LIGHTS - The count down is just there to give you an idea when to go

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Originally Posted by taxexile

if walking up and down the broken pavements, whilst avoiding the electrical cables, the advertising signage , the parked motorcycles, the open drains, the 50cm kerbs, the tick ridden dogs, the beckoning taxi drivers, massage "therapists" and salespeople and the broiling sun in order to admire the leaking downpipes, the dripping aircons, the cracked concrete facades, the spitting chinese, the sweaty bobbleheads and all the other detritus that passes for humanity in that godforsaken dump then you are indeed an easily satisfied man of low ambition.

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I really got a kick out of seeing the clusterfuck wiring when I first landed in Thailand. I couldn't believe that it could be done like that. It's a different world. The way ppl drive too. I couldn't believe that ppl had freedom to just go. They have the count down red and green lights too. We don't have them in the west because it encourages racing or some dumb lame shit. The count down lights just make more sense. But we don't have that for some gay social engineering bullshit that is always around you to drag you down.

I disagree with your description. Pattaya isn't Mexico. Mexico is full of serious long term disrepair and scarcity in a way that Thailand isn't. The markets are overflowing with merchandise in Thailand. In places like Mexico , it is the opposite. I'd say that a place like the Philippines also has that ambient feeling of scarcity. Thailand isn't like that

But again , if it's as simple as what you are saying , why do so many Chinese and Russian like it ?

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Originally Posted by Backspin

They have the count down red and green lights too. We don't have them in the west

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Don't need? Most lights are demand based not time based.

Tip in Vancouver. Where there is a priority left turn light, don't pull right up to the line if you are first in the left turn lane. Pull up where the third car would be. That is where the inductive loop is to trigger the "priority". If the guy behind honks pull forward so he is the third car etc.

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Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Most lights are demand based not time based.

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But backside thinks the timers are a sign of 'sophisticated' Thailand.

Not just a simple device whose only virtue is that it wastes everyone's time evenly. :D

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Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Don't need? Most lights are demand based not time based.

Tip in Vancouver. Where there is a priority left turn light, don't pull right up to the line if you are first in the left turn lane. Pull up where the third car would be. That is where the inductive loop is to trigger the "priority". If the guy behind honks pull forward so he is the third car etc.

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Thailand has those too. But when it's about to go red or green , they count down just to let you know where they are at

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Originally Posted by cyrille

But backside thinks the timers are a sign of 'sophisticated' Thailand.

Not just a simple device whose only virtue is that it wastes everyone's time evenly. :D

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Wtf. They are demand based in Thailand too. The count down is just there to give you an idea when to go.

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Originally Posted by Backspin

Thailand has those too. But when it's about to go red or green , they count down just to let you know where they are at

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Yeah they do and that's when I am up against the Rev limiter on my moto to launch. :smileylaughing:

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Originally Posted by Backspin

Wtf. They are demand based in Thailand too. The count down is just there to give you an idea when to go.

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That's not how demand based lighs work, ya plonker.

Area traffic control (ATC) systems process signal timing plans according to traffic demand throughout the day. However, the existing ATC systems in Thailand are a pre-timed control with fixed timing plans.

Source - http://www.gets.co.th/en/pdf/ATC/ATC_en.pdf

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Originally Posted by cyrille

But backside thinks the timers are a sign of 'sophisticated' Thailand.

Not just a simple device whose only virtue is that it wastes everyone's time evenly.

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Originally Posted by Backspin

Wtf. They are demand based in Thailand too. The count down is just there to give you an idea when to go.

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Originally Posted by TheRealKW

That's not how demand based lighs work, ya plonker.

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It would be completely impossible to combine the two.

How many times has this idiot fallen flat on his oversized chin just today?

Having the faintest clue what he's talking about just doesn't seem to be a priority for him whatsoever.

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Originally Posted by JPPR2

Yeah they do and that's when I am up against the Rev limiter on my moto to launch. :smileylaughing:

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Exactly. Gotta get the hole shot.

Everyone is awake and ready for that fuckin green light. Not like in the west where everyone is on their phone. The light flips green and slowly peoples brake lights go out. It probably costs the west billions in idling

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Originally Posted by Bogon

Area traffic control (ATC) systems process signal timing plans according to traffic demand throughout the day. However, the existing ATC systems in Thailand are a pre-timed control with fixed timing plans.

Source - http://www.gets.co.th/en/pdf/ATC/ATC_en.pdf

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We have both in canada. Some areas are more appropriate than others. I refuse to believe that there is no demand based lights in thailand and no internet link is enough to prove it

And either way, the countdown lights have NOTHING TO DO with whether they are a demand light or not. You could have demand lights with countdown lights. We dont have count down lights in Canada because they are too much fun. They encourage racing.

Countdown lights are not there because they aren't demand lights

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Originally Posted by cyrille

It would be completely impossible to combine the two.

How many times has this idiot fallen flat on his oversized chin just today?

Having the faintest clue what he's talking about just doesn't seem to be a priority for him whatsoever.

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Countdown timers that let motorists know when a traffic light will go from green to yellow lead to safer responses from drivers, research at Oregon State University suggests.
The findings are important because of mistakes made in what traffic engineers call the “dilemma zone” – the area in which a driver isn’t sure whether to stop or keep going when the light turns yellow.


A traffic signal countdown timer, or TSCT, is a clock that digitally displays the time remaining for the current stoplight indication – i.e., red, yellow or green.
Widely adopted by roughly two dozen countries around the world, traffic signal countdown timers are not used in the U.S. Crosswalk timers for pedestrians are allowed, but TSCTs are prohibited by the Department of Transportation.

“These results suggest that the information provided to drivers by GSCTs may contribute to improved intersection safety in the U.S.,” Hurwitz said. “When looking at driver response, deceleration rates were more gentle when presented with the countdown timers, and we did not find that drivers accelerated to try to beat the light – those are positives for safety. Drivers were significantly more likely to slow down and stop when caught in the dilemma zone. The results in the lab were really consistent and statistically convincing.”

The first vehicle in line got moving an average of 0.82 seconds more quickly in the presence of a timer, suggesting an intersection efficiency improvement thanks to reduction in time lost to startups.

Plus demand lights just go into timer mode in heavy traffic conditions anyway.

^ *googling furiously*

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Originally Posted by cyrille

^ *googling furiously*

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Not having count down lights , whether the intersection is demand based or not , is fucking stupid. And anyone who opposes count down lights , is an epic fucking moron.

The count down lights in Pattaya is another thing that just blew my mind when I first landed there.

We have demand based count down lights for cross walks in canada. The whole debate about whether you can have demand based lights with count downs or not is a red fucking herring

I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
No matter where they've been.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
But only when they're green.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights,
No matter where they've been.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights,
But only when they're green.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
That is what I said.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
But not when they are red.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
That is what he said.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights.
He likes traffic lights,
But not when they are red.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights,
Although my name's not Bamber.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I Like traffic lights.
I-- Oh, God!

Songwriters: Terry Jones

Thread title ? What the fuck else are the count down lights for ?

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Originally Posted by Backspin

The count down lights in Pattaya is another thing that just blew my mind when I first landed there.

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Traffic lights blew your mind.

Righto

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Originally Posted by cyrille

Traffic lights blew your mind.

Righto

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Yep. My best friend and I talked about why the living Christ don't they have count downs on traffic lights when we were 15 years old. We ended up in Pattaya a few years later and holy fuck. There they are

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Originally Posted by Backspin

Yep. My best friend and I talked about why the living Christ don't they have count downs on traffic lights when we were 15 years old. We ended up in Pattaya a few years later and holy fuck. There they are

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Oh, the dreams and aspirations . . .

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Originally Posted by Backspin

Plus demand lights just go into timer mode in heavy traffic conditions anyway.

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I suspect the timing sequence may be adjusted during peak hours but western systems have inductive loops which detect traffic. Maybe I missed a few but I have seen no evidence of inductive loops in Thailand.
Ie. Light changes to green. wait 15 seconds, if a car passes over the loop wait 3 seconds, and so on up to a max of about 45 seconds, change to red. If after the 15 seconds no car passes over loop change to red. Junctions are also designed with one road getting priority. Lights will only change if a car passes over a loop on the joining/secondary road.
This told to me by the guy in Burnaby responsible for traffic lights when I complained that my m/bike didn't trigger a set of lights that happened to be right next to Burnaby city hall. He came out and witnesses and explained to me how/why the lights worked and adjusted them on-the-spot.
Not saying all junctions work the same but...

As in most of Asia, traffic lights are advisory.

Some enterprising wag in Vietnam even sells T-shirts off the back of it.

Attachment 64734

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Originally Posted by Backspin

They are demand based in Thailand too. The count down is just there to give you an idea when to go.

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Originally Posted by Cujo

I'd be interested to know how you know this to be true.

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He doesn't know. He's full of shit. He just makes things up and tries to pass them off as facts.

All the traffic lights with timers that I have seen regularly in Thailand are predictable, no matter what the traffic. Twenty-four seconds is a common time for each sequence, with 3 or 4 seconds between each sequence for the change. I have also seen 20s and 40s, but still the same no matter what the traffic (unless a cop comes along and changes the lights by hand in the traffic light cabinet).

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Originally Posted by Neverna

He doesn't know. He's full of shit. He just makes things up and tries to pass them off as facts.

All the traffic lights with timers that I have seen regularly in Thailand are predictable, no matter what the traffic. Twenty-four seconds is a common time for each sequence, with 3 or 4 seconds between each sequence for the change. I have also seen 20s and 40s, but still the same no matter what the traffic (unless a cop comes along and changes the lights by hand in the traffic light cabinet).

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How is it even relevant ? It's not.

First. We don't have count down lights in N.America because they allegedly encourage racing. Not because we have demand controlled traffic lights.


Second , demand lights and count downs are not mutually exclusive. There are timed lights without count downs

Third. Just because Pattaya has count downs without the demand function does not mean that there is no count downs with the demand function in the whole country. Thailand is a big country. Does someone really know that every single count down light in the country does not have a demand function ?

Forth. We have demand lights with count downs for cross walks in N.America.

5th. There are count down lights in the Netherlands. I don't know what the configuration is but I'll find out

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Originally Posted by Backspin

There are count down lights in the Netherlands.

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There are some in Germany too.

Personally, I don't see the need for them.