Joburg traffic light mess

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Joburg traffic light mess

Four major roads in Johannesburg, namely Beyers Naude, William Nicol, Witkoppen, and Malibongwe, have registered in excess of 5,000 traffic outages since 2013.
 
And of all the roads it had to be those four...
 
It so happens that many, many of their outages occur after a wee downpour. Or is it just incompetence by repairmen on a grand scale?
 
McT said:
It so happens that many, many of their outages occur after a wee downpour. Or is it just incompetence by repairmen on a grand scale?
Click to expand...

Noticed that, too. A little bit of rain, and the lights stop working.
 
The Voice said:
Noticed that, too. A little bit of rain, and the lights stop working.
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At least you lot have nature working against you...

In durbs at least one major intersection is out every day due to the beggars destroying the control box so that they can direct traffic and gain extra cash...drives them nuts when I ignore them and follow the rules of the road for a disabled robot and treat it as a four way stop...
 
Awww shame, the poor Northern Suburbs! :p

There are entire intersections in the Southern areas of Joburg where the traffic lights have not worked at all in 3 years, and some of them where the traffic lights have disappeared completely! :D
 
Anywhere in the country have integrated traffic controls? Seems to me that in SA it's all stand alone systems.
 
krycor said:
Anywhere in the country have integrated traffic controls? Seems to me that in SA it's all stand alone systems.
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Everything used to be nicely synced. I remember driving to wits every day, down de korte street in the morning, could do 60 down the road and every single light would turn green just as you got to it.
 
Sinbad said:
Everything used to be nicely synced. I remember driving to wits every day, down de korte street in the morning, could do 60 down the road and every single light would turn green just as you got to it.
Click to expand...

Can be done with a standalone system too assuming clocking mechanism is good. There were a few places in cpt like this where if you stuck to the speed limit you would not get a red robot and I use to love lol at the guys driving fast and finding them waiting and then the robot ticks over as I drive past :D
 
krycor said:
Anywhere in the country have integrated traffic controls? Seems to me that in SA it's all stand alone systems.
Click to expand...

As far as I know they were / are integrated.

I could be very wrong on this point though...
 
krycor said:
Anywhere in the country have integrated traffic controls? Seems to me that in SA it's all stand alone systems.
Click to expand...

In the UK traffic lights are rare. They are usually positioned to allow pedestrians to cross busy roads. It's mostly roundabouts.

I only cross 1 set of traffic lights on the way to work in a 11 mile journey. Compared to 5 roundabouts.
 
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zippy said:
In the UK traffic lights are rare. They are usually positioned to allow pedestrians to cross busy roads. It's mostly roundabouts.

I only cross 1 set of traffic lights on the way to work in a 11 mile journey. Compared to 5 roundabouts.
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That would be chaos in South Africa - most people display little understanding of how roundabouts work...
 
LazyLion said:
Awww shame, the poor Northern Suburbs! :p

There are entire intersections in the Southern areas of Joburg where the traffic lights have not worked at all in 3 years, and some of them where the traffic lights have disappeared completely! :D
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In some areas they've even given up and just replaced them with stop streets... :D
 
SA seems to be the only country in the world that has two sets of rules relating to roundabouts. 80% of motorists seem to adhere to the give-way to traffic on the left rule, so why just apply it to all roundabouts

Of course I have seen certain cars and taxis riding right over a mini-roundabout as if it was a traffic calming device
 
The Voice said:
Noticed that, too. A little bit of rain, and the lights stop working.
Click to expand...
So true. I wish we had waterproof robots.

Sinbad said:
Everything used to be nicely synced. I remember driving to wits every day, down de korte street in the morning, could do 60 down the road and every single light would turn green just as you got to it.
Click to expand...
Yeah I remember those days. You could have a clear run from Krugersdorp to Joburg on Main Reef road keeping to a steady 60km/h.

Now you can't even make it from M1 to Rivonia road on Grayston Drive without at least 1 faulty robot.
 
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chrisc4290 said:
SA seems to be the only country in the world that has two sets of rules relating to roundabouts. 80% of motorists seem to adhere to the give-way to traffic on the left rule, so why just apply it to all roundabouts

Of course I have seen certain cars and taxis riding right over a mini-roundabout as if it was a traffic calming device
Click to expand...

Yoy mean right.. we go round the circle in a clockwise fashion. I see you in the WC.. there compliance is a bit better than in Gauteng where no one gives a damn and is more important than the next person.

If i was a traffic cop, i'd make more money from traffic circle violations and road intersections during the busy periods than simply using a speed cam in the bushes because Gauteng drivers are that bad, so much so that if i see the idiot indicating the way he is turning around the circle, i forgive him and think he deserves 4 stars simply because he has some sense that he needs to indicate at some point lol.

I reckon 75-85% of Gauteng motorists believe circular intersections are yields for other drivers and a LOT of the time i have to brake harshly inside the cirlce because the idiot infront of me sees me entering the circle and decides that I need to yield to them.

I still think the best law SA needs to pass is one where the person committing the road violation loses all insurance cover and is at risk of being sued for criminally for reckless endangerment. In fact I will sue anyone who has an accident with me and has ignored simple basic rules of the road when doing so especially if injured. I reckon as soon as one case passes with a huge settlement, people will get their act together.
 
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