Video 3: At Signals Stop behind Stop Lines
The world wide web has many videos on driving in India. Most show how drivers fail to follow the basic rule of stopping behind the stop line at signals. Following this rule is vital for pedestrian safety. This video, a third in the series providing driver education, hopefully, will provide the required role-modelling as well as the evidence of the benefits of following this rule.
Recently I have compiled a collection of pictures of traffic lights in the UK across junctions of varying types and sizes. The pictures demonstrate clearly how the location of traffic lights can help ensure that vehicle drivers stop behind the stop line. Click Here to download this PDF document. In India, traffic lights are placed at the far end of the junction, this makes it possible for drivers to stop well past the stop line. I hope traffic authorities in India implement this simple change to enforce better discipline on our roads. Further, various phases sequences are followed across different states in India. In Pune / Mumbai a 3 phase sequence is in use, thus the Red jumps to green without an Amber phase in between. The sequence we must implement uniformly all over the country should be the 4 phase sequence shown in the picture below.
Thus Amber alone clearly suggests to an approaching driver that the Red will follow. In contrast, the green follows a combination of Red and Amber. Adding the Amber between Red to Green is vital, as at time of transition, we should have a few seconds when the entire junction is free from all traffic.