this too. Drivers are meant to use this time to either stop at the intersection or safely clear it. The length of the yellow phase depend on the posted speed limit of the highway.
Learn More
- Red Clearance Intervals: Theory and Practice
- Red Clearance Intervals
- Traffic Signal Design - Province of BC
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