Conor Faughnan: “The most a red light will ever delay you for is a couple of minutes. It is simply not worth it.”
AA Director of Policy Conor Faughnan has called on motorists to adhere to traffic light signalling in the interests of public safety given the alarming findings of a survey this newspaper conducted last week.
His comments were made in reaction to a Munster Express survey (on March 2nd) which, were a Garda standing at our Clock Tower vantage point, would have led to the issuing of 433 penalty points.
The offence most notably identified? Breaking a red light, a transgression all the more worrying given that the location in question is the busiest pedestrian crossing in the city and therefore one of the busiest in the region.
In just 30 minutes on Wednesday last, a
I am convinced that the design of the pedestrian lights on the Quay is part of the problem of cars crashing the lights. The lights can be hard to see in certain light. The lights are partially obscured by other street furniture and advance warning for strangers to Waterford is poor.
In Valencia, Spain, traffic lights have the standard poles that we use here, but they also use an arm which stretches out overhead to the middle of the road. When the lights are changing from car to pedestrian, the amber and red lights flash alternately and they remain flashing as long as the pedestrian light is green.
I would be the first to admit that Irish driving standards are appalling, but poor design of traffic lights doesn’t help.
Bob Twigg