Traffic light switching time rules. Traffic light with an additional section: rules of passage, features

Every resident, even small town since childhood, he remembers the lessons on traffic rules regarding the rules for crossing the road. It is human nature to grow, and many gradually turn from pedestrians into drivers. To properly drive on the road, you need to understand not only road signs and markings, but also traffic lights.

Traffic lights at the intersection

The most famous are three-color traffic lights, consisting of the following set of colors:

• Red traffic light . In a stable burning state, driving on a red traffic light is prohibited from driving on the road on which the traffic light is installed. A flashing red light also prohibits movement, but also notifies you of the imminent switching of signals. . This type of signal is most often used on railway crossing, and on normal roads this goal is achieved by turning on the red and yellow signals at the same time.

• Yellow traffic light . In a stable burning state, it prohibits movement in all cases, except for the situation when the driver crosses the road lane, but does not have time to slow down his vehicle before marking. In this situation, it is necessary, if possible, to leave the intersection area. A yellow flashing traffic light allows traffic, and also notifies of an unregulated intersection and a pedestrian overpass.

• What does a green traffic light mean? . In a stable burning state, it allows movement on the road lane. A green flashing traffic light also allows you to move, but also warns of the expiration of the burning time.

Also on many roads there are possible additions to the traffic light. Recently, it has become common to set timers that indicate the operating time of the enable signal. Additionally, there may be arrows that are mounted at the level of the green light either on one side or on both sides.

What do traffic lights mean

The traffic rules for various traffic signals with arrows can be characterized as follows:

Traffic light with two arrows	Tram traffic light	Trackless vehicle
		Single lane traffic	two lane traffic	Three lane traffic
Only central green traffic light	Movement only forward	Movement only forward	Movement only forward	Movement only forward
Central green traffic light + right arrow	Move forward + right	Move forward + right		Forward for all, right for rightmost lane only
Central green signal + left arrow	Move forward + left	Move forward + left + turn around		Move forward for everyone, move left or turn around only for the leftmost lane
Central green signal + both arrows	Movement is allowed in all directions	Forward movement + turns + turn around		Moving forward for everyone, turning for the outer lanes according to the rules, turning only for the left lane
Red traffic light + right arrow	Movement only to the right	Movement only to the right		Movement only to the right and only for the right lane. All other lanes are prohibited.
Red traffic light + left arrow	Movement only to the left	Movement only to the left or turn		Movement for the left lane only: turn or U-turn. The rest of the lanes are standing.
Red signal + both arrows	Forward movement is prohibited, turns are allowed	Forward movement is prohibited, turns and U-turns are allowed	Forward movement is prohibited, turns in both directions and a U-turn from the leftmost lane are allowed	Forward movement is prohibited, turns in both directions are allowed only from the extreme lanes, a U-turn is allowed only from the extreme left lane
Only red signal	Road up	Road up	Road up	Road up

For a set of a standard traffic light and one arrow, the requirements are less stringent.

So let's take a three-lane road as an example.. If the green traffic light with an arrow to the right is on, then the rules indicated in the table will apply to the central and right lanes. At the same time, standard traffic rules apply for the left lane. The inhibit signal is subject to the same restrictions. AT daytime such an addition to the traffic light is clearly visible, but it is not always possible to see it at night. For this reason, black arrow outlines are glued to the central signal, indicating the action for a particular lane of the road. If there is no such schematic representation on the green light itself, the signal is valid for all road users, regardless of their location on the road. There are also traffic lights that have arrows instead of the usual round traffic signal. In this case, traffic control occurs only for those directions indicated by the arrows.

At night, most traffic lights turn off and they enter a flashing yellow mode. In this case, the intersection is considered unregulated and must be passed in accordance with the relevant traffic rules.

Pedestrian traffic light and bicycle crossing signal

At the traffic lights for the specified traffic participants there are only 2 sections. A person is depicted for pedestrians, and their two-wheeled transport is drawn for cyclists.. In the area of ​​pedestrian crossings, traffic lights are increasingly equipped with a timer that indicates the waiting time and the time allotted for the crossing. Additionally, for the deaf, a speaker can be installed that announces the allowed direction of the transition, as well as its beginning and end.

In some cases, if there are bicycle paths, reduced analogues of three-section road traffic lights can be used, under which a white plate with a bicycle sign is fixed.

Reverse traffic signals

These signals are used on roads of the same name, when on some lanes traffic can be carried out both in one direction and in the other direction. The direction of travel along one or another lane of the reverse road is determined by the degree of congestion for each side. The following types of signals are used:

• a red cross in the shape of the letter "X" - prohibits movement on a specific lane of a reverse road;

• yellow arrow pointing to the right - instructs the driver to change lanes to the lane located nearby on the right side;

• green arrow straight - allows traffic in this lane.

These types of roads are not widely used in the Russian Federation, so few drivers are familiar with such traffic organization.

The meaning of traffic lights for rail transport

Traffic lights for trams

For trams, a white four-cell traffic light is used, made in the form of a “T” symbol. Movement for them is allowed only when the lower signal is on, and the upper cells indicate possible directions of movement.

The railway traffic light also often has a white lamp in its arsenal, which regulates traffic through the crossing:

Traffic lights at a railroad crossing can also be both red and flash alternately. In this case, the passage is strictly prohibited. Movement is allowed only when both lamps are turned off.

Fine for non-compliance with traffic lights

For violation of the instructions of the electronic traffic controller, the following penalties are prescribed:

• red light fine- not less than 1,000 rubles, upon repeated passage to a prohibiting traffic signal, at least 5,000 rubles or deprivation of a VU for a period of 4-6 months, article 12.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation;

• yellow traffic ticket- for the first violation threatens 1000 rubles, in case of repeated violation the fine will be 5000 rubles or deprivation of a driver's license for a period of 4 to 6 months;

• non-observance of the stop line before the intersection- not less than 800 rubles.

• when entering the reverse lane with the traffic light off- at least 5,000 rubles, because due to the traffic light working on the other side, the movement can be regarded as driving into the oncoming lane;

• in case of non-observance of rebuilding on a reverse road- not less than 500 rubles under Article 12.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Compliance with traffic lights allows you to regulate traffic in such a way that road users are in safer and comfortable conditions. Therefore, in order not to increase the likelihood of getting into an accident for yourself and others, you should be careful on the roads. This will help to keep intact not only your budget, but also your life.

Video: What do the traffic lights and the traffic controller and the rules of the intersection mean.

Classic three-section transport traffic light.

Any of us knows from childhood that a red traffic light prohibits movement, and now both drivers are required to stop at the stop line.

But not everyone knows how a modern “advanced” traffic light works, what signals it can have and how exactly they alternate.

At the exam in the traffic police you will be asked:

What does the combination of red and yellow traffic lights mean?

The answer should not leave you in doubt - a short combination of red and yellow signals informs drivers that the green signal will turn on soon.

Red and yellow went out, green turned on, and you can move in all directions (unless, of course, otherwise indicated by signs or markings).

But do not rush to start moving. How many troubles and tragedies the author of these lines saw when the neighbors on the road blindly oriented towards the green signal. And this is not just advice, this is a requirement of the Rules.

Rules. Section 13. Clause 13.8. When the permissive signal of the traffic light is turned on, the driver is obliged to give way to vehicles completing the movement through the intersection, and to pedestrians who have not completed the crossing of the carriageway of this direction.

That is, before you start moving, you need to make sure that those who have now turned red have stopped. Someone may simply not have time to stop, and someone is in such a hurry that he is ready to slip through the intersection risking his life (well, only his own, but also someone else's).

Well, finally, the drivers on the intersecting road stopped at their stop lines, and now you can start moving. We are still green.

Green burned out, burned out and blinked.

And again, at the exam in the traffic police, someone will definitely get this question:

What does a flashing green traffic light mean?

And again, the answer is obvious - a flashing green signal informs drivers that its time is running out and yellow will soon turn on.

Is it possible to move on the green flashing? Do not doubt it is possible. Its duration is expiring, but it hasn't expired yet!

Another thing is that the green will blink for a short time - it will blink only three times, and then it will go out.

The green will go out, but then the yellow will light up. And here is what is said about the lone yellow signal in the Rules, in clause 6.2:

« yellow signal prohibits movement and warns of the upcoming change of signals.

And here it is important for the driver to understand!– If the lone yellow is on, then the next one will be red! That means you have to stop!

Now imagine that the yellow turned on when there were 5-10 meters left to the stop line. At a speed of 60 km / h, you can only keep the car by applying emergency braking! And even then, you will have to stop already at the intersection (having crossed the stop line and risking getting hit from behind). Novice drivers often do this (slow down sharply on yellow), and if an aggressive “experienced driver” was driving behind, then a blow from behind to a beginner in this situation is guaranteed.

Meanwhile, the Rules prohibit sudden braking anywhere and everywhere (except when it is necessary to prevent an accident):

Rules. Section 10. Clause 10.5. The driver is prohibited brake hard unless required to prevent an accident.

That is, if now the driver of the brown car brakes sharply, he will violate the requirement of paragraph 10.5 of the Rules. And in the event of an accident, both will be to blame - the driver of the red car is to blame because he did not keep a safe distance, and the driver of the brown car - because he braked unnecessarily sharply.

The Rules reacted to this situation with understanding and allowed movement to the yellow traffic light (if it is no longer possible to stop smoothly in front of the stop line):

Rules. Section 6. Clause 6.14. Drivers who, when the yellow signal is turned on, cannot stop without resorting to emergency braking, are allowed to continue further movement.

And you may be asked about this in the exam: “Are you allowed to continue driving if, when the traffic light turns yellow after the green one, you can stop before the intersection only by applying emergency braking?”.

And here the answer should be absolutely clear to you - permitted. Simply allowed, in any direction you want.

A lone yellow will not burn for long - in just a couple of seconds it will change to red, and the cycle will start over. But already on a red signal, drivers should definitely stop at the stop line.

And it's not all about traffic lights. If the traffic is not intensive, then it is irrational to keep drivers at the stop lines, and the traffic light can be transferred to the so-called yellow flashing mode.

That is, red and green do not turn on at all, and only yellow is turned on all the time. Moreover, it does not just burn, but it flashes at a frequency of once per second. This is how the Rules say about this signal:

Rules. Section 6. Clause 6.2. Yellow flashing signal allows traffic and informs about the presence of an unregulated intersection or pedestrian crossing.

In this situation, drivers must independently determine the order of passage, guided by general principle"interference on the right."

In the traffic police collection there is a problem (shown below), solving which you are often mistaken. Some of you choose the third answer for some reason. Most likely, because they inattentively read the question. And the question says "with a yellow flashing traffic light"! And, consequently, this intersection has become unregulated. And, therefore, it is necessary to be guided by the signs of priority.

Traffic lights with an additional section (or with two additional sections).

A classic three-section traffic light can be equipped with an additional section (right or left) or two additional sections (right and left).

Such “rationalization” makes it possible to significantly increase the throughput of the intersection, it is only important that drivers correctly understand the signals of such a traffic light.

And, first of all, it is necessary to understand that movement in the direction of the arrow is only allowed when the additional section is turned on.

For example, traffic to the right is now open.

And only to the right and nowhere else!

Everyone who needs to go in other directions should stand and wait for the main green signal to turn on.

The main green signal turned on, and pay attention - black contour arrows are applied on the main green signal.

This was not the case at a three-section traffic light, but for a traffic light with an additional section, the presence of contour arrows on the main green is a must-have!

Now movement is allowed only in the directions indicated by the contour arrows.

But now the movement is open in all directions.

In what directions can the driver of the brown car continue to move? 1. Straight or left. 2. Only straight. And what should he do if he needs to go to the right? 1. You have to go to the next intersection. 2. You need to stand at the stop line and wait for the right arrow to turn on. Task comment Now the traffic light allows you to turn left and turn around. But this can only be done by those in the left lane. The driver of a brown car with such traffic signals can only go straight.

Traffic lights designed to regulate traffic in certain directions.

Creative thought does not stand still, and the organizers of the traffic did not calm down that they proposed adding additional sections to the traditional traffic light. If necessary, you can endow the classic three-section traffic light with additional functions without equipping it with additional sections.

You drive up to the intersection and see three traffic lights instead of one (according to the number of lanes in your direction).

It should be assumed that the action of each traffic light applies only to the lane over which it hangs. And since the red signal is on everywhere, it means that traffic from all lanes is prohibited.

Students. But why are red arrows burning instead of the usual round signal?

Teacher. This is done so that drivers, approaching the intersection, can change lanes in advance to the lane they need.

And the same arrows will be lit on the yellow signal, informing drivers about the directions in which they will be allowed to drive from this lane when the green signal turns on.

Now traffic is allowed from all lanes.

BUT!

It is necessary to adhere to those instructions that are dictated by arrows at traffic lights.

Traffic light with a flashing yellow signal.

The most dangerous intersections on the driver's path are an unregulated pedestrian crossing and an unregulated intersection. At these intersections, drivers must independently determine the order of passage, guided by the relevant requirements of the Rules.

Traffic safety can be significantly improved if the simplest traffic lights with one yellow flashing signal are installed at such intersections. The continuous flashing of the yellow signal informs the driver in advance of the approach to an unregulated intersection or pedestrian crossing.

There were no traffic lights at this intersection. We hung it here with the help of the Photoshop graphic editor.

But if he were actually here, this accident most likely did not happen.

And these two-way traffic lights with a yellow flashing signal are not at all superfluous at an unregulated pedestrian crossing.

Reversible traffic lights.

Until recently, we had roads with reverse traffic, almost exotic (although they were always in the Rules).

And today you can often see such a warning.

And here it is - a section of the road with reverse traffic.

There are appropriate markings on the roadway (double broken lines with long strokes), and reversible traffic lights hang above the lanes allocated for reverse traffic.

Now green arrows are turned on at all traffic lights, and while they are on, these three lanes are given for traffic in our direction.

On this section of the road, only one lane is allocated for reverse traffic. And now at the reversing traffic light we have a red cross on. And, therefore, now the reverse lane is given to drivers of the opposite direction.

In our country, right-hand traffic is accepted and, in principle, everyone understands that, freeing the reverse lane, you need to change lanes to the right.

Nevertheless, the Rules also provided for a three-section reversing traffic light - the yellow arrow, firstly, informs about the upcoming signal change, and, secondly, shows drivers where to change lanes, freeing up the reverse lane.

Now it's time for the driver of the blue jeep to turn on the right direction indicators and immediately change lanes to the right. At the next reversing traffic light, a red cross will already be on.

Traffic lights to regulate traffic across railroad crossings.

To regulate the movement of vehicles through railway crossings, the Rules provided for three types of traffic lights.

It can be either one red signal flashing at a frequency of once per second.

Or two alternately flashing red signals.

Or, together with two red signals, a white-moon signal can be installed, which, if turned on, also flashes at a frequency of once per second.

Now let's see what the Rules say about this:

Rules. Section 6. Clause 6.9. A round white-moon flashing signal, located at a railway crossing, allows movement Vehicle through the move. When the flashing white-moon and red signals are turned off, movement is allowed if there is no train (locomotive, trolley) approaching the crossing within sight.

That is, if one red signal flashes or two red signals flash alternately, movement through the crossing is prohibited.

If the white-moon signal flashes, traffic through the crossing is allowed.

If nothing is flashing, traffic across the crossing is also allowed. BUT! It's not just allowed. First, the driver must make sure that there is no (within sight!) of an approaching train. And if there is one, then movement through the crossing is prohibited.

In conclusion, we note that GOST allows the use of conventional traffic lights at a railway crossing.

Four-section traffic light with moon-white signals.

The use of such traffic lights makes it possible to organize conflict-free movement of route vehicles at intersections. We are talking about trams, as well as buses and trolleybuses, if they move along a lane specially allocated for them.

Now all four white-moon signals are turned on at the traffic lights and, therefore, the tram (bus, trolleybus) can move in all directions.

If the lower signal and the upper left signal are on, the tram (bus, trolley bus) is allowed to move to the left.

If the lower signal and the middle upper signal are on, the tram (bus, trolleybus) is allowed to move straight.

If the lower signal and the upper right signal are on, the tram (bus, trolleybus) is allowed to move to the right.

If the lower signal is off, then the tram (bus, trolley bus) is turned on “brick” - entry to the intersection is prohibited.

Now the tram is allowed to go straight or to the left, and we are allowed to go straight or to the right.

Indeed, a conflict-free movement.

Now the tram is allowed to go straight or to the right, and we will stand at the stop line.

Again, no conflict.

But now the tram will stop, and we can go in all directions.

And again, no conflict.

With any trip by car, the most unpleasant thing is to stop and wait at traffic lights. It would seem that switching occurs in a short period of time, but when waiting for a green traffic light, it does not seem so to us. Sometimes one gets the feeling that this traffic light will never switch.

And besides, each stop of the car at a traffic light significantly increases itself. To our regret, we will not succeed in avoiding such automatic traffic controllers, but nevertheless, we can still think about this issue. Each of us can sufficiently reduce the amount of time spent waiting for a green traffic light.

Ours has recently, empirically established, since we simply waste this time savings at the same traffic lights. In addition, the risk of getting into and getting a speeding fine in the mail is not justified here. You will naturally ask: "How then can we save time at traffic lights", when each of them is very complexly configured and each has different modes work, which does not allow us (drivers) to thoroughly learn the modes of all traffic lights installed in our city?

Fortunately, there are several ways to help you (motorists) save time spent at traffic lights.

Learn how traffic lights work.

Knowledge of traffic light modes will help you save some time while waiting for the desired light signal to switch. We all probably know that there are traffic lights with a built-in timer or motion sensors. It is on these traffic controllers that we need to focus our attention.

Here are the main cycles (principles) of most traffic lights in large cities:

1. Green signal- When the traffic light is green, traffic flows freely and unhindered (if there are no traffic jams). If the traffic light is equipped with a traffic sensor (for the traffic flow of cars), then, as a rule, in some direction a large flow of cars moves faster and the green signal of the traffic light can burn for quite a long time. Thus, we must remember that this traffic light automatically determines the flow of traffic here, namely, that it (the traffic light), due to the large flow of traffic, must not turn on the red light for as long as possible. But at night, the same traffic light can turn on the red light much more often, since there is no such a large number machines. Therefore, friends, remember that if you drive up to a traffic light at night, then you need to be vigilant, since at this traffic light a red signal may suddenly turn on at any moment.

2. Pedestrian timer - Many of the traffic lights are equipped with a timer specifically for pedestrians. And yet, in recent times, in many cities of our country, traffic lights with timers for drivers have become widespread. The countdown on them will help you know in advance which signal will light up in the next minute.

For example, when approaching an intersection with a pedestrian crossing where the traffic light is green, pay attention to the timer for pedestrians. If its readings are close to zero, then it is likely that a red traffic light will light up on your way very soon.

3. Yellow signal- As a rule, this yellow traffic signal works from 2 to 4 seconds, after which the green or red signals turn on (depending on the model and type of automatic traffic controller used).

4. Red light- This is the most annoying traffic signal, both for the drivers themselves and for the same pedestrians, because of which millions of people lose a huge amount of time every day. True, not always when the red light signal is working, we are standing at a traffic light. More recently, as an experiment, in our country it was allowed to turn on a red light when driving (turning) to the right, if there is no pedestrian crossing at such a turn.

5. Turn arrow at a traffic light- Another mode of operation of the traffic light, which helps the main three colors of signals to regulate all the flows of vehicles and pedestrians. It is worth noting here that such a turn signal arrow lights up much more often than all the main traffic lights. You also need to be aware that at some intersections of roads, the turn arrow may light up enough long time. Therefore, when choosing a route, the driver must take this very fact into account in advance. It is quite possible that by choosing a route for your trip, where such turn arrows are often found on the road, you will be able to get to your destination much faster.

Of course, it is obvious that each of the traffic lights is different from each other. And not at every intersection, traffic lights work in the same mode. As a rule, the switching cycle of these light signals is configured taking into account specific local traffic and therefore, the traffic light is able to automatically change these same modes if necessary (when using an intelligent traffic control system).

We advise you, dear motorists, to carefully and in more detail study in advance the modes of operation of traffic lights, especially at intersections, on those routes that you most often travel on, so that in the future it will be easier for you to pass these places where you have to lose a lot of precious time every day.

Avoid the most problematic places on the roads and the same traffic lights, if possible.

Not all traffic lights are equal in their work. In certain cases, and especially at complex intersections, very big problems are often created for the movement of cars and this happens due to the specific work of the traffic lights themselves. More often this happens when several other central streets of the settlement cross such a road at once. Identifying in advance such places where you most often have to travel by car will allow you to avoid standing in traffic jams due to such traffic lights in the future.

For example, in the screenshot of the city map (Moscow), pay your attention to the intersection of st. Prospekt Mira with the Garden Ring. Very often, many kilometers of traffic jams form in this place (especially during rush hour). According to this scheme on the map, you can see in advance that this intersection has several lanes and is enough difficult area. If you are driving along Prospekt Mira and want to turn right (view from the car) onto the Garden Ring, it turns out that in order to save time at a traffic light or go around a traffic jam, there is no alternative, both for you and for other road users.

But if you want to turn not to the right but to the left (in the direction of Malaya Sukharevskaya Square), then you can go to the Garden Ring and avoid a major intersection, driving along Gilyarovsky Street in this way (indicated by an arrow). By the way, if you friends think that your navigator is laying the most optimal route for you to avoid traffic jams, then you are far from mistaken. As a rule, these navigation programs do not provide alternative routes for cars through small streets.

Choose the least dense lanes.

Not all of us still know which lane at the entrance to the intersection with a traffic light is best to get. Of course, this is a fact, theoretically all traffic lanes at the traffic lights will be filled in the same way, but it often happens and you, dear motorists, have probably already seen it more than once how the road lane to your right or left moves faster, or they have a small queue of cars at the traffic lights. It often happens that motorists before the intersection at the traffic lights begin to change lanes to the right. It is for this reason that sometimes there are fewer cars in the left lane that are waiting for a green light signal. Therefore, in this situation, you can take this very left lane by car, which will certainly save you time at the intersection. It has been established that the closer you are to a traffic light, the faster you will be able to pass this intersection, and the less risk there will be when a red light signal lights up in front of you.

Of course, when changing lanes by car, you must make a certain maneuver, making sure that there is no obstacle for the car. Please remember that frequent rebuilding of the car from a row to a row can cause dissatisfaction among other road users who.

It is also worth noting that not every road intersection has best strip traffic to pass a traffic light. So remember, if you see that the other lane does not provide much advantage for further movement, then it is better to stay in your already occupied lane.

Including you need to remember, if you have insufficient experience in driving a car and every time you rebuild the car you feel a certain lack of confidence, then you better not rebuild once again. It is better to refuse to save your time than to increase the maximum risk of getting into an accident.

Choose an alternative route with fewer traffic lights.

Unfortunately, such a traffic strategy is possible if the streets of your city allow it. Even when your route is short, if it is possible to drive along a route with a small number of traffic lights. This will be more profitable for you than wasting your time on the road with a large number of automatic traffic controllers.

You also need to remember that traffic lights are not a perfect human invention. They often break down or sometimes start to work unpredictably and in a completely different mode. Even the Google program cannot predict 100% how all these traffic lights will work. It is for this very reason that programs or programs often make mistakes in calculating the time of movement by car along the route. And sometimes this error is very significant (large).

First of all, remember your friends by driving an alternative route by car. If you make it a practice for yourself to go around all the roads with a large number of traffic lights, you will definitely be able to save yourself a lot of money that you spend almost daily on fuel. And for a whole year of travel by car, your savings Money can amount to almost 10 thousand rubles.

Plan your route avoiding left turns.

Dear motorists, try with the least number of left turns. Left turns usually take a lot of time for a car to pass, since for such a passage you must first skip the oncoming direction of traffic (if there is no traffic light when turning) or wait for the green traffic light. It is also worth noting right away that the traffic light mode for driving left turns is usually set to a short cycle of passing car traffic.

Therefore, remember that in the case of a large flow of cars in sections with left turns, a large queue of cars accumulates on the road.

The more left turns there will be on your auto route, the more time you spend waiting for the right traffic light signal, which will certainly lead to extra cost fuel.

Let's imagine together such a traffic situation on a living example with you, where, on your trip route, two stopping points will be planned at which, in order to get to them, you need to turn left twice. Look at the picture shown below, which shows the route map. The arrows indicate each turn to the left on this route.

As a result, it turns out that on this route you will make three left turns. That is, one turn in order to get to the first destination, the second turn to continue your journey by car, and the third turn in order to drive up to the second destination address. At every left turn, you run the risk of getting into a queue at a traffic light, or those who want to turn left too.

However, if you plan your route a little differently, you can already avoid a lot of turns. To do this, you must first go to the second point of your destination, and then visit the first address on your route. Here's what that other (your) route would look like:

With such a planned route, you will only turn left once. To get to the first destination you will need to turn right, and you can turn right at a red light (if allowed). With this route, you will have the fewest obstacles on the way.

Obviously, and everyone understands that this approach can not be applied to all situations. You may come across on the road (on your route) traffic lights that are specially configured to let as many cars as possible turn left on the road. Or it may turn out that a traffic jam of cars will not facilitate the turn(s) to the right.

However, you still need to consider that if you spend a lot of time at traffic lights when turning left (waiting for a traffic light), then changing your route will be one of your better ways reduce the amount of lost (wasted) time in empty time, while waiting for the green traffic light to turn on.

At the intersection of a lightly loaded road with a highway, it makes no sense to put a traffic light that simply switches at certain intervals. For this can lead to an interruption of traffic on the highway, while no one leaves the secondary road. In some countries, they do this: a metal cable is laid under the asphalt of an adjoining road, the inductance of which changes when a car passes over it. A car drove up - the sensor worked - the traffic light switched to green

As usual, there are problems. Cyclists and bikers suffer - their mass is not enough to trigger the sensor, and they can get stuck at such an intersection for a long time. They fight differently. Cyclists, for example, lay their bikes on the pavement or put special metal weights on the bottom of the bike. In some places, markings are made above the loop where the cyclist must stop for guaranteed sensor operation.

In some US states, a motorcyclist may, in this situation, run a red light (with precautions) after waiting 2 minutes.

And finally, in the right places, this system is duplicated by other sensors - for example, infrared.

The traffic light replaced the traffic controller, replacing gestures with light signals: movement is allowed - a green signal, movement is prohibited - red and between them is intermediate - yellow, warning of a change of signals.

As traffic conditions became more difficult, Various types traffic lights.

A traffic light is a lighting device designed to sequentially turn on certain signals for a given time.

Traffic light work controls the controller or computing device. It is possible to control the traffic light manually from a special remote control. However, experience shows that the traffic controller can unnecessarily due to purely psychological reasons increase the duration of certain signals, which leads to a delay of vehicles.

Rice. one. circuit diagram electromechanical type controller devices. Below is a profiled disk.

During automatic operation of the traffic light, the signals are switched by a controller, which is an electromechanical or electronic device. The simplest controller is electromechanical with one program(Fig. 1).

He works in the following way.

A single-phase synchronous electric motor 1 rotates a gearbox 2, the gear ratio of which is selected taking into account the characteristics of the motor and the cycle time. Profiled disks 3 are fixed on a special axis. During rotation, the disks alternately close and open contacts 4 through which a direct current of different polarity is supplied to the winding of the polarized relay 6. When the relay is activated, contacts 7 and 5 turn on one of the three traffic light signals. The diagram shows the position when pin 7 turned yellow. With further rotation of the cam, another group of contacts 4 closes, sending a current of reverse polarity to the relay 6. As a result, contact 7 is attracted, and contact 5 is transferred to the position shown by the dotted line, and the red signal of traffic light 8 turns on. The duration of the red signal is equal to the time the contact slides along that part of the profiled disk that corresponds to the red phase. After the red signal, yellow, green, yellow and red again turn on. The machine can control several traffic lights at the same time.

However, a set of disks in one controller provides control of a traffic light at an intersection only according to one pre-compiled program, i.e. in full accordance with the configuration of the disks and their mutual placement. Meanwhile, the intensity of traffic changes quite significantly during the day and therefore the program of the traffic light (calculated for some specific intensity) cannot provide optimal regulation for all 24 hours.

Controllers with multiple programs are used to optimize the regulation process. Three programs are usually sufficient: one for rush hours, one for daytime, and one for night. Such controllers, as a rule, are made on an electronic basis and do not have a set of profiled disks and switching relays.

Calling systems

At the intersections of highways with local passages, sometimes call devices are installed, which are designed to block traffic on the highway for the duration of the passage of single vehicles on a secondary road.

The principle of operation of the caller is as follows. From the side of a secondary street in front of the intersection, a traffic detector is installed - a sensitive element that reacts to the movement of vehicles. The most widely used are inductive and ultrasonic detectors. On the main highway, the green signal is always on, and from the side of the secondary direction - red. If a car approaches the highway along a secondary street, the traffic detector will send a signal to the controller, which, after a specified period of time for the secondary direction, will turn on first yellow and then green signals, ensuring that the car leaves the main highway. After the passage of the car, the normal position is restored - a green signal on the main highway, a red one - on a secondary one.

Calling devices can also be used for pedestrians in places where they movement is sporadic(for example, at pedestrian crossings located near schools, child care facilities, etc.). At such pedestrian crossings, a push-button sensor is installed, with the help of which the pedestrians themselves turn on a green signal, and for vehicles - a red signal. The use of pedestrian calling devices significantly increases the safety of pedestrian traffic and helps to reduce vehicle delays.

Rice. 2. Flexible traffic signal control system at the intersection. 1 - controller with a calculating device, 2 - inductive type transport detectors, 3 - traffic lights, 4 - controlled sign with interchangeable image.

Flexible signaling control systems for a single intersection

Machines operating according to predetermined programs do not have feedback from the control object, that is, from the traffic flow. The sequence of signals and their duration remain constant regardless of the presence or absence of vehicles on the approaches to the intersection. To increase the efficiency of regulation, more advanced controllers equipped with calculators are used at complex transport hubs. The principle of operation of such a controller is as follows (Fig. 2). Detectors 2 are installed at all approaches to the intersection, collecting information on the presence and number of vehicles arriving from different directions, which is transmitted via a communication channel to the calculating device 1. The controller turns on a green signal for the direction from which the cars appeared earlier.

At the same time, information is collected about cars arriving at the intersection from other directions. If no more vehicles arrive in this direction after the set green signal time has elapsed, the controller automatically switches the green signal to the direction in which the group of vehicles arrived at the intersection earlier. If the traffic flow has not ended, then the green signal is extended by a certain amount. Thus, the switching of traffic lights 3 is carried out taking into account the load of each direction and the order of the cars to the intersection.

The system can control the signs 4, on which the computer selects the image that is required in a particular situation (for example, speed limit, prohibition of turns). Controllers with a calculating device for flexible regulation at complex intersections are produced by domestic enterprises and successfully operate in many cities of our country.